Strike vote possible for Fort McMurray education support staff

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Fort McMurray’s education support workers could vote to strike “as early as Sept. 7” after talks with the Catholic and public school divisions came to a standstill last week.

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The workers, who are represented by Locals 2545 and 2559 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), say salaries have failed to keep up with rising living costs and increasingly large classroom sizes.

Both Locals said in a Friday press release, and have said in previous interviews, that many of their staff are burning out. Other workers are working multiple jobs to make ends meet. Local 2559, which represents education support workers in the Catholic system, want wage parity with their better-paid counterparts in the public board.

“We are told we are appreciated and valued, but after going almost a decade without a wage increase, that sends a totally different message,” said Danielle Danis, president of CUPE Local 2559.

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The CUPE Locals are now in a mandatory cooling-off period after leaving formal mediation without new collective agreements on Aug. 24.

Danis says Local 2559 members have not seen a wage increase since 2015. They are demanding a $2 hourly increase for each of the next four years. Their employer has countered with a 2.75 per cent increase, which the union says would amount to a $0.46 hourly raise for the lowest-paid workers.

Local 2545, which represents educational support workers in the public system, say their last wage increase was a 1.25 per cent boost in 2020. They ae proposing a $2 hourly raise for each year of a three-year agreement.

The union says the employer, guided by the Alberta Government’s Provincial Coordinated Bargaining Office, has countered with “a two-tier wage proposal” including hourly wage cuts ranging from $1.10 to $4.07 for newly-hired employees and no increases for existing staff.

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“Our members are deeply upset that the government wants to implement a two-tiered wage system where newly hired people (that will be doing the exact same jobs and working with the exact same children) will receive a much lower wage,” said Lynn Fleet, president of CUPE Local 2545, in a statement.

“Our members know this just isn’t right or fair, and that if they accept it now, the government will likely come for their wages next.”

The leadership of Fort McMurray’s Catholic and public school systems say they plan to keep schools open even if CUPE members vote to strike.

“The union will inform the employer if and when it will take a strike vote,” said a brief Monday statement from the leadership of both school divisions.

“If CUPE local 2545 and local 2559 members vote to strike, they will be eligible to give notice to withdraw their services. Updates will be provided as they become available.”

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vmcdermott@postmedia.com

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