The Alberta Teachers’ Association

ATA 101 is a feature series aimed at informing members, both new and experienced, about various aspects of the Alberta Teachers’ Association.

This instalment explains the basics of the three-stage bargaining process employed to negotiate teacher collective agreements. Watch for additional instalments in upcoming issues of the ATA News.

All teachers employed by public, separate and francophone school jurisdictions in Alberta are covered by collective agreements. (This includes teachers with administrative designations.) The Alberta Teachers’ Association is the bargaining agent for these teachers. The process for negotiating new collective agreements for these teachers is set out in the Public Education Collective Bargaining Act (PECBA), passed in December 2015. As prescribed by PECBA, bargaining takes place in three stages.

The negotiation of teacher collective agreements takes place in three stages. 

1. LIST BARGAINING

Negotiation on the assignment of matters to central and local bargaining

RESULTS IN TWO LISTS

1. Matters to be bargained centrally
2. Matters to be bargained locally

Matters to be negotiated come from teachers through the ATA and from the government and school boards through the Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association.

PARTICIPANTS

• ATA’s Central Table Bargaining Committee (CTBC)
• Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association (TEBA)

2. CENTRAL TABLE BARGAINING

Negotiation on matters assigned to central bargaining

RESULTS IN A CENTRAL TABLE AGREEMENT

• Is incorporated into all 61 local collective agreements
• Requires provincewide ratification from teachers and TEBA members

PARTICIPANTS

• CTBC
• TEBA

3. LOCAL BARGAINING

Negotiation on matters assigned to local bargaining

RESULTS IN A LOCAL AGREEMENT

• Requires ratification by bargaining unit and school board(s)

PARTICIPANTS

• ATA on behalf of individual bargaining units
• Individual school boards

As bargaining proceeds, the
ATA shares information and gathers feedback from members through a variety of methods, including telephone town halls, the Bargainers’ Blog and webcasts.

GETTING PAST DISAGREEMENT

If agreement cannot be reached on items being negotiated at a central or local table, either party may apply to have a government-appointed mediator come to the table to help.

The mediator may help the parties reach a negotiated agreement, write a recommendation for settlement or determine that the two parties are too far apart to reach a settlement. If the parties are too far apart, the mediator would “write out” of the dispute. 

At this point, after a 14-day cooling off period, either side can move toward job action (a strike or lockout). A negotiated agreement can occur at any time while strike or lockout votes are taking place.

WHO HAS A SEAT AT THE TABLE?

WHO SITS AT THE CENTRAL TABLE?

Central Table Bargaining Committee
The ATA’s CTBC comprises five members of Provincial Executive Council, the executive secretary (or designate) and the associate co-ordinator of collective bargaining.

Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association
TEBA includes representatives of government and school boards.

WHO SITS AT THE LOCAL TABLES?

Teacher Welfare Committee
Each local teacher welfare committee (formerly economic policy committee) has a negotiating subcommittee to represent teachers at the local table, along with an executive staff officer assigned by the ATA to act as representative of the bargaining agent.

School Board Negotiation Committee
School boards appoint their own negotiation committees.

WHERE ARE WE NOW?

2020 NEGOTIATIONS

• Central table bargaining is underway.