AASUA

This might seem like a silly question, but it isn’t. The University of Alberta is made up of its students, faculty, and staff. When functioning properly, it is a “community of scholars” dedicated to teaching, learning, and research. Don’t be fooled by the Employer’s implication that it alone is “the university” as they often claim in communication with students. It is students, staff, and faculty that form the core of the institution, and all of us share the commitment to high-quality teaching and learning.

The Association of Academic Staff of the University of Alberta (AASUA) is the bargaining agent for approximately 4000 members and is the largest academic staff union in Canada. The AASUA is a statutory corporation created under the Post-Secondary Learning Act and is a trade union under the Labour Relations Code, which governs collective bargaining.
AASUA represents all academic faculty, academic teaching staff, administrative and professional officers, trust/research academic staff, librarians, temporary librarians, and faculty service officers at the University of Alberta.
As the union, AASUA represents academic staff members and is the bargaining agent for all of these constituency groups. It negotiates with the University of Alberta’s Board of Governors, which includes the President and members appointed by the Government of Alberta. We refer to the Board of Governors as “the Employer,” as we all are the university.
AASUA is governed by an Executive of representatives elected by its members and supported by dedicated staff members and labour experts. As well, Council is the body of elected representatives that sets policy for the organization. The union advocates for its members on workplace issues such as compensation and benefits, health and safety conditions, workload, and equity. You can learn more about AASUA here.

AASUA members have been in bargaining since March 3, 2024. So far, offers from the Employer have consistently been unfair and unreasonable, and AASUA’s best efforts at negotiations have not been able to bring the two parties close enough for an agreement on the terms and conditions of employment for academic staff, which is a contract called a “Collective Agreement.”
The Employer’s most recent proposal would introduce a catastrophic shortfall in the funding of our current health and dental benefits plan into the next Collective Agreement, and reduce our real wages due to inflation. The Employer’s proposal also completely fails to improve job security for Academic Teaching Staff (ATS) on short-term contracts. ATS are often only offered contracts for 4 to 8 months, so they worry about whether or not they will have a job for longer than that, while they are trying to teach you. You may not know that currently, half of all UofA courses are taught by ATS, and the majority of those are on contracts that are less than a year.

Despite the best efforts of AASUA’s negotiating team, The Employer has stonewalled AASUA by putting forward proposals that are clearly not in the best interests of your instructors and our other academic staff. Their last proposal on the funding of the health and dental benefits plan included “TBD” language instead of a concrete value that the AASUA’s team could assess for its merits. Academic staff don’t want a strike, but the Employer has shown that they otherwise have no motivation to bargain seriously with our union, and that they are more interested in stalling negotiations.

Yes. AASUA is committed to negotiating an agreement that is fiscally sound, economically sustainable, and invests strategically to strengthen the University of Alberta and make it a better place for researchers and educators to do their work, and for students to learn and grow.
The University of Alberta has taken massive cuts in provincial funding in the past few years, but the Board of Governors has made demands based on their own priorities, not because of the cuts. For the fiscal year 2022-23, the University ran a surplus of over $72.3M, with an accumulated surplus of $2.1 BILLION. This leaves a great deal of room to meet what AASUA is asking for. The below-competitive salaries of AASUA members are not creating any budget crisis; rather the Employer is using the provincial funding cuts as an excuse to redistribute resources to other pet projects through the restructuring process, rather than choosing to invest in the academic staff that bring amazing research, excellence in teaching, and other important services to our university community.

While there are other issues on the table for negotiations, it’s true that compensation is an important part of what a union bargains for on behalf of its members. Though there are some faculty members with significant salaries, there are far more academic instructors who are paid only by the course, and who must continually work on short-term contracts without any job security, often for low pay.
All AASUA members’ salaries have not kept up with inflation, meaning, those salaries don’t go as far as they used to.
As well, only a fraction of your tuition actually goes to the instructors in the classroom. The U of A now allocates the smallest fraction of its Operating Budget toward Academic salaries of any top research-intensive university in Canada. This means University of Alberta academic salaries are well below those of other similar universities — this makes it hard to attract and retain top-tier researchers and instructors, which in turn can reduce the quality of teaching and scholarship at the University of Alberta.

Unions protect the rights of employees and allow them to establish good working conditions for every member of the union. Unions have been very powerful for expanding the rights of workers, limiting working hours, implementing health and safety regulations, winning rights to things like pensions and parental leave, and fighting against discrimination.
Teacher unions have long noted that “teachers’ working conditions are students’ learning conditions.” Academic unions like AASUA ensure that the working conditions at the University of Alberta allow the faculty to provide the kind of quality education University of Alberta prides itself on. An important part of this is making sure there are enough professors, instructors, academic administrators, and librarians, working under fair and reasonable conditions, so that students have access to the world-class education that the university promises.

