Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) officials met in mid-May with representatives of the government and school board bargaining team to exchange opening proposals for the next round of central table bargaining.
The ATA’s finalized opening proposal is the result of months of work and consultations with teachers, which included surveys, focus groups, a telephone townhall, the collective bargaining conference and three member webinars. Now that the initial proposal has been shared with the Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association (TEBA), teachers are able to view the finalized version by clicking on Collective Bargaining Updates on the ATA home page at teachers.ab.ca.
Central Table Bargaining Committee (CTBC) chair Peter MacKay offered his thanks to members in a Members’ Update email sent after the exchange of proposals.
“We appreciated receiving all of your input and feedback on the draft initial proposal,” wrote MacKay. “The streamlined proposal focuses on your key priorities — classroom conditions, improvements to salary and key working conditions.”
At its May 9–10 meeting, Provincial Executive Council discussed the feedback received on the draft proposal previously shared with members, made some adjustments to it and voted to approve the final version to take to the bargaining table.
“The bargaining team will not be able to achieve everything in this proposal,” said ATA chief negotiator Sean Brown. “We will achieve as much as we can, whether that is a settlement offer or mediator’s recommendations, and then it will be up to you to decide if it is enough to reach a settlement.”
Brown says the proposals are now up for discussion, debate and negotiation at the bargaining table. TEBA will bring forward its own proposals and they will push back on CTBC’s positions. A final agreement will only be possible if both sides are able to move off from their opening positions in order to work towards a settlement.
The first day for negotiations is set for June 7. Teachers are encouraged to wear Red for Ed on that day in order to show support for the bargaining team and its objectives. Brown says updates will be provided after each day of bargaining as the process unfolds. ❚
