BCIT Faculty & Staff Association

What BCIT Faculty & Staff Association does

The BCIT Faculty & Staff Association (FSA) is a certified trade union founded in 1964 that serves as the exclusive bargaining agent for approximately 1,400-1,800 faculty, specialized faculty, and technical staff at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT). The FSA represents members across two BCIT campuses (Burnaby and Downtown Vancouver) and into over 80 academic programs, with membership comprising Regular Members (~75%), Associate Members such as Part-Time Studies Instructors (~25%), and Ancillary Members (Markers/Student Employees). It negotiates collective agreements, administers grievance procedures, manages workload disputes, and provides academic freedom, professional development, and equity-related support services.

The FSA's product and service surface is centered on member representation rather than commercial offerings: a Members Portal, the biannual FSA Voice newsletter (Volume 57 in 2025/26), annual fiscal reports spanning 2008-09 to 2024-25, a Tech Rep network across departments, the Caucus on Part-Time Studies (COPTS), Equity Caucuses, and a weekly e-bulletin. The 2025-29 Collective Agreement was fully ratified on May 14, 2026 (members) and May 25, 2026 (employer). The organization is governed by an elected Board of Directors with 12 staff supporting operations, and maintains strategic affiliations with the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT, joined December 2016) and the BC Federation of Labour (joined November 2016), as well as the CAUT Defence Fund (joined October 2024).

Revenue is derived almost exclusively from membership dues set at 1.85% of salary (billed monthly), with no disclosed grants, investment income, or alternative revenue streams. Non-financial assets include CAUT's voting weight of 8 (the 6th largest member), participation in provincial labour federation committees, and a 2016 partnership with BCIT's Diversity Circles (originally SSHRC-funded, now institutionalized in BCIT's Respect, Diversity, and Inclusion office). The FSA leadership team includes President and Chief Negotiator Colin Jones, alongside Treasurer Terry Gordon, Vice-President Kenzie Woodbridge, and Senior Labour Relations Representative George Talbott; a recent leadership transition involved the departure of Executive Director Michael Conlon.

Name

BCIT Faculty & Staff Association

Legal name

BCIT Faculty & Staff Association

Website

https://bcitfsa.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1964

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The BCIT Faculty & Staff Association is a certified trade union and exclusive bargaining agent representing approximately 1,400-1,800 faculty and technical staff at the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) across two campuses, providing collective bargaining, grievance handling, and member advocacy funded by dues set at 1.85% of salary.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Burnaby

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: The FSA generates revenue through membership dues paid by its 1400-1800 members. As of 2016, the dues were 1.65% of salary, with a proposed increase to 1.85% if joining CAUT. Members at the top of the faculty salary scale pay approximately $80 per year in CAUT-related dues, with the average being about $50 per year.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The BCIT Faculty & Staff Association (FSA) is the certified bargaining agent representing approximately 1,400-1,800 faculty, technical staff, and specialized faculty at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. It negotiates and administers the collective agreement, handles grievances and arbitration, defends academic freedom and collegial governance, and provides member support through committees, caucuses, training, and publications.

Product overview

The BCIT Faculty & Staff Association (FSA) is a certified trade union representing approximately 1,800 faculty, technical staff, and specialized faculty at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. The FSA operates as a union organization rather than a software product company. Its primary offerings consist of member representation services, collective bargaining, the FSA Voice newsletter publication, annual reports, member resources (handbooks, guides, forms, FAQs), training and education programs, the Tech Rep network, and various caucuses including the Caucus on Part-Time Studies (COPTS) and Equity Caucuses. The association also maintains a Members Portal providing secure access to exclusive resources and collective agreement documents.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Union Membership & Collective Bargaining Representation
• Member Training & Education Programs

