October 6 - So it Begins - The Alberta Teacher Strike

[malcolmk14]

Letter of Understanding on class size the ATA submitted to TEBA early in the week: https://teachers.ab.ca/sites/default...2025_10_08.pdf

Province's "offer" of mediation without addressing class size or pupil:teacher ratio: https://teachers.ab.ca/sites/default..._Mediation.pdf

ATA response: https://teachers.ab.ca/sites/default...nse_Letter.pdf

[Torture]

Originally Posted by malcolmk14

Letter of Understanding on class size the ATA submitted to TEBA early in the week: https://teachers.ab.ca/sites/default...2025_10_08.pdf

Province's "offer" of mediation without addressing class size or pupil:teacher ratio: https://teachers.ab.ca/sites/default..._Mediation.pdf

ATA response: https://teachers.ab.ca/sites/default...nse_Letter.pdf

Not a teacher but have a child not yet in the school system. Glad to see the ATA is pushing so hard on class sizes. Also feels like a winning issue with the public.

[Point Blank]

“In any event, the mediator’s recommendations cannot provide for hard caps on classroom sizes or student-teacher ratios.”

Someone is not being cooperative and it’s not the teachers.

[Looch City]

Originally Posted by malcolmk14

Letter of Understanding on class size the ATA submitted to TEBA early in the week: https://teachers.ab.ca/sites/default...2025_10_08.pdf

Province's "offer" of mediation without addressing class size or pupil:teacher ratio: https://teachers.ab.ca/sites/default..._Mediation.pdf

ATA response: https://teachers.ab.ca/sites/default...nse_Letter.pdf

That basically nullifies all of Smith/UCP's earlier arguments that they just "don't know" what the teachers and ATA want. It's clear and laid out in specific numbers.

Lol, seriously, go #### yourselves. Hard.

[Torture]

Originally Posted by Looch City

That basically nullifies all of Smith/UCP's earlier arguments that they just "don't know" what the teachers and ATA want. It's clear and laid out in specific numbers.

Lol, seriously, go #### yourselves. Hard.

And the ATA proposal looks entirely reasonable with a phased approach to reasonable classroom sizes. What parent wouldn't support that?

[MegaErtz]

Why would the government negotiate in good faith when they can just legislate the teachers back to work? That's a huge weapon to bring to the bargaining table. The ATA should make it clear now that they will defy a back to work order. If they are not willing to do that, they're just costing their own members unpaid time off for the three weeks of work they'll have been on strike for.

[ooogabooga]

Originally Posted by Torture

And the ATA proposal looks entirely reasonable with a phased approach to reasonable classroom sizes. What parent wouldn't support that?

I acknowledge my bias, as my wife is currently in the final phases of completing her education degree to teach in the schools. Also with 2 kids (who have IPP's and learning disabilities and are coded as such) in the system currently and not able to access the supports they need in school. In my daughter's case she's in grade 9 and uses a wheelchair frequently due to a physical disability we've tried to say hey she needs some accommodations in Phys Ed, and the response is well there is 40 kids in her gym class, and 40+ kids in each other gym class so not much we can do other than let her go to the office and write papers instead. If the school was able to actually hire more support staff, maybe she could actually participate in Phys ed with the appropriate accommodations. But if I try to hide my bias, I'm not seeing anything there in the teachers offer on classroom complexities that is unreasonable. Only thing that seems unreasonable is that seemingly the Government is refusing to even look at or, respond to it. It comes across that they're just like well we don't really care, would prefer your kids are in private schools, and we'll just force them back to work. I did enjoy the "strong and free" reference in the ATA's reply though!

[CFO]

Originally Posted by The Fisher Account

Because unpaid overtime by teachers is the backbone of the education system.

Can you imagine how much we’d be paying teachers if we compensated them for all the hours they ACTUALLY work?

Hahahaha

[kootenayguy9]

As a Social Studies teacher, I see these letters as clear examples of democratic action. Teachers are exercising their collective rights to stand up for fair conditions that affect learning. The TALIS data showing Alberta’s high teacher stress and workload highlights why this matters! This isn’t about walking away from students it’s about ensuring classrooms remain places where both teachers and learners can succeed.

[Antithesis]

As a public educator for 2 decades, and a school-based administrator for 10 years, I took it upon myself to investigate spending trends on K-12 public education in Canada to try to make sense of our current bargaining environment. Obviously, I am no data expert, so I am ready to be corrected on the numbers below.

I have found the following publicly available information:

Alberta has budgeted $9.9 Billion for K-12 public education for the 2024-25 school year, per the Alberta Government here: https://www.alberta.ca/budget-highlights. With a widely-agreed student count of 750,000 K-12 students in Alberta, this leads to a per-student funding level of approximately $13,200, which is fairly close (napkin math, at least) to Fraser Institute numbers for 2022-23 of $13,494, found here: https://www.fraserinstitute.org/stud...in-canada-2025 and in the full report, here: https://www.fraserinstitute.org/site...anada-2025.pdf.

The government argues that the most recent proposal by the ATA would require $4.6 Billion in additional funding over a four year period, per from Finance Minister Nate Horner here: https://globalnews.ca/news/11479253/...cewide-strike/ and the Finance Ministry, here: https://calgaryherald.com/news/teach...eachers-strike.

Assuming that the additional funding required by agreeing in full to the ATA’s most recent proposal is divided equally, this would lead to a $1.15 Billion addition to the current budget, leading to expenditures of $11.05 Billion for the 2024-25 school year. This leads to a revised per-student funding level of $14,733.

