RAAS Negotiation Updates 

to November 30, 2023 

Bargaining Status: Negotiations Continue as RAAS Approaches Legal Strike Position

RAAS has been in negotiations since February 2023 with Renison University College for a renewal Collective Agreement. Our previous Collective Agreement expired April 30, 2023. By September 2023 it became apparent that little more progress was going to be made at the negotiating table without some additional leverage. 

On Friday September 15, 2023, the RAAS Negotiating Team submitted a request to the Ontario Labour Relations Board for Conciliation Services. While awaiting a Conciliation date, on October 19, 2023, the RAAS Executive called a strike mandate vote. Every RAAS Member (100%) voted, with 39 voting in favour giving the executive a strike mandate and 2 voting against (95% in favour).

To be in a legal position to take job action (strike or lockout), one party would have to ask the Conciliator to file a “no board” report with the labour board (which takes 7-10 days), at which point a 17-day “cooling off” period begins. On the 17th day following the Labour Board’s issuance of a “no board report”, the faculty association would be in a position to strike and the Employer would be in a position to lock faculty out.

To date there has been one negotiation session involving the labour board-appointed conciliator (November 17). Some progress was made during that day, and both sides have so far signalled a desire to continue negotiating and not call for a no board report. The two sides have agreed to a mediation session on December 19.

Come back here for updates on our negotiation status, watch for our periodic Negotiation Bulletins, and follow us on X @RenisonAAS.

For more information on the meaning and consequences of a strike mandate vote, please see “RAAS Strike Mandate Vote Frequently Asked Questions (PDF)”.

For information on what our strike mandate means for students, please see “FAQs for Renison Students: How do RAAS Issues Affect Students (PDF)”.

For information on how a strike would affect sessional contracts, please contact Renison President Wendy Fletcher (wendy.fletcher@uwaterloo.ca).