Council
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A History and Overview of the Trust/Grant Funded Employees Issue |
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| Welcome to NASA Trust Employees Frequently Asked Questions A History of the Trust/Grant Funded Employee Issue NASA Membership Application Form From the Archives Trust Topics Bulletin #4 (June) Trust Topics Bulletin #3 (March) Trust Topics Bulletin #2 (March) Trust Topics Bulletin #1 (February)
Last updated: 02/26/99 |
In January, 1993, NASA made an application under Section 9 of the Public Service Employee Relations Act (PSERA) on behalf of approximately 500 trust/grant funded employees at the University of Alberta. We asked the Alberta Labour Relations Board (LRB), through an application for determination, to decide employer status, appropriate bargaining unit and applicable collective agreement rights for trust employees. Included in our application was a reconsideration request to vary the decision of the Public Service Employee Relations Board (PSERB) dated October 8, 1981, that determined that employees paid from trust funds in whole or in part at the University of Alberta, were not employees for the purposes of the PSERA. During 1993, an investigation occurred and the LRB Officers' report was released in the latter part of 1993, dividing trust employees into five distinct groups based upon funding. NASA challenged that report and a subsequent investigation began in 1994. There were several hearings convened in the spring and summer of 1994. The hearings continued in 1995 involving a lengthy process of interviews, examination and evidence of benchmark trust positions and trust employees. On August 17, 1995, the University made a separate and different application to the LRB based upon the dismissal of 5 trust employees at the University, to determine the status of the five fired employees - Dorothy Payne, Esther Cheung, Danielle Forth-Bell, Marlene Welton and Veronica Clough. The University application was based upon bargaining history, 1978 certification exclusions and the University belief that there was lack of representative interests and community considerations. Probably as a result of their own application, the reputation of the LRB Chairperson, Deborah Howes, and the fear of potential consequences for the University, the University approached NASA to begin discussions on a Memorandum of Agreement to stage the inclusion of trust employees into the NASA bargaining unit and integrate trust employees into the NASA collective agreement. NASA was involved with the University in extensive discussions since September 1995, outlining detailed specifics of any agreed-upon implementation of trust employees into our bargaining unit. Those talks failed for various reasons. The University's own application delayed the original application of NASA and resulted in unnecessary escalated costs for the parties and basically placed the original application in abeyance. There were additional hearings for the University application over the summer and fall of 1995 and final arguments were heard on January 5, 1996. The LRB delivered that decision on December 13, 1996. The decision basically states that trust employees are employees of the University of Alberta, not of the respective trustholders and that NASA is now legally entitled to represent and advocate on behalf of trust employees. The LRB declared that the scope of the original bargaining unit certificate was broad enough to encompass trust employees when employed in general support services at the University of Alberta. The LRB also disregarded the many legal arguments that the University attempted to rely upon to prevent NASA from representing trust employees. The LRB did find clear representation by NASA allowing its past and future rights to claim that trust employees (full or split funded) be declared University employees and included in the NASA bargaining unit. The LRB was also not satisfied that the evidence revealed any detrimental reliance on such representation, if it existed, by the University. However if such a reliance did exist, the LRB was satisfied that it had been terminated by clear notice from NASA to the University that it intended to pursue the issue. The LRB also found that NASA has never abandoned its rights regarding trust employees or that the time delay under the circumstances prohibited NASA from claiming that they fall within the bargaining unit. While this decision does not resolve our application for determination filed in 1993 on behalf of all trust employees, it does set a very clear precedent. The facts are that the 1981 Labour Relations Board decision by Justice Blair Mason to deny trust employees the protection of a collective agreement has been overturned, that the circumstances surrounding the trust employee issue have changed dramatically since 1981, and that the bargaining unit certificate of NASA is wide enough in scope to include all non-designated University employees. As a final comment, the Labour Relations Board stated that it was their sincere hope that the parties can take the principles set out in the decision and use them to mutually resolve their differences concerning the rest of the trust employees. At this point in time, the University has decided that it will appeal the LRB Deborah Howes decision, seeking judicial review of the matter. It appears that the University will force NASA to continue with our 1993 determination application, in spite of their delay and in spite of a clear precedent. NASA will continue to update the membership as this matter continues.
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