Alberta taxpayers should not have to bankroll striking teachers

Strike pay is the union’s responsibility. Covering lost wages through signing bonuses is a tactic taxpayers can’t afford

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For years, unions have told their members to “tough it out” on the picket line because a government signing bonus would cover lost wages.

That expectation puts the cost of the strike on the backs of taxpayers rather than where it belongs, on the unions.

Which is why Alberta Premier Danielle Smith needs to make it clear to the Alberta teachers’ union that taxpayers will not be spending money on a signing bonus.

Taxpayers expect teachers to be at work with schools open. If teachers refuse to go to work, they shouldn’t get paid by taxpayers. Why the union lacks a proper strike fund is anyone’s guess. But that’s the union’s problem, not the public’s.

Smith can look to what happened in Ottawa for inspiration.

Former prime minister Justin Trudeau required federal taxpayers to cover the costs of a strike by a major public sector union.

In 2023, Public Service Alliance of Canada union leaders negotiated about $300 million in lump-sum “signing bonuses,” paid for by taxpayers. Each employee received around $2,500, which conveniently matched the estimated $2,300 in lost wages from the eight days they were on strike. In effect, taxpayers were forced to subsidize the picket line.

After Ottawa’s mistake, Smith needs to make sure that doesn’t happen in Alberta.

In an interesting switch, Prime Minister Mark Carney isn’t letting that happen with Canada Post employees.

Canada Post has reportedly taken the option for a contract signing bonus off the table during its negotiations with the striking members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.

If an effectively insolvent federal Crown corporation under Carney’s government can refuse a signing bonus for CUPW in Ottawa, Smith can stand firm on no signing bonuses for striking Alberta teachers.

More than 50,000 teachers are on strike for the first time in 23 years, throwing about 700,000 kids out of their classrooms and sending parents scrambling for child care and tutors.

Smith said if the teachers had accepted her government’s latest offer, it would have made them the highest-paid teachers in Western Canada.

A new teacher would start at about $71,000 per year, according to the rejected offer. That’s the average salary for a worker in Alberta, which includes everyone from brain surgeons to fast-food employees. New Alberta teachers would start their careers there.

Teachers also receive benefits, holidays and solid job security.

A teacher with seven years on the job would be paid more than $100,000 per year under the rejected deal.

Smith was also pledging to hire 3,000 more teachers and 1,500 classroom assistants.

But the Alberta Teachers’ Association rejected that offer with 89.5 per cent of the vote.

Alberta is on track to have $84.3 billion in debt this year, with interest costs of $3 billion for taxpayers. There is no more room for giveaways.

Smith did the right thing when she told parents they would get their money back while their children are locked out of school during the teachers’ strike.

Now she needs to tell the Alberta teachers’ union leadership that there is no signing bonus on the table.

While missing entire paycheques might not be a big deal for older teachers with 30 years on the job and their houses paid off, for the 26-year-old teacher staring down a big new mortgage payment, having zero cash flow is a serious problem.

Those teachers who can’t go weeks with no pay should be asking their union leaders some hard questions about how they’re going to cover their bills.

Because here’s something Smith needs to make clear: taxpayers shouldn’t be paying for picketing.

Kris Sims is the Alberta director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.