Dear Members,

I ask that you join a march on February 27, 2020, starting at the Edmonton Convention Centre (upper entrance - 9797 Jasper Avenue, Edmonton) at 3:30 pm to the front of the Legislature Building.

For those unable to join in the march, please then meet at the Legislature steps for the rally at 4:00 pm. 

See this facebook page for details: 

“This is an opportunity for individuals across all public sector professions to unite together against the Premier's relentless and ruthless sweeping cuts to what Albertans need most. Take a stand against the privatization of Alberta's public services. 

Since this government took office unemployment has increased while the quality of public services in our province has decreased, and a number of our public services have made steady moves towards privatization or being eliminated entirely.”
 

With the passage of Bill 21 (page 63), this legislation allows the Government of Alberta to issue confidential directives to the Board of Governors which must be followed respecting terms of a collective agreement and fiscal limits that the Board must operate within when engaging in collective bargaining. These directives will likely impact our upcoming collective agreement negotiations. 

As well, the Government of Alberta’s funding models for universities will be tied to performance measures.  Please read my President’s Message on this topic. Excerpts:

“… The Government will negotiate with each post-secondary institution an investment management agreement (IMA) of 3 years duration. There will be an “at risk” component to our institutions’ Campus Alberta Grant funding of 15% for 2020 – 2021, 25% for 2021 – 2022, and 40% for 2022 – 2023… (see Government of Alberta: Transforming Post-Secondary Funding and Globe and Mail: Alberta to tie funding for post-secondary institutions to performance)…

 Superimposed upon these two new budget models, the Government is reducing the Campus Alberta Grant to institutions by on average 5% annually, over the next three years. The nexus of annual 5% cuts in provincial funding, and annual increases in the percentage of “at risk” funding, plus the onus of meeting two layers of performance indicators/metrics, will put unprecedented strain on our members’ ability to deliver quality research and education…”

Please note that AASUA does not advocate for cancellation of classes by our academic staff, nor do we encourage them to walk away from their job responsibilities as covered by the collective agreement.

If you are able to attend this march, and to show unity, everyone is invited to wear red.