Sturgeon Public School teachers are gearing up for a strike over stalled contract talks.
On Nov. 24, members of the Alberta Teachers’ Association Sturgeon Local 27 voted 98 per cent in favour of a motion to authorize the ATA to request a government-supervised strike vote.
A Nov. 24 media release from the ATA said that Sturgeon Public teachers had been working without a finalized collective agreement since 2018.
“Sturgeon School Division and Sturgeon teachers have prided themselves in the past as having a good and trusting relationship, but this round of bargaining has strained that,” Sturgeon Local 27 president Sherri Devolder said in the release.
“Teachers are working exceptionally hard to keep schools operating and to continue providing outstanding education to kids during the pandemic. We are doing our best to serve this community and its families, but we don’t feel our efforts are recognized or respected.”
The release said talks had stalled over issues such as limits on administrator lieu time, wellness benefits, and limits on personal leave (such as absences to care for family members affected by the pandemic).
In an interview, Devolder said she could not discuss the details of what was in dispute due to the ongoing negotiations, but acknowledged that the pandemic had put additional stress on teachers.
Devolder said Sturgeon Public teachers expected their board to treat them the same as some 55 other Alberta school boards treated their employees, but that has not been the case.
“Our teachers are frustrated, and we have had a good relationship with our board in the past.”
The release said that a government-appointed mediator dropped out of the negotiations Nov. 5 after one day of talks, having concluded that the board and the union were too far apart to reach a mediated settlement. That left the two parties on their own to either hash out a deal or, after a two-week cooling-off period, move toward a strike or lockout.
The Nov. 24 vote means that the union can now ask the province’s Labour Relations Board for a government-supervised strike vote, which it generally authorizes so long as all procedures have been followed, said ATA spokesperson Jonathan Teghtmeyer. Local 27 has yet to decide if it will actually hold that vote. If it does, and it passes, Sturgeon Public teachers would be able to walk off the job with 72 hours' notice.
Devolder said it was too soon to say when, or if, the union would actually hold a strike vote, or what would happen if such a vote passed.
“A strike is a last resort,” she said, adding that the union hoped a deal could still be reached.
“Teachers want to be in front of kids. Teachers are passionate about teaching kids and building relationships and being in the classroom.”
When pressed on what parents should do in the face of a possible teachers’ strike, Devolder said they should write to their local MLA and share their concerns about education funding.
“If the government were to fund education properly, we wouldn't be here (in this situation),” she said.
Sturgeon Public board chair Terry Jewell said he was surprised that the union had went public with the results of its vote at this time, as the board and the union had previously agreed that they would issue a joint press release in the event of any actual strike or lockout.
“We’re still negotiating as far as we’re concerned,” he said.
“There is no strike at this point in time.”
Teachers’ strikes have been very rare in the St. Albert and Sturgeon region, the Gazette archives suggest. Sturgeon Public teachers came close to a strike in 2004, but ultimately settled. Greater St. Albert Catholic teachers joined some two-thirds of Alberta’s teachers for a strike in February 2002. Carol Kaup, who taught for Sturgeon Public on and off from 1969 to 2005, said she could not recall the board’s teachers ever having gone on strike.
Sturgeon Public employs about 312 full and part-time teachers in the Sturgeon County and St. Albert region, the ATA reports.