Per the Fraser Institute study quoted earlier, Newfoundland spent the second-least per-student in Canada in 2022-23 at $14,190. While I could not find per-student funding for 2024-25 in Newfoundland, the government increased funding by $40 Million for this school year, per https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfo...eact-1.7507138, increasing the education budget to at least $949 Million using numbers from the Fraser Institute study (pages 3 and 5). This is an increase of 4.4%, with the enrolment in K-12 schools in Newfoundland being relatively stagnant (page 5, Fraser Institute). An estimate for 2024-25 per-student funding in Newfoundland would then be $14,814.

So, even if the government agreed in full to the ATA’s most recent proposal, Alberta would still fund our students the least in Canada on a per-student basis. We would fund each student $400 less in 2024-25 than what 8th-place BC funded in 2022-23, or approximately $1900 less than the national average in 2022-23.

Obviously, this is inexact and very back-of-napkin math, but (obvious bias aside), this seems to match the request for a “... realistic and fair proposal from the Alberta Teachers’ Association” that Premier Smith says she is looking for (https://calgaryherald.com/news/ata-p...return-to-work). Though, it does leave me thinking - should we be satisfied with simply closing the gap between us and 9th place a little?

[The Fisher Account]

Originally Posted by CFO

Hahahaha

Why is this funny?

[Point Blank]

Originally Posted by The Fisher Account

Why is this funny?

Don’t ask. It’s not worth it.

[GullFoss]

Serious question: what professionals actually get paid for overtime outside of nursing?

I've had a career spanning the public and private sector and have never been paid overtime. If I have to work a stat holiday, Ive gotten time-and-a-half in lieu. But I don't think I've worked a job that Averages less than 45 hours a week since entering the professional field (and the lower number was when working for the government).

[Antithesis]

Originally Posted by GullFoss

Serious question: what professionals actually get paid for overtime outside of nursing?

I've had a career spanning the public and private sector and have never been paid overtime. If I have to work a stat holiday, Ive gotten time-and-a-half in lieu. But I don't think I've worked a job that Averages less than 45 hours a week since entering the professional field (and the lower number was when working for the government).

I see your point here, though I'd make a small revision to the topic at hand. Technically speaking, those extracurricular activities that add so much to a school community such as clubs, sports, etc, are not the work of teachers and rather represent volunteer hours they put in. That's the reality of how teachers are compensated in Alberta.

So while this might not be pertinent to the discussion or the point you were responding to, what I am expect from our current environment is that the antipathy from the government and the pressures on mental health reported by teachers in the recently-released TALIS survey will lead to teachers withdrawing these volunteer opportunities. Barring real change, I have to say I'd understand it. But it would be a real shame.

[Jiri Hrdina]

Are my tax dollars paying for these BS ads from the government promoting their offer?

[MegaErtz]

Originally Posted by GullFoss

Serious question: what professionals actually get paid for overtime outside of nursing?

I've had a career spanning the public and private sector and have never been paid overtime. If I have to work a stat holiday, Ive gotten time-and-a-half in lieu. But I don't think I've worked a job that Averages less than 45 hours a week since entering the professional field (and the lower number was when working for the government).

I've worked government and private sector jobs, and never ONCE have I not been paid overtime for working overtime. No pay? No work. Simple as that. I'm blown away that teachers give away their time to volunteer to coach sports and supervise clubs.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by MegaErtz

I've worked government and private sector jobs, and never ONCE have I not been paid overtime for working overtime. No pay? No work. Simple as that. I'm blown away that teachers give away their time to volunteer to coach sports and supervise clubs.

I'm not. They do it because I suspect it's something they enjoy.

[Point Blank]

If we get legislated back to work, my guess is teachers will withdraw from all extracurriculars. I can’t tell you how big of a load that takes off the teachers’ shoulders.

Coaching a sport isn’t just showing up and running practice and games. It’s completing acknowledgement of risk forms, designing and ordering team gear, calculating expenses, writing parent correspondence material, arranging rides, etc.

I coached basketball for 2 years and it was an extra 90 minutes every day for practice, and then staying at work until 9pm once a week for games for 5 months. 2 tournaments means 4 weekend days completely gone. That’s on top of spending 2-4 hours a week marking and planning. These are all unpaid that teachers do because they want to provide the best experiences for students.

[Arsenal14]

Originally Posted by Point Blank

If we get legislated back to work, my guess is teachers will withdraw from all extracurriculars. I can’t tell you how big of a load that takes off the teachers’ shoulders.

Coaching a sport isn’t just showing up and running practice and games. It’s completing acknowledgement of risk forms, designing and ordering team gear, calculating expenses, writing parent correspondence material, arranging rides, etc.

I coached basketball for 2 years and it was an extra 90 minutes every day for practice, and then staying at work until 9pm once a week for games for 5 months. 2 tournaments means 4 weekend days completely gone. That’s on top of spending 2-4 hours a week marking and planning. These are all unpaid that teachers do because they want to provide the best experiences for students.

Don't forget - the teacher stays until the last student is picked up. So when a parent is "running late" that teacher is stuck at the school. It's shocking how often that happens.

[malcolmk14]

$3.68 per day per student is what the government refuses to do.

$500 million sounds like a lot but it’s less than 4 bucks a day per kid. That’s where they’re drawing the line.