Hundreds of RRCP instructors working toward a separate bargaining unit for instructors.
For years, instructors have tried to create a faculty‑only bargaining unit within MGEU. MGEU has not supported a healthy, open discussion on this issue, and instructors remain grouped with PASS — a structure that makes it difficult to negotiate effectively on instructor‑specific issues like wages and workload.
We are now collecting signatures until 1 May 2026 to apply to the Manitoba Labour Board for our own bargaining unit. If enough instructors sign, we can finally make our case.
If you support this goal, please sign the Union Authorization Card:
RRCFA Union Authorization Card (PDF)
Want the full story? Expand the sections below.
Since at least 2008, instructors at Red River College Polytechnic have been trying to create a faculty‑only bargaining unit — a structure that exists at many colleges, polytechnics, and universities across Canada. (2008 MGEU letter)
In 2008 and 2016, instructors asked MGEU to hold a vote among College employees to split our current bargaining unit into two:
Before the 2016 vote, we believe MGEU did not support this change and did not promote balanced, accurate discussion. We believe this lack of support — not the quality of the idea — is why the vote failed to gain enough momentum.
We continue to hope MGEU will support a healthy, transparent discussion so another vote can be held. So far, they have not. Until that happens, many instructors feel our next step is to gather signatures on a Union Authorization Card to move us closer to having our own bargaining unit.
If enough instructors sign, we can apply to the Manitoba Labour Board for our own “certificate,” which would allow us to bargain separately from PASS employees. MGEU could help us carve out a faculty‑only unit and keep us within MGEU, but instructors cannot achieve this split without leaving MGEU first. After leaving, we could apply to rejoin MGEU, join another union (such as CUPE), or continue independently.
Even with strong support, the Labour Board is not required to approve our application. We must show evidence that instructors have been harmed by being in the same bargaining unit as PASS. This usually requires legal assistance. At the moment, we do not have funds to hire a lawyer, but we want to make the attempt. Perhaps MGEU will eventually take our concerns seriously.
The RRC Faculty Association was created in 2015 to help instructors obtain their own bargaining unit. Because neither the RRCFA nor individual instructors are allowed to use College resources to communicate with instructors, we gather personal email addresses one conversation at a time and stay in touch through email and this website.
We believe RRCP instructors should negotiate for the average wage of instructors across Canada, adjusted for regional cost‑of‑living differences. One RRCFA member calculated this number in just a few days before the last round of bargaining. We told MGEU this was the top priority for instructors, based on a survey we conducted before bargaining began.
We also told MGEU that instructors were unhappy with the Faculty Workload Assignment (FWA) tool and shared the specific concerns instructors had identified and prioritized.
We informed the president of MGEU that we would be asking the Labour Board for our own bargaining unit, but that we would prefer to stay within MGEU if they helped facilitate a split. We believe the wage increase in the last round of bargaining may have happened because both the College and MGEU wanted to reduce support for the RRCFA’s efforts.
However, we did not get any language in the Collective Bargaining Agreement requiring improvements to the FWA tool or its removal. Despite what some chairs tell their staff, instructors never asked for the FWA tool. We only agreed to it in exchange for an annual public list showing each instructor’s department and contact hours (without names). We believed this transparency would encourage chairs and deans to keep workloads fair within and across departments and schools.
We believe MGEU struggles to negotiate effectively on issues that matter to instructors because we share a bargaining unit with PASS employees. We think this harms instructors’ interests — and likely PASS employees’ interests as well — but we have not had a fair opportunity to explain this to them.
If you support our goal of trying to leave MGEU, please sign the Union Authorization Card linked at the top of the page and below. If we succeed in leaving MGEU and obtaining our own bargaining unit, we can then decide democratically whether to rejoin MGEU as a separate unit, join another union (such as CUPE), or operate independently with the one million dollars in annual dues that would automatically flow to the RRCFA instead of MGEU.
Some instructors feel safer staying with a large, established union. MGEU has significant resources, experienced staff, and a reputation for strength.
But here is what instructors experience in practice:
“Why not just stay with MGEU after we get our own unit?”
This is possible. But because of the rules — and because MGEU has not helped us pursue this option — instructors must leave MGEU first before we can rejoin with our own bargaining unit.
If we succeed, instructors could vote on whether to:
No. Your pension is tied to your employment at RRCP, not to MGEU.
RRCP participates in the Civil Service Superannuation Fund (CSSF). As long as you work at RRCP, you remain in the CSSB pension plan regardless of which union represents instructors.
CSSB confirms this directly:
“The Civil Service Superannuation Fund (CSSF) is the pension plan for employees of the Government of Manitoba and other participating employers.”
(Pension Plan Summary, October 2021, page 4)
Read it yourself here:
CSSB Pension Plan Summary (PDF)
If instructors succeed in getting their own bargaining unit, the same 1.25% union dues already deducted from your pay would immediately be redirected to the RRCFA — roughly one million dollars per year.
With that funding, we can hire:
Many instructors want to support this effort but worry they don’t have the time, the confidence, or the “sales skills” to talk to others. The truth is: you don’t need any of that.
RRC Instructors: Information for Faculty Visit RRCFA.ca Deadline: 1 May 2026
Download the printable message:
Printable Notes (PDF)
“Everything is explained clearly on the website — the history, the process, and the common questions people have.”
“Signing a card is confidential. The College never sees who signed — only the Labour Board does.”
No pressure. No debate. Respect builds trust.
If you ever want to do more — like sharing the website, helping gather emails, or answering basic questions — we can support you. But there is no expectation.