On behalf of your NASA Bargaining Committee, I am writing to share that after many hours of negotiating with NAIT in formal mediation, we have hit an impasse. We have asked the mediator to be “written out.”
We began formal mediation on November 25 and received an offer from NAIT that morning. Your NASA Bargaining Committee stayed for 12 hours that day and worked 4 hours on the following Sunday as well. We were able to significantly narrow our proposals for NAIT, based on the bargaining surveys you answered and on the feedback received from you during town halls and other communication.
Our proposal was provided to NAIT on the next day of mediation, December 1. Since then, both parties have had a little back and forth, and some movement was made. There are some other items that NAIT has offered that amount to a few hundred dollars per year, such as improvements to EPDA and flex spending accounts.
However, your Bargaining Committee has grave concerns about some things that NAIT has introduced and their refusal to meaningfully acknowledge your top concerns: wages, workload, benefits, and job security. NAIT continues to insist on concessions to our benefits coverages, allowing IA IIs to teach, and removing benefits and LAPP contributions for those who become unemployable to any occupation. Even non-monetary proposals to protect your intellectual property, to ensure job security related to AI, and to prevent non-NASA members (IA IIs) from teaching were outright refused.
We know this moment can feel uncertain. It is a significant turning point, and it’s natural to feel the weight of it. But this is also when our strength as a membership matters most. When we remain steady and united, we take back the pressure that the employer is hoping to place on us. The only party who benefits from doubt or division is NAIT—not NASA members. You have already shown tremendous solidarity through surveys, town halls, and direct engagement. That unity is our greatest power, and it is how we will get the agreement you deserve.
The next step in this process includes a 14-day cooling-off period, after which we can choose to take a strike vote. We will ensure that you are fully informed throughout this process, so please stay tuned for further communications and town halls. We will provide full details very soon, and you can expect communication from NAIT as well.
Please rest assured that NASA remains committed to getting you a collective agreement that reflects your work and dedication to the institute.
Please get in touch with any questions.
In solidarity,
Shauna MacDonald (she/her/hers)
President, NAIT Academic Staff Association