The Alberta government issued an Order Paper on Thursday, highlighting that it will table legislation on Monday to force striking teachers back to work.
The teachers and their union are nothing but greedy ndpers. They think they should have the power, the cake, and eat it too. It's way past time to slap these greedy unions down.
These negotiations should be held like a Flower Market system: every proposal/contract offer after the first one should promise less money and then we will see the teachers, not the union bosses, flinch.
All of these unions are such a joke… not only do they make you pay union dues, (which do nothing but make the heads of the unions filthy rich), they are completely political and totally unnecessary.
We have Labour Laws to protect the rights and the safety of workers. Not only that, like the Teachers Union, they’re clearly not interested in getting the teachers and the students back to school by negotiating in good faith. The government offered them a very fair, generous solution, but for these union reps. it’s not about that! These unions are represented by leftist activist leadership, who are NOT there to negotiate, but to score political points and they don’t care if the parents or teachers that they are supposed to represent, don’t like it.
Is English even required to be a student? Seems we have a lot of people who can't even speak the language to start with. Massive failures from Ottawa/UN policy. Time to go our own way.
Riddle me this. New York and Florida have approximately the same size population and it is similarly diverse yet Florida spends about half as much per student as does New York and yet gets better student outcomes. So where's all the money going?
I would like to comment as a teacher in the public system.
If Premier Danielle Smith truly wanted the same things as teachers, there would be no strike. We’ve been negotiating for over a year, but she refuses to even discuss class size caps or supports for student complexities — our top priorities.
Alberta has the lowest per-student funding in Canada, and our classrooms are overcrowded without the support needed. Last week, teachers presented a reasonable proposal to start addressing these issues, but the government refused to discuss it — no counteroffer, nothing.
Promises of 3,000 new teachers and 1,500 EAs aren’t written into our contract and could disappear anytime. Even if fulfilled, that number spread across the entire province over 4 years would have minimal impact — amounting to less than half a teacher per school.
The reality is that without contractual class size caps and proper supports for complex student needs, conditions in classrooms will continue to deteriorate. Teachers have been asking for over a year — we just want the resources our kids deserve.
I appreciate your opinion, but just because the Premier doesn’t have the same position as the union, does not necessarily make that position wrong.
If the teachers union actually cared about the needs and requirements of the teachers, they would be diligently working to facilitate solutions in good faith, that would support the teachers( and students), which means negotiating in a reasonable, FISCALLY responsible manner, with respect to the provincial deficit and taxpayers, who fundamentally pay for everything.
The UCP government would’ve given teachers salaries that would’ve made them the highest paid in the country. Maybe the teachers could take a salary cut and put that money back into the educational system to provide for extra student supports instead?
Many of the issues presented (class sizes and complexity, for example) are matters for the school board and profession, rather than the government, to address. Class size caps are an overly simplistic solution to a complex problem. BC tried and abandoned that as unworkable several years ago. Don’t expect government to solve problems that can be solved locally. As an example, budgeting allocations should begin with staffing classrooms for student success and not “what’s left over” after other priorities are funded. Have you noticed the growth of “central office” (administrative) roles which have less positive impact on learning than the quality of classroom instruction? Does professional development focus on equipping teachers to manage complex classrooms? If that’s the most significant challenge it would seem to require the most intensive training support. Do you know any profession that hasn’t experienced increasing complexity in the last two decades? Those questions are not meant to suggest a lack of concern or care for teachers, but to ask fundamental questions necessary to effect change besides “more money, please”.
My daughter is a teacher and wants to go back to school for our children’s sake. The union is the problem, not all the teachers. They are also not “NDP” as one comment said. My daughter will be burned out in about 5 years if she keeps up the rate she’s going now. The gvmt’s 3 years is too long. The good & experienced teachers are all leaving due to burnout.
If you want to save PUBLIC EDUCATION . . . GET RID OF THE UNIONS. GET RID OF THE A.T.A.
The students are the very last on the list of their concerns.
💯
This
The teachers and their union are nothing but greedy ndpers. They think they should have the power, the cake, and eat it too. It's way past time to slap these greedy unions down.