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2016The FSA affiliated with CAUT in December 2016, becoming the first association from the colleges and institutes sector to affiliate directly. CAUT represents 68,000 academic and general staff at 120+ universities and colleges. The FSA became CAUT's sixth largest member with a voting weight of 8. Benefits include access to sectoral data, professional advisors, model collective agreement language, bargaining support, academic freedom defence, and participation in national policy development.
• BC Federation of Labour (BCFed)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2016The FSA joined the BC Fed on a trial membership prior to their 2016 convention. The Federation represents over 1,000 delegates from unions around BC. FSA participates in standing committees including Political Action, Occupational Health and Safety, Human Rights, Women's Rights, Young Workers, Education, and Community and Social Action.
• Diversity CirclescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreated in partnership with FSA members Shannon Kelly and Zaa Joseph in 2016. After two years of SSHRC funding, BCIT made Diversity Circles an integral part of its Respect, Diversity, and Inclusion office. The initiative focuses on equity, implicit biases, and supporting BIPOC members.
• Black Lives Matter – VancouverminorOthersFSA made a donation to Black Lives Matter – Vancouver as part of their solidarity statement against racism in June 2020.
• BC Community AllianceminorOthersFSA made a donation to BC Community Alliance as part of their anti-racism solidarity efforts.
• Urban Native Youth Association (UNYA)minorOthersFSA made a donation to UNYA to support Indigenous youth in the community as part of National Day for Truth and Reconciliation commemorations.
• Post-Secondary Employers' Association (PSEA)coreOthersPSEA is the provincial body controlling public sector bargaining in post-secondary education. The FSA has an adversarial relationship with PSEA, noting that PSEA has expressly forbidden BCIT from negotiating job descriptions that recognize research work and has imposed restrictive bargaining mandates.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Douglas College Faculty Association (DCFA): Represents faculty and staff at Douglas College, a BC college within the same FPSE federation. Direct peer in scale, mandate, and employer relationship, with comparable member services and collective bargaining functions.
• TRU Faculty Union (TRUFU): Represents faculty at Thompson Rivers University, a BC institution within the FPSE federation. Direct peer in mandate, scale, and employer-bargaining context, comparable in member services and collective agreement administration.
• College of New Caledonia Faculty Association: Represents faculty at the College of New Caledonia, a regional BC college within FPSE. Direct peer in single-employer faculty association mandate and collective bargaining against PSEA-mandated terms.
• UFV Faculty and Staff Association: Represents faculty and staff at the University of the Fraser Valley, a BC teaching university under FPSE. Direct peer operating in the same provincial bargaining framework with PSEA and offering comparable member services.
• Capilano University Faculty Association (CUFA): Represents faculty at Capilano University in North Vancouver, another BC FPSE member institution. Direct peer as a BC post-secondary faculty association with parallel collective bargaining and member representation functions.
• Langara Faculty Association: The certified bargaining agent for faculty at Langara College, another BC degree-granting college under FPSE. Directly comparable to the FSA as a peer faculty association at a BC post-secondary institution with similar bargaining dynamics against PSEA.

Others

• BC General Employees' Union (BCGEU): A large BC public-sector union representing 85,000+ members across diverse workplaces. The FSA Treasurer joined BCGEU picket lines in solidarity. Thematically connected as a BC labour union peer, but operates at much broader scale and across sectors rather than single-employer representation.
• BC Federation of Labour: BC's largest labour federation with over 500,000 members. The FSA joined BCFed on trial membership in 2016 and participates in standing committees. Thematically connected as a labour movement peer, though operating at provincial rather than single-employer scale.

Broad incumbents

• Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT): The national umbrella organization for 68,000 academic staff at 120+ Canadian universities and colleges, with which the FSA has been affiliated since 2016. Functions as both a strategic ally and a sectoral-level peer providing bargaining support, model agreements, and policy advocacy.
• Federation of Post-Secondary Educators of BC (FPSE): FPSE is the BC provincial umbrella federation of 23,000 post-secondary faculty and staff at BC colleges, institutes, and teaching universities — including the FSA itself. Directly comparable as the parent-like body that coordinates sectoral bargaining, advocacy, and member services across member local associations.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bcit-faculty-staff-association

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about BCIT Faculty & Staff Association