Local teachers rejected the province’s proposed four-year deal solely because they would prefer to negotiate an agreement with their own board and not for any other reason, their representatives said Thursday.
Martin Balog, economic policy committee and negotiating sub-committee chair for Alberta Teachers Association Local 73, said no concerns about salary or class size influenced the vote.
“We actually specifically pointed out that none of that was an issue,” Balog said. “We’re not out for anything. We just philosophically don’t like the provincial model. It’s a huge, huge thing in our local.”
The approximately 450 St. Albert Public School teachers that make up the local became the first in Alberta Tuesday to reject the province’s four-year deal. As proposed, the deal would freeze all teacher salaries for the first three years of the four-year deal, and increase salaries by two per cent in year four.
But there is no consensus on what this vote might mean for local teachers as every bargaining unit in Alberta has until May 13 to vote on the deal and share the outcome with provincial education minister Jeff Johnson.
“There is still an awful lot that has to happen and the minister has made it clear he wants to hear from everybody before we determine what the next steps might be,” said Kim Capstick, Johnson’s press secretary. “We are seeing a lot of positive momentum.”
Even Carol Henderson, president of the ATA, said the union was taking a wait-and-see approach at the provincial level.
“We will continue getting out to all our teachers and after we’re finished – there might be others that turn it down, we don’t know – we will work with the minister on what we can do,” Henderson said.
Both Henderson and Balog made it clear what won’t be welcomed is a legislated solution on any locals that do not approve the deal, such as enforcing the provincial agreement despite the no vote.
“We would not support that,” said Henderson. “We don’t believe in legislated settlements. We believe it is far better to sit down and negotiate an agreement. It’s much better for the work we hope to carry on to the minister.”
Balog was insistent such an outcome would not be received warmly.
“That kind of pushes a lot of buttons in a democracy that you don’t want to push,” Balog said. “Canada is founded on a democracy, on democratic ideas and principles and any time an elected official … needs to resort to dictatorial-like powers to enforce their will, you have now taken away the definition of democracy in that area.”
To date 26 of 62 locals and 45 school boards have voted to support the province’s deal. Only one board to date – the Calgary Board of Education – has voted down the deal.
The province’s proposal came only after Premier Alison Redford intervened directly in talks between the ministry and teachers.
Joan Trettler, chair for St. Albert Public Schools, said the board also doesn’t know what the next step will be, but noted it too supports local bargaining.
“Of course our board for a long time has been in favour of local bargaining,” Trettler said. “It has sort of been taken out of our hands the last few years.”
The board is scheduled to vote on the province’s deal May 8.
Local 23, which represents the city’s approximately 400 Catholic district teachers, will hold its vote on Thursday. The board of Greater St. Albert Catholic Schools will vote on the agreement at its May 6 meeting.
Sean Brown, president of local 23, wouldn’t given any indication on how he expects the vote to go in light of local 73’s vote.
“The teachers in St. Albert public voted the way they felt they needed to vote as it represents their points of view and the teachers across the province are doing the same,” Brown said.
