Bargaining Analysis 1: AU’s layoff proposals

Two weeks ago, AUFA and AU exchanged opening proposals. This post is the first in a series of blog posts that provides more detailed analyses of both AUFA’s and AU’s proposals. This blog examines AU’s proposed changes to our layoff language. AUFA has not proposed any changes to these provisions.

Current Language

Article 12 of the current collective agreement allows AU to discontinue (i.e., terminate) the employment of AUFA members. This can happen when there is financial stringency or when AU is engaged in a reorganization. Such terminations are colloquially called “layoffs”. These provisions apply equally to academic and professional AUFA members.

If an AUFA member with a permanent job is laid off, they are entitled to:

• 12 months of notice of the layoff,

• a severance payment of 1 month of pay per year of service up to six months of pay.

The upshot is that an AUFA member with 6 years of service would be entitled to the equivalent of 18 months of pay (i.e., 12 months of notice plus 6 months of severance).

(Slightly complicating things is the fact that, in the last round of bargaining, AUFA agreed to changes that allow the employer to pay out the 12-month notice period, instead of having the member serve out the notice period. Subsequently, AU unilaterally asserted that, when paying out the period of notice, AU only has to pay out the 12 months of wages and not the value of the benefits during this period. Benefits have a value of about 20% of overall compensation. This issue is subject to a grievance that will be heard in May.)

AUFA members who are laid off also have recall rights for four years. Essentially, laid off AUFA members must receive first consideration for all positions for which they are qualified. And, if you return to AU after a layoff, you are entitled to the same contractual status, leaves and accumulated benefits that you had when you left.

If a layoff occurs as a result of a re-organization, AU also has modest obligations to consider retraining, redeployment (i.e., adding new duties to a job, transfer to a different job, or creating a new job), and early retirement. If an AUFA member is redeployed to a job with a lower salary, the member’s original salary remains intact.

Finally, Article 12 does not allow the employer from temporarily laying off AUFA members for short periods of time.

AU’s Proposal Language

AU has proposed significant changes to our layoff language. You can read the proposal here.

These include:

• creating separate layoff provisions for academic and professional members,

• reducing the overall compensation provided when an AUFA member is laid off, and

• introducing new provisions to allow the temporary layoff of professional members.

The existing Article 12 is re-titled such that it applies only to academic members (i.e., professors and academic coordinators). The revised article proposes:

• Reducing the notice period to 6 months (from 12).

• If AU elects to pay out the notice period, the payout would not include the value of benefits.

• Recall rights would be shortened to 2 years (from 4).

• If you are recalled, you do not maintain your contractual status (e.g., current rank and tenure).

• If you are rehired, you may need to repay some of your payout. For example, if your total payout is 12 months but you were rehired after 6, you would need to repay the other 6 months (even though your rehiring may have resulted in you now holding a lower-paying job).

• If AU offers retraining, it is no longer required to pay your salary during this period of retraining.

A new article is introduced regarding permanent layoffs of professional members. This proposal allows the Board complete discretion in whom it wishes to terminate. If a professional member is identified for termination:

• The professional member receives 90 days of notice or is paid 90 days of wages in lieu of notice (down from 12 months).

• Professional members with more than 3 years of service may also receive a separation payment as shown in Table 1 (also a reduction).

Table 1. AU’s Proposed Separation Payment in Months

• This change entails a significant loss in termination pay as shown in Table 2.

Table 2. Current and Proposed Severance in Months

• Professional members would no longer have recall rights.

• If AU offers you an alternative position with the same salary and benefits (in lieu of layoff) and you refuse, you do not receive the separation payment.

Finally, AU is proposing new language that would give AU the power to temporarily layoff professional members. Under this proposal:

• AU could give professionals 14 days of notice of a temporary layoff due to lack of work (except in circumstances beyond the control of the Board, when no notice would be required).

• The temporary layoff could last as long as 90 days.

• During the period of temporary layoff, it appears professionals would receive no salary and would not have access to any benefits (although this is not clear).

• Professionals would receive 1 week of notice if they are recalled.

• If a temporary layoff lasted longer than 90 days, professionals would be considered permanently laid off and would be entitled to the professional separation payment discussed above (but, it appears, not the notice period).

At present, no rationale has been advanced by AU to justify it proposal.

Implications

AU’s proposal has several implications:

1. AUFA members would receive less compensation if they are permanently laid off. This is particularly the case for professional staff.

2. Academics would have lesser recall rights. Professionals would no longer have recall rights

3. It would be cheaper (and thus easier) for AU to permanently layoff AUFA members.

4. The cost of permanently laying off professional staff would likely be lower than the cost to AU of fighting a discipline appeal. This opens the door to AU improperly using layoff language to address discipline problems.

5. The introduction of temporary layoff for professionals makes their employment much more precarious and requires us to trust that AU would use this power in a reasonable manner.

Your Views

AUFA’s bargaining team is interested in hearing the views of the AUFA membership about this proposal. To that end, we have created a short survey.

Bob Barnetson, Chair

Job Action Committee