You mean have the power, eat all the cake and tell everyone else to get used to it.
Yes,, your correct. My mistake.
These negotiations should be held like a Flower Market system: every proposal/contract offer after the first one should promise less money and then we will see the teachers, not the union bosses, flinch.
A hundred years of Teachers unions and declining quality of education.
SO TRUE!
All of these unions are such a joke… not only do they make you pay union dues, (which do nothing but make the heads of the unions filthy rich), they are completely political and totally unnecessary.
We have Labour Laws to protect the rights and the safety of workers. Not only that, like the Teachers Union, they’re clearly not interested in getting the teachers and the students back to school by negotiating in good faith. The government offered them a very fair, generous solution, but for these union reps. it’s not about that! These unions are represented by leftist activist leadership, who are NOT there to negotiate, but to score political points and they don’t care if the parents or teachers that they are supposed to represent, don’t like it.
Is English even required to be a student? Seems we have a lot of people who can't even speak the language to start with. Massive failures from Ottawa/UN policy. Time to go our own way.
Better sack that "demon," though. I doubt anyone wants that in a classroom.
Nor should the demon’s spawn be in any child’s classroom
Riddle me this. New York and Florida have approximately the same size population and it is similarly diverse yet Florida spends about half as much per student as does New York and yet gets better student outcomes. So where's all the money going?
I suggest a new legislation that teacher can strike only in the summer when no students are impacted.
I would like to comment as a teacher in the public system.
If Premier Danielle Smith truly wanted the same things as teachers, there would be no strike. We’ve been negotiating for over a year, but she refuses to even discuss class size caps or supports for student complexities — our top priorities.
Alberta has the lowest per-student funding in Canada, and our classrooms are overcrowded without the support needed. Last week, teachers presented a reasonable proposal to start addressing these issues, but the government refused to discuss it — no counteroffer, nothing.
Promises of 3,000 new teachers and 1,500 EAs aren’t written into our contract and could disappear anytime. Even if fulfilled, that number spread across the entire province over 4 years would have minimal impact — amounting to less than half a teacher per school.
The reality is that without contractual class size caps and proper supports for complex student needs, conditions in classrooms will continue to deteriorate. Teachers have been asking for over a year — we just want the resources our kids deserve.
I appreciate your opinion, but just because the Premier doesn’t have the same position as the union, does not necessarily make that position wrong.
If the teachers union actually cared about the needs and requirements of the teachers, they would be diligently working to facilitate solutions in good faith, that would support the teachers( and students), which means negotiating in a reasonable, FISCALLY responsible manner, with respect to the provincial deficit and taxpayers, who fundamentally pay for everything.
The UCP government would’ve given teachers salaries that would’ve made them the highest paid in the country. Maybe the teachers could take a salary cut and put that money back into the educational system to provide for extra student supports instead?
Many of the issues presented (class sizes and complexity, for example) are matters for the school board and profession, rather than the government, to address. Class size caps are an overly simplistic solution to a complex problem. BC tried and abandoned that as unworkable several years ago. Don’t expect government to solve problems that can be solved locally. As an example, budgeting allocations should begin with staffing classrooms for student success and not “what’s left over” after other priorities are funded. Have you noticed the growth of “central office” (administrative) roles which have less positive impact on learning than the quality of classroom instruction? Does professional development focus on equipping teachers to manage complex classrooms? If that’s the most significant challenge it would seem to require the most intensive training support. Do you know any profession that hasn’t experienced increasing complexity in the last two decades? Those questions are not meant to suggest a lack of concern or care for teachers, but to ask fundamental questions necessary to effect change besides “more money, please”.
Thank you for telling your side of the story. Based on reading this one-sided article, no one would have a clue about it.
My daughter is a teacher and wants to go back to school for our children’s sake. The union is the problem, not all the teachers. They are also not “NDP” as one comment said. My daughter will be burned out in about 5 years if she keeps up the rate she’s going now. The gvmt’s 3 years is too long. The good & experienced teachers are all leaving due to burnout.
Ok, but today, Friday the 24th would perhaps have been better. Would have given teachers time to prepare and parents and students earlier relief.