Collective bargaining is the negotiation of a collective agreement between a union of employees and an employer. Collective bargaining is a legal process that dictates the terms and conditions of employment. In Alberta, the process is regulated by the Alberta Labour Relations Code.
Within the U of A context, this means negotiation between AASUA and the Board of Governors (BoG) (i.e., those who are responsible for the University’s finances) regarding the terms of employment for AASUA members.

Job action is either a strike initiated by AASUA, or a lockout initiated by the Employer. Strike or lockout happens in accordance with the process set out in the Alberta Labour Relations Code AASUA and the Employer will be negotiating an Essential Services Agreement which is required under the Labour Relations Code should job action occur. The legislated definition of essential services are public services that if interrupted would endanger the life, personal safety, or health of the public.

A strike is a collective action in which the members of a union (AASUA) withhold their services from their Employer (the Governors of the University of Alberta). A union is legally entitled to strike once negotiation and mediation processes have been exhausted, a minimum 14-day “cooling-off period” has passed, a legal strike vote is verified, and at least 72-hours’ notice has been provided. In Alberta, a union’s right to strike is governed by the Labour Relations Code.

A lockout is when the Employer suspends work or prohibits access to a workplace. It is like a strike, but a lockout here would be initiated by the Board of Governors. In the event of a lockout, AASUA members would not be able to access the university campuses, including their offices, emails, laboratories and other campus resources for the purpose of their usual job activities.

The decision to go forward with a strike is extremely difficult and is not taken lightly by AASUA members. We still very much hope to reach an agreement through bargaining. However, due to the lack of success in negotiations, we may need to take action to reach a fair deal. A strike, or an impending strike, is the last leverage of a union. Because the Employer has continuously refused to table acceptable proposals, AASUA may have no choice but to use that leverage now, given that negotiations have dragged on for a year and a half with little progress on our members’ key priorities for improving their working conditions. We continue to hope that the Employer will decide to negotiate in good faith and present a fair and competitive offer to our members.

AASUA has declared impasse September 19 which initiates a 14-day “cooling off” period before the Association can hold a strike vote. If after this, there is still no agreement, AASUA can conduct a strike vote of its members which is supervised by the Alberta Labour Relations Board. If the members vote YES, then AASUA must give the Employer 72-hours’ notice of strike action. While a strike is still not a certainty, the earliest time frame for job action is mid-October.

No. The outcome of a strike vote by members of a union tells the union's executive whether or not the majority of its members authorize the union to call a strike. A strong "Yes" to a strike vote does not mean that a strike is inevitable. For any time up to 120 days after a “yes” vote, AASUA can move to strike with 72 hours’ notice. After the expiration of that 120-day period, AASUA can apply to the Alberta Labour Relations Board for another supervised strike vote.
According to the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT), of all the votes approving a strike taken by CAUT member unions across Canada in the past five years, only 18.6% resulted in an actual strike. That means the show of strength these union members took to approve a strike vote was enough pressure to push their Employers to come to the table with a better deal, and resume negotiations that ultimately achieved a collective agreement.
You can see that calling for a strike vote has often been enough to pressure academic Employers back to the bargaining table and to negotiate a reasonable offer for union members. Negotiations can even be successfully concluded in the 72-hour period between the time the union gives notice of its intent to strike and the deadline provided when the strike is to commence. For AASUA members, reaching a settlement before a strike occurs would be ideal, but this will require the Board of Governors to improve their position significantly from where we are now.

No. The decision to strike is made collectively – and democratically – by all members of a union. If the majority votes YES and the AASUA Executive decides that it is necessary to call a strike, then any strike action taken applies to all of the union’s members equally.

No one can predict how long a work stoppage would last, but strikes in the post-secondary education sector normally do not last long. According the Canadian Association of University Teachers, the average length of such strikes in Canada is about three weeks.

AASUA members are committed to minimizing the disruption to our students, but if a job action occurs instructors who are AASUA members will be withholding their teaching services until the job action is ended and a return to work agreement is concluded between the Employer and AASUA.
Please know that AASUA members love our teaching and care deeply about the success and wellbeing of our university and its students. If we strike, it will be with feelings both of disappointment in our Employer and concern for the hardship this will cause for our students. However, we are being forced into this difficult choice and we will not hesitate to do what is necessary to uphold the quality and integrity of education at the University of Alberta. Our choices, actions, and their outcomes also set the example for other institutions across Alberta and Canada. AASUA members greatly appreciate the outpouring of support we have received from students, and we look forward to continuing to work together to keep our institution strong!

Since AASUA members would withhold their labour during a strike, this means that classes, labs, thesis defenses, and research projects will be postponed until the job action is settled. Students will still have access to their emails, Canvas, etc., but academic staff will not be conducting classes, posting online material, grading assignments, overseeing directed reading, or responding to student emails. The Employer has already said that faculty access to their offices, emails, and other university computer and telephone resources will cease for the duration of any job action.

