Last week, AUFA’s executive and members of the Membership Engagement Committee (MEC), bargaining team, and Job Action Committee (JAC) met to discuss next steps in collective bargaining. This meeting was held to develop a common understanding of where bargaining is at, what the next steps are, and to brainstorm ideas for escalating pressure on AU to actually negotiate.
Bargaining Background and Status
AUFA and AU exchanged proposals in March and have held additional bargaining sessions in April, May, and early June. A half day of bargaining is scheduled for June 23.
There has been little progress at the table. AU has been resistant to AUFA’s proposals. AU has also refused to table the majority of its own proposals, including its monetary asks. It is not possible to reach an agreement with AU when AU refuses to tell us what it wants.
Member Support for AUFA Proposals
Online polling has demonstrated strong membership support for AUFA proposals, including extending academic and professional freedom and conducting a pay equity analysis. Members have also strongly rejected AU’s proposals to make it easier to layoff and discipline staff.
Unless there is significant movement at the bargaining table, AUFA members will need to begin taking job action to apply pressure to AU to negotiate a reasonable agreement. While we are a long way from going on strike, there are many things members that AUFA members can do to apply pressure.
For example, many members sent questions to Acting President Deborah Meyers ahead of her May Connect with the President sessions. Meyers declined to answer those questions. This suggests that AUFA members will need to take more forceful action to convince the university executive and the Board that there is no appetite among AUFA members for the concessions that AU is demanding.
If AU is unwilling to change course, AUFA members may ultimately need to strike in order to maintain their pay and benefits, AUFA has been preparing for a work stoppage since 2017.
Member Priorities at the Table
As part of this preparation, AUFA’s April MEC survey asked members about their bargaining priorities and their willingness to strike. Random sampling makes us reasonably confident that this data is valid and reliable (but see caveats below).
AUFA members identified resolving the ongoing designation issue, job security, and wages as their three most important priorities. Regarding wage increases, AUFA members noted:
AUFA members have accepted multiple years of salary freezes
The cost of living has risen appreciably during this time.
Workloads have increased significantly.
Member Willingness to Strike
When asked about their willingness to strike over specific issues, there was strong support for striking to prevent rollbacks.
Overall, 69% of AUFA members said they would be likely or very likely to strike to prevent a wage rollback of 4%. While AU has not provided its monetary offer, a 3-4% rollback followed by another 3 or 4 years of wages freezes is a clear pattern across Alberta universities and colleges.
When asked if they would strike to prevent reductions in layoff language, 64% of AUFA members said they be likely or very likely to strike.
Finally, when asked if they would strike to protect professional members rights, 83% of AUFA members said they would likely or very likely to strike. This result demonstrates that AU’s wedge tactics (i.e., offering carrots to academics and applying the stick to professionals) has entirely failed.
A couple of caveats are in order about this approach to assessing member willingness to strike. The first is that asking members about willingness to strike on an issue-by-issue basis is a bit artificial. Actual strike behaviour is driven by an assessment of the totality of the alternative to a strike (i.e., the employer’s last, best offer). Consequently, these issue-by-issue questions may underestimate the overall willingness of members to strike.
For example, if we polled only two members (Bob and Jane) and found that Bob will only strike against wage rollbacks and Jane will only strike to protect professional rights, it will look like only 50% of members will strike over each issue. But, if the employer’s final offer contains wages rollbacks and cuts to professional rights, both Bob and Jane will end up supporting the strike (so 100% of the membership will walk).
Second, asking people about their willingness to strike is different than asking people to actually strike. When the rubber hits the road, people often have second thought because strikes are scary (especially first strikes). This means these numbers may over-estimate the willingness to actually strike.
Third, these polls are a snapshot of member feelings at a particular moment in time (late April). As the context changes (e.g., the employer acts unreasonably or racks up another operating surplus), the willingness of members to strike will change.
Despite these caveats, these numbers, especially so early in the bargaining process, suggest that AUFA could mount an effective strike if AU is unwilling to negotiate an acceptable offer. A smart employer would see these numbers as an opportunity to rethink their aggressive strategy and begin negotiating in earnest for a mutually acceptable contract.
Your Thoughts
AUFA would be interested in your thoughts about the next steps in bargaining.
Bob Barnetson, Chair
Job Action Committee