Wilfrid Laurier Universities’ negotiators head into November with collective agreements ratified for its staff association and faculty association, following a period that saw essential staff members vote in favor of a potential strike mandate.
According to the university’s labour negotiations webpage, members of both bargaining units and Wilfrid Laurier University’ board of governors have approved their respective agreements.
For students, both negotiations involved employees on campus who are responsible for many of Laurier’s essential campus services. WLUFA is the certified bargaining agent for all faculty and professional librarians. The Wilfrid Laurier University Staff Association (WLUSA) represents all the office, clerical, and technical employees at the Waterloo and Kitchener campuses of Wilfrid Laurier University.
For WLUSA, the new agreement is in effect from July 1st, 2026, to June 30th, 2029. This approval followed a previous bargaining process in which WLUSA members rejected an earlier tentative agreement, before giving their bargaining unit a strike mandate.
For WLUFA, the ratification of the agreement means that the negotiated changes may proceed. The agreement includes provisions that address generative A.I. usage and uncertainties, as well as potential future changes to undergraduate advising responsibilities.
Moving forward, the use of GenerativeAI or emergent technologies by the university in ways that are likely to have a significant impact.
A letter of understanding also commits Laurier to allocating $100,000 over the agreement’s term for faculty and librarians to undertake teaching development and instructional design training on the use of GenAI and emergent technologies
A Joint Liaison Committee will remain active for the duration of the agreement. The university must also maintain updated general advice on the use of GenerativeAI, which will be made available on their website.
Another provision calls for a benefits committee between the university and WLUFA. With input from external benefit consultants, the committee will be able to discuss making changes to the current health and dental coverage for active and retired employees.
Ratifying these agreements will turn a page for the university and its campus staff, but the attention now must go to the implementation of the negotiated changes.
More information can be found on https://www.wlufa.ca
Contributed Photo by Kendra Schmidt
