Update on List of All Matters, Survey and Mandate Creation

WORTH KNOWING

The Teachers’ Employer Bargaining Association (TEBA) and the Association have recently agreed on changes to the list of all matters (LAM) that came out of bargaining dates held in January and February. The final version of the LAM is available here. This completes the first phase of the central bargaining process.
 
The 2024 central table matters survey closed on March 1, 2024. The mandate creation process is now under way. It will culminate with Provincial Executive Council (PEC) creating and approving the initial proposal. The survey received 19,799 responses (14,679 complete, 4,893 partial and 227 disqualified responses). This is a significant increase in the response rate from the 2020 round of central table bargaining, where we saw about 16,000 responses between the two surveys. The Central Table Bargaining Committee (CTBC) has been hard at work analyzing the data from the responses. The main report from the survey tool generated a document of over 3,100 pages.
 
The next step in the mandate creation process is for the CTBC to review the information and determine whether what teachers said in the survey has been accurately articulated in the reports. This will be completed using several engagement opportunities. Below is a list of the initial opportunities.
 
1.   Telephone town hall (TTH) (Wednesday, March 20, 2024, 7:00 PM, for approximately one hour)—At this session, the draft goals and priorities gleaned from the survey will be shared with members in attendance. Members will have an opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback. More information about the TTH will be shared with members as soon as possible. Please save the date and the time.
 
2.   District representatives (DRs) and table officers—Once the draft goals and priorities are shared, members should provide feedback to their elected officials. PEC decides what is included in the initial proposal.
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3.   Teacher Welfare Committees (TWCs)—Once the draft is out next week, TWCs are welcome to use the document at their meetings to gather feedback. That feedback should be shared with the DRs and the Teacher Employment Services (TES) staff officer assigned to the bargaining unit.
 
4.   Focus groups—Respondents to the survey were asked if they wished to be included in a focus group to provide further feedback. Over 3,000 respondents indicated that they were interested in participating. While that number is too large to have a functioning group, we will connect with members who expressed interest to ensure that the group is as diverse and representative of Alberta’s teachers as possible. Those who did not previously sign up for focus groups through the survey will be given another opportunity to express interest during the TTH.
 
5.   Bargaining Advisory Committee (BAC)—The BAC, while not a decision-making body, comprises TWC chairs from each of the 61 bargaining units across the province and is used to provide feedback to the CTBC. At the Collective Bargaining Conference in April, the BAC will meet to review the feedback they have received and view potential draft language to be included in the initial proposal. The BAC is a direct link back to the CTBC from the field and provides the necessary context and perspectives from members.
 
6.   Webcasts—Using the feedback from previous engagement opportunities, the CTBC will hone and fine-tune potential initial proposal language and present it in webcasts, planned for later in April or early May. Members will have an opportunity to share their feedback on the draft language with their TWC chairs and members of PEC in advance of final approval of the initial proposal.
 
Members are encouraged to take advantage of the engagement opportunities that best meet their needs to ensure that their opinions are heard. Below is a timeline for the next steps in the central table negotiations.

WORTH SHARING
 
The list of all matters (LAM) is now finalized and is available here. Almost 20,000 members completed the central bargaining survey, and work is ongoing to analyze the results. Many engagement opportunities will be provided in the coming weeks and months to allow members to provide feedback. The first is a telephone town hall, scheduled for Wednesday, March 20, 2024, at 7:30 pm. More access information is coming soon, but members are encouraged to save the date. #WEAREAT