Edmonton Public Schools support staff issue strike notice
“Some support staff have gone 10 years without a cost-of-living wage,” said CUPE 3550 president Mandy Lamoureaux
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Educational assistants and support staff at Edmonton’s largest school board served strike notice on Thursday.
CUPE Local 3550 — representing over 3,000 educational support staff at Edmonton Public School Board — and CUPE Local 4625 — representing over 200 staff at the Sturgeon Public School Division — have both issued strike notices to their employers. They can strike as soon as next Monday.
CUPE 3550 president Mandy Lamoureaux said in a press release the union plans to “escalate job action” until the province addresses low wages in the sector.
“Some support staff have gone 10 years without a cost-of-living wage,” Lamoureux said.
“Many of our members work two to three jobs to earn a living wage.”
According to CUPE, the average educational support worker in Alberta earns $34,500 per year. Lamoureaux said there are 261 vacancies for support positions at EPSB, making up roughly 10 per cent of all positions.
CUPE Local 4625 president Kelly Salisbury said it was a “hard decision” to vote to strike but it ultimately boiled down to protecting education in the province.
Edmonton public says they’re ‘disappointed’
In a statement to Postmedia, Edmonton Public Schools said it is “disappointed” in the union’s decision to serve strike notice. The division said it has tabled “everything we possibly can” which included a long-term, eight-year deal but did not specify what terms were included in it.
“We are disappointed that it has come to this,” the statement said.
“Edmonton Public Schools remains committed to reaching an agreement with CUPE Local 3550 and minimizing the impact of any job action on students and families.”
The division said schools have been working on contingency plans, and due to safety concerns, some students may need to rotate in-person learning throughout the week or be “supported in learning from home.”
Union rejected dispute inquiry board’s recommendations
CUPE Local 3550 members voted in favour of striking on Oct. 16, but the Alberta government approved an application by Edmonton Public Schools for a dispute inquiry board (DIB) on Oct. 22, delaying the strike in hopes the board and the union would be able to reach an agreement.
Educational assistants and support staff voted to reject the DIB’s recommendations at a vote held from Dec. 17-19.
The DIB recommended increases totalling 2.75 per cent over four years — the same offer that was previously on the table, but with an additional three per cent hike if the union was willing to extend its contract by one year, to 2025. The recommendation included zero per cent increases in 2021 and 2022, a 1.25 per cent increase in 2023, 1.5 per cent in February 2024, and three per cent in September 2024 — if the union agreed to extend its collective bargaining agreement to Aug. 31, 2025.
In a statement to Postmedia, Finance Minister Nate Horner said the province respects school support workers but said going on strike and blaming the government is not the solution. He added negotiations are between the union and the school boards.
“The work of educational assistants is important, but only takes place part-time and only during the school year. No one would expect to earn a full-time salary for 10 months of part-time work,” Horner said.
“CUPE leadership needs to stop misleading its members, students, parents, and the public and get back to the bargaining table with creative solutions.”
Postmedia has reached out to the Sturgeon Public School Division for comment.
Alberta organizations support strike
Jason Schilling, president of the Alberta Teachers’ Association, said he respects the union’s decision to strike.
“Although teachers are overburdened without the support of educational assistants, we recognize this is an important step in moving towards properly staffed classrooms,” Schilling said.
Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan commended the union’s decision to strike and said, “We should be applauding, not vilifying” workers for choosing to strike.
“So, let’s all take a deep breath and hope that the school board comes back to the table with a revised offer that addresses the chronically low wages of education workers,” McGowan said.
“Some support staff have gone 10 years without a cost-of-living wage. This is completely unacceptable.”
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