Bargaining Bulleting #13: A (Mostly) Golden Egg

In March, I built a chicken coop in my backyard and brought home six chicks from a breeder outside Nanaimo. (Names: Gregory Peck, Marty McFly, Dolly Carton, Orville Redenbacher, Frodo, and Egg.)

On July 31—the final day of three long summer days of mediation with the Employer under the supervision of a Labour Board-appointed mediator—we got our first egg, a turquoise masterpiece. Marty is the prime suspect (don’t call him chicken).

Whether it was an auspicious omen or not, it turned out to be the most productive day of bargaining we’ve had. We reached tentative agreement on nearly every item in our package and accepted the Employer’s and the mediator’s recommendation to refer the remaining issues to binding arbitration.

Here’s what that means.

1. We (tentatively) signed off on excellent new language

Over three days of mediation, the parties signed 20 “greensheets” containing tentative agreements that we will recommend members ratify as part of our new collective agreement.

We’ll share the full details in the coming weeks, but here are some of the highlights:

• A new Right to Future Work process based on experience in the department that never expires and is triggered automatically—no application required.
• An updated faculty list with contact information for every faculty member.
• Salary step placement and advancement recognition for Indigenous faculty who undertake training in Indigenous ways of knowing.
• A minimum 50% FTE release for teaching faculty chairs that cannot be reduced during a chair’s term.
• Streamlined, self-directed Scheduled Development that becomes part of your regular annual workload, without an application process except in rare circumstances.
• A faster, more efficient grievance process.
• A more collaborative, formative Faculty Review process that reduces the over-reliance on student feedback.
• An Alternative Transportation Program that provides every faculty member with a transit pass and offers a $1,500 annual cycling benefit for members who decline parking privileges to purchase or repair a bicycle, e-bike, or related equipment.

None of these gains happened by accident. They reflect the priorities members identified over the past two years and the support so many of you showed by attending open bargaining sessions. Thank you for standing behind our five bargaining pillars: Indigenization, Job Security, Governance & Transparency, Compensation, and Working Conditions.

After 21 days there was only one issue left: workload.

2. We’re taking workload to binding arbitration

Since Fall 2024, I’ve met with faculty at department meetings, Communities of Practice, workshops, union gatherings, and town halls. Across every conversation, one message came through loud and clear: we have to fix workload.

Your Contract Negotiations Committee took that message to the bargaining table each of our 21 days and never lost sight of it.

The Employer maintained that our workload proposals were too expensive and questioned whether there is a systemic workload problem. We repeatedly asked for detailed costing of our proposals but did not receive the analysis we were looking for. Neither did they ever offer a meaningful counter of what they thought they could do. We continue to believe that the Province’s Balanced Measures funding provides sufficient resources to make meaningful improvements to workload and the student learning experience.

After extensive discussions, mediator Mark Brown concluded that the parties were unlikely to bridge that gap through further bargaining and recommended that the remaining issues be resolved through binding arbitration. Both parties agreed and jointly appointed Mark Brown as arbitrator.

Because the parties have now agreed on that process, we have withdrawn the binding arbitration application that we filed with the Labour Board last June.

3. We don’t like the delay, but we like our chances

The biggest downside is timing.

Yes, this means we likely won’t receive our wage increase and retroactive pay until October. We know many members have been counting on that money, and we’re disappointed by the delay.

The important point is this: our general wage increases are no longer in dispute.

To proceed to arbitration, both parties agreed to settle within the Province’s Balanced Measures mandate. The arbitrator is not deciding whether faculty receive the negotiated wage increases. Instead, the arbitration is about how to allocate the remaining flexibility and supplementary funding available under the mandate.

Just as importantly, the many tentative agreements we’ve already reached—including improvements to job security, Scheduled Development, governance and transparency, faculty review, and alternative transportation—are not being reopened. Those gains have been secured through bargaining.

Beyond workload, the only remaining unresolved issue is Article 27, our current binding arbitration clause, which the Employer has proposed removing. The arbitrator will decide that issue alongside the remaining workload matters.

No one wanted bargaining to take longer. We have worked throughout this round to reduce delays because we know how difficult they are for members. At the same time, we also knew that with a four-year agreement, we needed to secure workload language that reflects the realities of today’s classrooms.

After 21 bargaining days, we believe arbitration gives us the best opportunity to achieve the workload improvements members have consistently told us matter most.

I’m sure there will be lots of questions, and I’d be happy to answer them.

Please join us at the CCFA Welcome Back BBQ on the Interurban Campus on September 2 at 11:30 a.m. I’ll answer as many questions as I can. In the meantime, feel free to email me at ac.ytlucafnusomac@gniniagrab.

Thank you again for your support throughout this long round of bargaining. We’re not at the finish line just yet, but we’re closer than we’ve ever been.