It has been over a month since the Board and ULFA negotiation teams last met to work toward a new Academic Staff Collective Agreement. At the most recent bargaining session on December 19, 2025, the ULFA team presented a full response to all items opened in this round that have not yet been agreed upon. We update on Mediation and scheduling as two separate themes below.
On December 9, 2025, following consultation with both parties, the Government of Alberta’s Mediation Services appointed a mediator for the formal mediation requested by the Board team. At this time, ULFA was informed by Mediation Services that the assigned mediator would have availability from January 19, 2026. Further details of the mediation appointment are provided in the appointment letter from Mediation Services. The mediator emailed the ULFA lead negotiator regarding scheduling on January 13, 2026. Several scheduling messages from the mediator were received between January 13 and 15, indicating availability for only a single day in February and no further availability until early March. Upon invitation from the mediator, the ULFA team has been in contact with Mediation Services regarding alternate mediators with February availability. In the meantime, the parties have agreed to meet with the currently-assigned mediator on February 4 for a ‘meet-and-greet’ session, and March 2 and 3 sessions have also been tentatively booked with this mediator. Late on January 23, 2026, the currently-assigned mediator offered additional dates, and the ULFA team accepted all of the new February dates.
Regarding scheduling negotiation sessions outside of mediation, on December 19, 2025, the ULFA team requested that the parties exchange January availability. The ULFA team was unable to accept the Board team’s January 8 offer to meet on January 12, 2026, due to insufficient notice to rearrange or cover teaching commitments. On January 12, 2026, the ULFA team offered the following bargaining dates to the Board team:
Jan 16: 9:00-16:00
Jan 19: 8:30-10:30, 13:30-15:00
Jan 20: 10:30-12:00, 13:30-16:00
Jan 21: 8:30-11:00
Jan 22: 12:00-17:00
Jan 23: 9:00-16:00
Jan 26: 8:30-10:30, 14:00-16:00
Jan 27: 13:30-15:00
Jan 28: 8:30-11:00
Jan 29 12:00-16:00
Jan 30 9:00-16:00
On January 19, 2026, the Board team accepted the January 26 afternoon time, which will be the next scheduled bargaining session.
The ULFA team remains committed to negotiating a fair deal (fair working conditions and fair compensation) for all ULFA members as soon as possible that responds to the mandate approved by our membership in December 2023 for this round of bargaining.
A summary of the progress of items opened in this round of bargaining is available here.
