Districts, ATA mum on possible teacher strike
By Lethbridge Herald on June 7, 2025.
Alejandra Pulido-Guzman
Lethbridge Herald
Parents will have to wait until Sunday night for the results of a weekend strike vote Alberta Teachers Association to know what will happen with their children if teachers across the province decide to strike.
In a statement from the ATA, communications officer Heather Grant said that, since members are currently in collective bargaining, teachers across the province who are employed by public, separate or francophone school boards are taking part in the strike vote.
“If teachers vote in favour of a strike, the Association’s Provincial Executive Council will then determine the details of any possible strike action.”
She adds that in the event of a yes vote, the ATA would then have 120 days to initiate job action and must give 72 hours notice beforehand.
“At any point during this process, an acceptable resolution may be reached with the bargaining association of the province’s school boards.”
The strike vote comes after a strike authorization vote received a 99 per cent support from teachers last month. On May 27, the Alberta Teachers Association announced on its website that nearly 38,000 teachers cast online ballots between May 22 and 26.
And now teachers across the province have the opportunity to cast a strike vote until Sunday at 5 p.m.
The Lethbridge School Division and the Holy Spirit Catholic School Division were not willing to comment on a potential strike Friday as they await results of the vote.
10-9
Just like Ralph Klein did, the UCP has treated teachers in Alberta with disdain. We also haven’t recovered from Ralph Klein’s senseless cuts to the public education system in Alberta. Alberta provides the lowest amount of funding to the public education system in Canada. Conversely, Alberta provides the highest level of funding for charter schools, private schools, and other faith based schools that are outside of the public education system in this province, in all of Canada. The UCP also blew $8.6 billion on new school construction, most of which will be for schools that are outside of the public education system in Alberta, where people who are associated with these schools were lobbying the UCP for support. The UCP also created a school curriculum remake that has been rated very badly, by former Alberta PC education ministers, including ones who were teachers.
And just like that, the system wants the status quo. Shovel more money at it using the usual suspects. Certainly do not want any competition from charters or privates and certainly without a doubt, unequivocally any input from PARENTS.
Charter and private schools should not be funded with tax payer funds. Doing so takes away funding for public education and that is why our education system is crumbling. Let taxpayers decide when they pay taxes which school system their taxes should fund. Our govt should not be supporting private or religion based schools.
Anyone that wants any education for their children that is outside of the public education system in Alberta, has to pay for it out of their own pocket, or they can’t have it. Otherwise, what they are doing is robbing the already grossly underfunded public education system in Alberta to pay for their own special interests. Any MLA that advocates for using government funding for any schools that are outside of the public education system in Alberta, also must be fired.
charter and private schools should not receive any public funding. we have a public and a separate system of school options, as per our constitution. that is a fair enough pair of options. if neither of those are what one wants for their kids, then other option should be to foot cost of education oneself.
as for teachers and pay, they have been held to well below the cost of living for over 10 years. typically, the govt has been holding them to a gun – take little to nothing or expect to have your association attacked. unfortunately, teachers have simply rolled over to that threat. perhaps they are ready to stand up appropriately this time around.