After a lengthy delay, Local 69 of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (representing AU’s support staff) and AU met and exchanged proposals on September 22. AUPE’s contract expired June 30, 2020 (just like AUFA’s).
AU is being represented in these negotiations by lawyer Chantel Kassongo. AUPE has permitted AUFA to share the key points of AU’s offer to AUPE. AU’s opening proposal includes the following rollbacks:
Paid Holidays: AU is proposing removing five paid days off, including the three floater days between Christmas and New Year’s. (It is not clear how this will be operationalized). AU has not yet provided AUFA with its proposal regarding benefits (including paid days off) so we don’t know if AU will be making a similar ask for AUFA.
Course allowance: AU is seeking repayment of course fees when a staff member does not complete or withdraws from a course. AU is also seeking reimbursement for staff or family course fees (on a pro-rata basis) if an AUPE members resigns within two years. Again, AU has not yet provided AUFA with its proposal regarding benefits (including course allowances) so we don’t know if AU will be making a similar ask for AUFA.
Severance: AU is seeking to reduce severance pay from a maximum of 12 months of pay (earned at a rate of 1 month per year of service) to a maximum of 6 months of pay. This is very similar to AU’s proposed rollbacks to AUFA severance.
No monetary proposal: AU has failed to provide a monetary offer to AUPE. This mirrors their bad faith bargaining with AUFA.
AUPE’s next bargaining date is December 6.
When looking at AU’s need for these rollbacks, it is useful to have a look-see at AU’s overall financial health. Figure 1 below tracks AU’s revenues and expenses over time. What we can see is, despite significant expenditures on executive compensation and vanity projects (and bogus claims of looming financial insolvency), AU has generated a surplus in 8 of the last 9 years and has accumulated a surplus of over $36m in this time.
AU’s revenue and expenses rise more or less in lock step. This reflects, in part, that the biggest source of revenue (tuition) is, more or less, proportional to the largest source of expense (teaching and student support). Basically, rising enrollments bring in more cash, while also triggering more costs.
There doesn’t appear to be a pressing need to grind the benefits of AU’s lowest paid and hardest working staff or make it cheaper to fire them. It may be necessary for AUFA members to support our AUPE colleagues as they too resist an unnecessarily aggressive employer proposal. For example, if AUPE members are locked out or go on strike, AUFA members may wish to not voluntarily perform the functions of AUPE staff in order to help AUPE apply pressure to the employer.
Bob Barnetson, Chair
AUFA Job Action Committee