Bargaining Update

Your bargaining team met with the employer for one day of talks on June 1. A second day was originally scheduled but had to be cancelled due to a health matter for one of the employer-side members.

Initial discussion took place on a number of articles, including the employer’s proposals on discipline and grievances and AUFA’s proposal on contracting out. No progress was made on any of those topics. We also continued talking about equity, making some progress on a shared understanding for the need to modernize our approach to equity and inclusion.

The employer still has not presented their monetary proposals and they continue to refuse to provide a timeline for when they will present them. The AUFA bargaining team continue to impress upon them the importance of showing their entire package to make progress at the table.

The most significant topic was AUFA’s proposal regarding designation. In AUFA’s initial proposal, we included language that would entrench a consultation process and require AU to get AUFA’s consent for any changes to employees’ designation. For a primer on designation, see the recent blog post on the topic.

AUFA presented our rationale for the proposal, articulating that AU’s recent actions have broken our members’ trust and that we require some resolution to the matter to rebuild it. We pointed to their decision to ignore the strong and vocal opposition of our members to the new designation policy. AUFA also reminded them that their unilateral moves to de-designate the Deans and a group of IT professionals were not only provocative but also possibly an unfair labour practice (altering employment conditions during the bargaining period).

Your bargaining team knows that AUFA members are extremely angry over the prospect of having large numbers of our members de-designated and that this is a top priority for them. Comments to a recent blog post on designation demonstrate the level of that anger. Here is a sample:

This is a chipping away: of union membership, of employee engagement, of quality of education, of spirit. I fear this may be the first step towards turning AU into the online fast-food outlet of the post-secondary world. For shame.

The de-designation issue and constant, ongoing aggressive hr/management style makes it difficult to take AU's Imagine and I-Care values plans seriously and undermines my morale as a workerbee.

Fight tooth and nail against it if we have to.

De-designation is, and always has been, a clear attempt at union busting. To the AU executive trying to push for these policies, I say, "Try me." I'm willing to strike over this, even if it's not my own position that's de-designated.

The AUFA team made sure the employer heard that message. We clearly communicated our members are willing to take action over this issue.

For its part the employer team stated they have no intentions of negotiating language on designation. Their lead spokesperson Chantel Kassongo, the external labour lawyer hired by AU to conduct negotiations, said “we will not dilute the power of the Board of Governors. This is a line that AU will not cross”. To which AUFA’s bargaining chair replied “if you don’t cross that line, there is a different kind of line you will have to cross in the future”.

At one point in the discussion, the AUFA bargaining team mused aloud that maybe the Kenney government has had a hand in setting AU’s mandate. Ms. Kassongo vehemently denied such a thing, stating “Kenney does not set our mandate!” The AUFA team finds this assertion interesting.

No real progress was made on the issue, however the AUFA bargaining team believes it was important to clearly articulate the importance of this matter for our members. One more day of bargaining is currently scheduled for June 23.

Finally, due to upcoming sabbaticals we have been required to make some changes to the AUFA bargaining team. Alexa DeGagne and Jennifer Rempel are stepping away from bargaining. Mike Voaklander and Dawn Mercer Riselli are replacing them. I would like to sincerely thank Alexa and Jennifer for their service and commitment to AUFA members. And welcome to Mike and Dawn!

Jason Foster

AUFA Bargaining Chair