Members of the Alberta Teacher's Association have voted to accept a mediator's recommendation by a slim margin.
A total of 23,101 votes were cast between June 5 and June 8. Just over half - 51.1 per cent - voted yes, while 48.3 per cent voted no. The association represents 46,000 teachers in the province, according to its website.
“The results clearly show that this offer is the absolute minimum that teachers were willing to accept," president Jason Schilling said in a statement Thursday. "We spent the last four weeks travelling around the province, hosting online sessions and listening to teachers. They told us, regardless of which way they were voting, that they have significant concerns about classroom conditions that simply must be addressed. They have concerns with the way teachers, the profession and our students have been treated by this government and previous governments. As the provincial election draws near, teachers will use public advocacy and political action to press for much needed and long-overdue improvements.”
ATA lead bargainer Sean Brown agreed, saying, "future bargaining must address their priorities like class size and composition."
The ATA did not issue a statement ahead of the vote indicating preference for either side, but encouraged teachers to vote.
"The ATA is a democratic organization, so it's crucial that all teachers vote on this very important decision," Schilling said in a June 2 press release.
After months of central table bargaining for a new collective agreement for all teachers was unsuccessful, an informal mediation began.
According to the ATA, the recommended terms were released in May. The organization then held 13 information sessions for members to get up to speed on the terms suggested by the mediator.
In order for the recommendation to become an agreement, the Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association (TEBA) also needs to conduct a vote. If it votes in favour of accepting the mediator's recommendations they will be added to the 61 collective agreements for teachers and school boards in the province.
There will not be additional comments from the ATA and its representatives until after the TEBA vote.
It is expected that the government will front the cost of the agreement if it is ratified by TEBA. This will ensure those funds are not being taken away from classrooms.
