Huge Crowd Turns Out to Support Hat Teachers as Strike Continues

Teachers, parents and students crowd the area around the Kin Coulee bandshell Wednesday afternoon in support of local and regional teachers currently on strike. (Photo Alex McCuaig)

A couple of thousand teachers, parents and students from Medicine Hat and across southeastern Alberta descended on Kin Coulee Park Wednesday for one of the biggest labour rallies in recent history in the city.

“This crowd is fantastic,” Jason Schilling, Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) president, told the Owl shortly before the event kicked off. “It shows support for teachers and, of course, students and public education.”

The turnout at the rally sends a message to government the public is backing teachers calls for improvements in the classrooms.

“It’s important that communities and people who support teachers are using their voices as well, telling the government that this chronic underfunding that we see in education needs to stop,” said Schilling.

Schilling noted the last teachers’ strike occurred in 2002 when school boards independently negotiated with teachers and which resulted in 20,000 educators hitting the picket line.

This time, it’s more than 50,000 teachers which collectively negotiate directly with the provincial government through the ATA.

“This is historic. This is the largest labour action in Alberta history,” said Schilling.

The ATA president refuted claims by the province that the last offer by the government would have made Alberta teachers the highest paid in Western Canada, noting BC’s teachers are currently without a new contract. In addition, Saskatchewan and Manitoba teacher contracts expire next year.

“I’m not sure where they got these mystery numbers to compare to Alberta salaries to other provinces when those other provinces haven’t come to a bargaining conclusion,” said Schilling. “It’s apples and raisins at this point.”

He reiterated the issue for teachers being classroom complexity increasing while funding for public education is decreasing.

As for Schilling’s message to parents either struggling to pay for childcare or whether they have the financial wherewithal to take time off work to care for their kids, he said he understands that job action comes with consequences.

“We want them to know we’re standing up for those kids, for their kids because they’re not getting their needs met at school and we’re seeing too many kids fall through the cracks,” he said. “We need that to stop.”

The strike is likely going to continue to at least until the Alberta Legislature returns to session, currently scheduled to the end of the month, and the government forces teachers back to work.

That is, unless a settlement is found in the meantime.

“Ultimately, a negotiated settlement would be best,” said Schilling.

Local Medicine Hat High School teacher, counsellor Leah Steiner would like to see but not without improvements to give local students the same benefits she had as a local student from kindergarten to Grade 12.

“I love being a teacher,” said Steiner.

But while Medicine Hat may have been able to escape the same burgeoning classroom sizes in larger cities over the years, that issue is becoming a local one.

“It’s happening here now too. I work at Medicine Hat High School and we currently have a class of 41 students,” said Steiner. “It’s too many, too big.”

And Steiner said having been a teacher for the past two decades, she’s seen the complexity of students’ needs in the city also increase.

“Teachers are the people who say, yes, give me another student, I’m happy to take them,” she said. “But now, enough is enough. We have to stop somewhere and now is time for change.”

Further local demonstrations are anticipated next week.