Yes. AASUA is committed to negotiating an agreement that is fiscally sound, economically sustainable, and invests strategically to strengthen the University of Alberta and make it a better place for researchers and educators to do their work, and for students to learn and grow.

The University of Alberta has taken massive cuts in provincial funding in the past few years, but the Board of Governors has made demands based on their own priorities, not because of the cuts. For the last fiscal year (2022-23), the University ran a surplus of over $72.3M, with an accumulated surplus of $2.1 BILLION. This leaves a great deal of room to meet what AASUA is asking for. The below-competitive salaries of AASUA members are not creating any budget crisis; rather the administration is using the provincial funding cuts as a pretext to redistribute resources to higher levels through the restructuring process.

Since AASUA members would withhold their labour during a strike, this means that classes, labs, thesis defenses, and research projects will be postponed until the job action is settled. Students will still have access to their emails, Canvas, etc., but academic staff will not be conducting classes, posting online material, grading assignments, overseeing directed reading, or responding to student emails. The Employer has already said that faculty email and access to other university computer resources will cease for the duration of any job action.

Overseeing external placements is often part of the work of academic staff, who will be unable to continue this work in the event of job action. It will be up to the Employer to look after co-op students. In some situations, non-academic staff work in co-op offices, and these staff members would continue to work, because these employees are not part of AASUA.

Yes, you will still have access to your email, Canvas, digital library materials, and other learning resources during any job action.

Course expectations may change depending on how long a strike or lockout lasts. Your instructors will not expect you to carry on with course work as normal, and you will not be penalized for not doing class work while classes are cancelled.
You can certainly keep up with your reading or assignments that have already been given during any time that classes are suspended, though you will not be able to submit work or get feedback from your instructor.

Mid-term exams may be rescheduled at the completion of the job action; however, the Employer has the sole authority to decide changes to the university calendar. We anticipate that assignments presently handed in will be graded and returned following the end of the strike. When a strike ends, the Employer and the union must negotiate a return-to-work protocol, which will stipulate how academic staff will be able to return to their positions, and thus their duties overseeing midterms and marking assignments.

The timing of the exam period is solely in the power of the University of Alberta administration; see the “What Happens Afterward?” section for more details.

AASUA members will not prohibit students from accessing the university campus. However, we do not know what the Employer will do regarding students’ access to campuses and online resource in response to a strike from AASUA.

Please check to see which collective agreement your work is covered by. If you are a Principal Instructor covered by AASUA’s Collective Agreement as a member of the Academic Teaching Staff constituency, then you would be on strike alongside all other AASUA members, and you are eligible for strike pay for participating.

TAs and RAs are not members of AASUA, but are represented by the Graduate Students’ Association (GSA). Most graduate students fall under the GSA Collective Agreement and are expected to continue to perform their duties, and the University is still responsible for providing the resources to complete these duties.
Some undergraduate students are also TAs or RAs under supervision of an AASUA member. The Employer is responsible to honour its contractual obligations with these students and must compensate them for work performed up to commencement of job action. Thereafter, the TA’s duties would cease during job action since the AASUA Member would no longer be teaching the course. RAs could potentially keep working in research areas but only if the AASUA Member has been given permission to determine that the RA is necessary in order to “… prevent irreparable damage to ongoing research and/or materials for teaching such as damage to plant and animal life, loss of life, loss of live and/or decomposable materials, damage to equipment or supplies, or loss of non-repeatable research in progress…” as stipulated in the Essential Services Agreement. Depending on the specific contractual terms between the TA or the RA and the Employer, the Employer may have further contractual obligations to the student in the event the Employer unilaterally terminates the contract early. These students should seek advice from their own legal counsel.

AASUA will not stand in the way of any academic staff member writing reference letters for any of their students. Reference letters are not an obligation under the collective agreement, but many consider this an ethical obligation to help their students. Ultimately, it is up to each individual supervisor. If you are worried about reaching your references in the event of a strike or a lockout, get in touch with them now to make arrangements for alternate contact information.

The university has an obligation to provide students with a reasonable opportunity to complete all courses. Students will continue to receive their government student aid, as long as they do not reduce their credit hours below what was reported to their provincial loan agency. Students will also continue to receive their institutional awards, so long as they do not fall below the required credit hours.

Yes, applications for other programs will be posted on the website with deadline dates to apply. Any job action will not impact that process, and you should apply by the deadline date for your intended program.

 

• Share your support for AASUA on social media. Tag us!
• Find and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and help share our messages.
• Call or email the University of Alberta’s President, Dr. Bill Flanagan at 780-492-3212 or Email the President and ask that he take every possible step to prevent the strike by negotiating a fair agreement.