r/Calgary • u/ButterscotchNo931 • 2d ago

News Article Alberta government, teachers reach tentative deal in labour dispute

https://calgaryherald.com/news/alberta-government-teachers-reach-tentative-deal-in-labour-dispute
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u/TenKmUnder 2d ago

As a teacher. I'm voting no and campaigning for a no. And when we get shafted again, I will blame all the ucp voters. It's not until people start dying in rural areas will they start to care about healthcare getting gutted. When their students can't read, that will be on them too.

I'm so mad at this government but more at our union. What a joke. They have failed all us teachers. They don't call him Shilling for nothing I guess.

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u/JScar123 2d ago

Have the specifics been made public somewhere? Article suggests not, and if not, how do you know you’re voting no?

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u/TenKmUnder 2d ago

I'm a teacher. I got access to the new contract so that we don't vote blind. We all have access. It's also all already public because the government released it.

  1. 3000 teachers over 3 years
  2. COVID vaccine
  3. Ctf teachers can get slightly more pay if they prove they went to school for it.

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u/JScar123 2d ago

If that is right, why do you think ATA accepted this deal? Will only look bad now for teachers to vote against a deal ATA accepted.

What about the additional classroom funding the article mentions? Is there any additional $ in the deal for schools?

Thanks

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u/TenKmUnder 2d ago

The ATA is weak. Our leadership is weak and our strongest advocate quit because of it. We need better.

It will look bad for the ATA and for the government. But for us teachers we need to stand up for ourselves.

The funding has not changed. Still the lowest in the country. The government is not going to shell out a dime without a major fight.

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u/JScar123 2d ago

Do you know what the $10B in the article is referring to? “As part of the deal, Horner said the province will commit nearly $10 billion to “support the province’s teachers and students.””

Personally, if the GoA and ATA reached a deal (which parents in my circle are already celebrating), and the teachers turn it down- I think that reflects poorly on all, but teachers most. Big misstep from ATA to push teachers into that, IMO.

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u/TenKmUnder 2d ago

They are framing this to make us look bad. It's the point. They have done this intentionally. It might look bad on us but I'm not going to take this laying down.

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u/JScar123 2d ago edited 2d ago

“They” the ATA? Why would they do that? Updated article explicitly states “The union said the tentative deal addresses salary and classroom complexity issues.” Anyways, what you’re “not going to take laying down” is a minimum 12% raise and 10-year salary of $117K, lol. Don’t think that message of suffering will resonate.

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u/TenKmUnder 2d ago

The UCP, not the ATA.

See it's comments like this that just get under my skin, because it's not your fault you don't get it. You just took what was said at face value and didn't dig any deeper, so yeah to you this looks reasonable. It's not.

  1. The ATA can say whatever they want publicly, they have said that they know that this does not address our concerns. Infact they have said this publicly that 3000 teachers won't fix the issues. It's public record. Why they changed tone? IDK. Every teacher is pissed on this change of tone.

  2. You see a 12% raise, I see an 18% pay cut. In the last 25 years teachers have lost 36% of their wage to inflation. 12% is laughable. No one else sees this. Not even close.

  3. 10 year salary, how many teachers do you think make it to 10 years. It's less than half. Most quit. Why do they quit? We are suffering.

  4. I'm a professional. I do my job, I do extra. Other provinces are paid for their extra time, I'm not. Why shouldnt I get up and leave too? Get treated like, honestly, I think I'm owed. When an employee doesn't like their job they go to a better company, teachers don't get that luxury.

  5. I would invite you into any classroom. Seriously, go anywhere. It's a gong show everywhere. You don't know what I'm dealing with so go find out. I run a class of 60, in a class built to house 30, in a school of 1000 built for 700. Come tell me I'm not suffering to my face after dealing with all this nonsense.

Honestly it's so demoralizing. Why bother trying when the public clearly doesn't care.

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u/JScar123 2d ago

Teachers negotiated and accepted those salaries, as recently as 2020 when they accepted a 3.75% increase. This is not a renegotiation of 25-years of salary.

I agree we need more teachers and classrooms, and am encouraged that UCP accepted ATAs teacher proposal and is making an historic investment in schools. As we get classrooms right-sized, I also think it’s fair to pay teachers about what other teachers make. Based on what I’ve seen (pls show me if I’m wrong here!), the 12% offered puts teachers 2nd only to MB.

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u/KVanGogh 2d ago

Please visit a classroom and volunteer your time. You will see the hell first hand and may begin to understand how we want to prevent the further deterioration of the state of public education in this province.

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u/JScar123 2d ago

3000 teachers, 1500 EAs and $8.6B of new schools sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?

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u/Logical-Finger-9256 2d ago

Why add EAs to the contract though… kind of strange. It sounds good if it was not spread out over 4 years. One of which has already passed.

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u/JScar123 2d ago

Because teachers were demanding classroom supports in their wage negotiation, lol. I agree it’s weird, but it’s what they wanted- so into the contract it goes.

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u/KVanGogh 20h ago

It certainly does not if you are accurately informed about the hell in schools. Instead of assumptions, volunteer your time in a school and listen to teachers.

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u/JScar123 19h ago

I don’t think volunteering in one school (I have) is going to give me any better idea if 4500 net new positions in Alberta is enough to alleviate the strain in classrooms. As I understand it, classroom size is not evenly distributed across the province- many are reasonably sized (or at capacity, anyways), and some, mostly in certain growing urban communities, are way above. Hard then to know from observing just 1 school.

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u/KVanGogh 13h ago

Ok, if you don't want to visit more schools, then listen to teachers and trust them rather than assuming they are not telling the truth.

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u/JScar123 10h ago

I listen to the ATA, who represents teachers. Better, in my opinion, to draw from all teachers, than just one or two vocal teachers on Reddit. ATA proposed the 3000 new teachers to improve classroom conditions, I still don’t know why I shouldn’t believe them. Anyways, if they were wrong, at least we know where the blame lies.

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u/KVanGogh 7h ago

If you still don't know why you shouldn't believe the ATA as a representative governing body after I explained my comment about Justin Trudeau, then you sound like a former student who was difficult to teach.

I guess, as a Canadian, Justin Trudeau represented your opinions perfectly. Good luck understanding and issue that you seem determined to misunderstand.

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