The Alberta Teachers’ Association

Responses will establish bargaining priorities; teachers urged to update contact information online

The Alberta Teachers’ Association is preparing to launch a provincewide survey of teachers to begin establishing priorities for the next round of central table bargaining. Sometime in late January or early February a unique link will be emailed to all teachers inviting them to participate in the survey — but those links will be sent only to non-employer supplied email addresses.

“All members should update their online profile to ensure they don’t miss this important opportunity,” said Jason Schilling, ATA vice-president and chair of the Association’s Central Table Bargaining Committee.

“It is our job to bring the voice of teachers to the table,” Schilling said. “We must hear from teachers about their professional conditions of practice and matters related to their compensation, work life and wellness.”

The bargaining committee has planned a thorough process of consultation with teachers in order to develop an opening position and bargaining priorities, Schilling said. He added that he’s eager to receive input from all members — teachers, administrators, substitutes and central office teachers.

“A teacher is a teacher regardless of the position they hold, but we want to capture a broad sampling of views and opinions so we go into bargaining with a comprehensive snapshot of the issues that teachers face,” Schilling said.

The Association has commissioned the firm Strategic Communications (Stratcom) to produce the survey and distribute it to members. The survey will take 15 to 30 minutes to complete and will include questions related to teacher compensation, benefits, leaves of absence, conditions of practice and other provisions contained in collective agreements. The survey will also ask specific questions about conditions of practice, including compensation for part-time and substitute teachers, and for administrators.

The members’ only Bargainers’ Blog will also be relaunched shortly in order to keep members informed of developments related to central table bargaining.

Schilling stressed the importance of teachers having a login for the ATA website and an up-to-date contact profile.

“We will use a variety of tools to communicate with members throughout the bargaining process, so it is essential that we have the best contact information. If we don’t have your current personal email address then you won’t get the survey,” Schilling said.

Members are urged to update their contact information before Jan. 22 by visiting profile.teachers.ab.ca.