Please vote. That’s the message that ATA president Jason Schilling has for teachers following the release of a mediator’s recommendation and a province-wide series of information meetings.
Following several months of central table bargaining to determine new collective agreement terms that will apply to all teachers, an agreement proved impossible to reach, prompting the entering of informal mediation. The mediator released recommended terms in early May, and on June 2 the Association will hold the last of 13 member information meetings to inform members of the recommendation’s contents.
The next step is for teachers to vote whether to accept or reject the recommendation. An electronic vote will take place from June 5-8. It’s open to members employed by one of the province’s 61 public, separate or francophone school divisions.
“The ATA is a democratic organization, so it’s crucial that all teachers vote on this very important decision,” Schilling said.
The ATA’s Central Table Bargaining Committee relied on survey data and other feedback from teachers to create a list of priorities that it brought into the negotiation process, said committee chair Peter MacKay, district representative for North West.
“We advanced your priorities and fought hard for the things that matter to you, such as salary, class size and composition, and instructional and assignable time,” MacKay said, “however, the other side had its own convictions.”
Since the two sides were unable to reach an agreement, they entered into informal mediation in mid-April. “As we anticipated, the mediator pressed for compromises,” MacKay said. “Your team never abandoned the positions that mattered to you and brought into mediation the entire initial proposal, with nothing dropped,” MacKay added.
“However, the mediator felt he saw a place where an agreement could be reached and that is what he is recommending. Whether it becomes an agreement is entirely up to you.”
Online voting will take place via the ATA website at www.teachers.ab.ca.
Voting period: Sunday, June 5, 9 a.m. to Wednesday, June 8, 5 p.m.