More Alberta education support workers could join their colleagues on the picket line, as five more Canadian Union of Provincial Employee (CUPE) locals representing over 2,000 employees have voted in favour of strike action.
The groups include more than 1,100 custodial and maintenance employees in the two Calgary school divisions, as well as more than 1,200 educational assistants and support staff in Black Gold School Division, Foothills School Division and Parkland School Division. Rory Gill, CUPE Alberta president, says in a statement that the vote results should not come as a surprise to the government.
“We’ve been telling the government that if they don’t address the funding problems in our classrooms, the strikes will expand,” said Gill. “They did not address the funding problems, and now the strikes will expand.”
Support for job action among the groups was generally high, ranging from 82 per cent to 95 per cent in favour of a strike. The union would provide 72 hours notice before engaging in any job action. As of Feb. 13, no notice had been given.
The prospect of job action comes as more than 4,000 education support workers continue to strike in Fort McMurray and Edmonton. In Edmonton, workers have been striking since Jan. 13; Fort McMurray workers began rotating job action in November and expanded that to a full strike in early January.
On Feb. 11, a joint statement from Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board Nate Horner and Minister of Education Demetrios Nicolaides was released that accused CUPE National of interfering in local bargaining between school boards and CUPE locals.
“Alberta’s government and school boards have shown up to the table to find a path forward, but CUPE National leaders clearly have ulterior motives that are not in the best interests of their members or Alberta students,” the statement reads.
CUPE Alberta responded through a statement of their own, saying the province’s joint statement was “full of falsehoods and baseless attacks.”
“Alberta has the lowest per-capita education funding in Canada,” Gill’s statement says, “Instead of engaging in smear campaigns, the government should come to the table and address the issues that their lack of funding has provided.”
CUPE Alberta’s statement further suggests that the government is trying to draw attention away from the possible expansion of education worker strikes and from polling data CUPE shared that indicates a high level of support for striking education workers.
“The public understands that these job actions are happening because the Alberta government has not addressed the poor wages of school support workers,” says Gill. “Albertans understand that education workers have to stand up for students and education. Parents and others are cheering them on and joining them.” ❚
On strike since Jan. 13, members of CUPE Local 3550 (Edmonton Public Schools employees) remain on the picket line in front of Ross Sheppard School.
