Alberta teachers have rejected a deal with the provincial government, paving the way for a province-wide strike beginning on Oct. 6.
Nearly 90 percent of the Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) members to cast a ballot voted against the tentative agreement offered by the province resulting in a “resounding and historical ‘no,’” ATA president Jason Schilling told reporters during a Sept. 29 press conference.
More than 43,000 of the 51,000 public, Catholic, and francophone teachers voted online between Sept. 27 and 29, with 89.5 percent rejecting the provincial offer and 10.5 percent voting to accept it.
Schilling said the union is open to further negotiations this week but teachers will be hitting the picket lines as of next week if a tentative agreement is not in place….