After withdrawing from formal mediation with NAIT, the Academic Staff Association (NASA) told the Nugget it plans to hold a strike vote in mid-January after their 14-day cooling off period ends. If successful, NASA will have 120 days to strike and will need to give NAIT 72 hours’ notice before striking.
“We haven’t applied yet, but we are planning to apply to the labour board to do our strike vote mid-January,” says NASA President Shauna MacDonald. They plan to host several town halls next week and early in January, but MacDonald is still confident a strike vote would pass. “We’re hopeful it won’t come to a strike, but we have to continue down the path of showing NAIT that we’re serious.”
NAIT was not available for an interview but told the Nugget via email that at this time, NASA has not informed them if they plan to hold a strike vote. “We are awaiting further information from NASA regarding their intentions,” says Jodi Edmunds, Interim Associate Vice President of Human Resources and Labour Relations.
When asked, NAIT did not comment on if the institution would hold a lockout vote.
“Our focus remains on supporting employees while safeguarding the student experience,” the email says. “Students are at the core of everything we do, and we are dedicated to minimizing any potential disruption to their learning environment.”
NASA ends mediation because of no movement on ‘dealbreakers’
NAIT and NASA have been bargaining since August 2024. In November 2025, they began formal mediation — a process led by a neutral, third-party mediator. On Dec. 9, NASA declared an impasse, ending formal mediation.
While MacDonald said there have been some positives on the table, the major reason for ending mediation was a lack of movement on NASA’s “dealbreakers.”
NAIT’s latest wage offer is 12 per cent over four years, retroactive — the same number Alberta teachers and the Academic Staff Association at the University of Alberta recently accepted. However, MacDonald doesn’t believe the salary offer amounts to enough movement on the things that matter to NASA members.
“They’ll do nothing beyond the 12 per cent. They won’t look at our grids. They won’t give vacation parity to librarians. There’s a bunch of little things that we’ve asked, and they will not talk about these things,” says MacDonald.
Staff benefits remain a priority as well, and according to MacDonald, NAIT’s offer worsens their coverage. “Our members are very clear that they are not willing to accept that,” she says.
In a post from NAIT’s staff portal, Edmunds wrote that a “key focus” for NAIT is “identifying cost-saving measures related to our Blue Cost benefits.” The post explains that to combat increasing costs for prescription medications, NAIT suggested alternatives for prescriptions like generic options. NAIT also proposed no longer requiring staff on long-term disability to make pension contributions.
“The NAIT committee firmly believes the proposals presented during mediation have been both fair and reasonable, reflecting what NAIT can responsibly support.”
Both parties ultimately want a fair collective agreement. NAIT “remains committed to returning to the bargaining table,” says Edmunds. MacDonald doesn’t “want to go on strike,” she says. “That is the last thing we actually want, any of us,” she says.
“But we recognize that without going through these next steps, it’s unlikely for NAIT to move any further than they did in mediation.”
NAIT says they are keeping the NAITSA executives informed and will continue to provide updates as NASA provides information.
Feature photo via NAIT
