Union representing NAIT academic staff to hold strike vote next week

Signage on an indoor elevated walkway at Edmonton's Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) in an undated photo.

The union representing academic staff at the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) will hold a strike vote on Jan. 14 and 15.

The NAIT Academic Staff Association (NASA) represents more than 1,000 members at the school including instructional specialists, librarians, counsellors and instructors.

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According to NASA, it has reached a bargaining impasse with NAIT after talks stalled in December.

In a statement on its website, it says NAIT is proposing a formulary system for benefits, which would eliminate coverage for a number of drugs.

It is also looking for improved compensation for its members and for staff protection from being replaced by a lower-paid class of instructors, among other issues.

“Our members care deeply about NAIT and about their students,” NASA president Shauna MacDonald said in a news release.

“A strike vote is not something faculty take lightly. It’s a signal that we need real movement to resume bargaining and protect the learning environment students expect and deserve.”

“Faculty want to be in the classroom, focused on teaching and supporting learners – not preparing for job action. A strong strike mandate helps create the conditions for bargaining to resume and for a fair and timely resolution.”

If members vote in favour of a strike mandate, the union would have to give 72-hour notice before a strike could begin.

In an emailed statement to CTV News Edmonton, NAIT said it was committed to the bargaining process with the assistance of a mediator.

It stressed that as of Thursday, academic staff are not on strike and the college is “dedicated to minimizing any potential disruption” to classes.

“We are disappointed NASA has chosen to move forward with a strike vote,” Jodi Edmunds, the interim associate vice-president of human resources and labour at NAIT, said. “Our hope was that we would be able to reach a collective agreement during mediation in December 2025.”

NAIT and NASA have been in collective bargaining since July 2024.