After five months during which the actions of secondary teachers have been dictated by a 22member executive, ordinary teachers are, at last, being given a chance to have their say.
The revised Labour Court package, to be finalised today, will be put to a ballot of the ASTI's 17,000 members. The union is sensitive to the criticism that its failure to ballot members on the original Labour Court proposals was undemocratic. On radio yesterday, its general secretary, Charlie Lennon, appear to suggest that a fresh mandate from the staff-room was both necessary and desirable.
The Labour Court is also insisting on a ballot, which is standard practice in other cases.
Some ASTI hardliners object, saying teachers voted overwhelmingly for strike action several months ago. This is true. In a record turnout, almost 90 per cent endorsed a programme of graduated industrial action. But that was months ago. And the majority scarcely realised the dreadful consequences that would flow from the decision.
Let us consider some of the shocking consequences of the ASTI action.
The representatives of special needs students have been forced to appeal for an exemption for this most vulnerable of groups.
Yesterday, many teachers, especially in Dublin, were afraid to picket for fear of attack by unruly pupils. Less prosperous students have suffered as richer classmates crowded into expensive grind schools in record numbers. Less able students, more dependent on direct classroom teaching in the run-up to the exams, have lost over a dozen days.
Most secondary teachers - and the vast majority are hard-working, dedicated and professional - never thought it would come to this. Union members were reassured that the national pay deal, the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness, would collapse. They were assured that the INTO and, more especially, the TUI, would back their campaign.
The ASTI line was that Bertie Ahern would roll over once they unleashed the strike action and reached for their nuclear weapon - the threat to exams.
It has not worked out like that. The PPF has weathered several storms. And the other teaching unions are making their case to the benchmarking body established under the PPF.
The spate of strike actions merely has stiffened the resolve of the Government. The impact of the exam threat has been lessened by the Department of Education's success in recruiting more than 7,000 supervisors.
It is against this background that the ASTI will consider today's revised Labour Court package.
From its perspective, there is a lot wrong with the package, primarily the failure to give an up-front payment. The complex, nuanced nature of the document all seems a long way from the dizzy rhetoric about a 30 per cent pay increase.
Despite careful language, the bottom line of the Labour Court document is clear-cut: the ASTI must join the other teaching unions in the benchmarking process if it wants to secure a large-scale salary increase over and above the PPF.
The union is being offered its own representatives on the secretariat of the new benchmarking body, where the other teaching unions will also be represented. The plan here is to tilt the body away from the "pro-business" bias, criticised by Bernadine O'Sullivan, and towards a keener appreciation of the work of teachers.
One hardliner described this sop as offering "dressed up" bench marking. Others have referred to it as "benchmarking by the scenic route". There is some truth in both comments. But, at this stage, the ASTI has no other credible route towards the kind of payments benchmarking could deliver.
It, and the other teaching unions, are being offered a new process which could lead to payments for a range of activities such as supervision. Non-payment for this and a range of other non-teaching duties has been a contentious issue for years. On this front, the ASTI can justifiably claim some success. Their strategy has helped to sort it out.
So, what is the ordinary teacher to make of all this?
The hardliner said the Labour Court package was "rich in potential - but potential does not pay the bills". Teachers will be disappointed about the lack of an up-front payment. They would have liked some sweetener to compensate for all the flak they have taken, not least in the media.
But it may be that the ordinary teachers will say half a loaf is better than no bread. Better to settle now rather than risk more aggravation for students, parents and, not least, for teachers themselves.