Month: February 2025

Five groups of education workers vote to join strike

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Five more CUPE locals representing over 2,000 education support workers have voted to take job action.

These results are unofficial until validated by the Alberta Labour Relations Board.

The groups include:

Local 40, Calgary Board of Education (800 custodial and maintenance employees), voted 94.5% in favour of job action.

Local 520, Calgary Catholic School District (350 custodial and maintenance employees) voted 94% in favour of job action.

Local 3484, Black Gold School Division (570 EAs and support staff employees) voted 95% in favour of job action.

Local 5040, Foothills School Division (300 EAs and support staff employees) voted 82% in favour of job action.

Local 5543, Parkland School Division (400 EAs and support staff employees) voted 91% in favour of job action.

CUPE will provide school districts and the public with 72 hours notice before engaging in any job action. No such notice is being given at the moment.

CUPE Alberta President Rory Gill said the strong strike mandate from all five groups is another sign that the Alberta government has to improve education funding in next week’s budget. Alberta has the lowest per-student education funding of any province in Canada.

“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.”

Over 4,000 education support staff have been on strike in Fort McMurray and in the Edmonton region since the beginning of January.

CUPE response to government smear

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CUPE Alberta President Rory Gill issued the following statement today in response to a news release from two ministers of the Alberta government:

“The outrageous statement posted by the Alberta government today is full of falsehoods and baseless attacks.

The UCP government that repeatedly claims it is not involved in bargaining with education support workers is very quick to comment on the matter and involving itself to an unprecedented level.

Once again, rather than step up to the plate and negotiate a solution to the classroom problems they have caused, the government chooses a smear campaign.

Local 829 in Medicine Hat was put under administration for reasons unrelated to bargaining. The former executive chose to meet with the school district after being informed they were put into administration. Therefore the deal they signed has no force or effect. However, the Administrator will pursue bargaining with that school district until further notice.

The timing of the UCP attack is to draw attention away from five strike votes happening right now, and the release of recent polling data showing UCP supporters don’t even side with the government when it comes to the strike and education issues.

Other falsehoods in the statement:

  • There is no injunction from the Alberta Labour Board preventing picketing. Rather, CUPE and the school district entered into an agreement that picketing would not delay school buses. This is a normal part of the labour board’s role in helping unions and employers reach agreements during labour disputes.
  • “Nurse Next Door” withdrew from offering services to Edmonton Public Schools after claiming they didn’t realize they would be replacing striking workers. Not due to pressure from CUPE.

Alberta has the lowest per-capita education funding in Canada. Instead of engaging in smear campaigns, the government should come to the table, and address the issues that their lack of funding has provided.”

Background:

On February 5, 2025, at 9:11 am MST, CUPE Local 829 was placed under administration by CUPE.

On Feb 5, 2025, at about 09:21 am, Local 829 President Sharon Stoltz was informed of the administration.

On Feb 5, 2025, at about 10:00 am, the former bargaining committee signed a proposed memorandum of agreement with the Medicine Hat Public School Division.

“Administration” is a process set out in Article 7.8 of the CUPE Constitution. When a local is placed under Administration, the administrator has immediate authority over the local’s affairs, and all executive members and committees are disbanded.

UCP supporters back striking education workers

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An opinion survey conducted by Environics Research for the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) shows a high level of support for striking education workers. The support is evident among both the general Alberta public and (perhaps surprisingly) among supporters of the governing United Conservative Party (UCP).

Over 4,000 education support workers are on strike in Fort McMurray and in the Edmonton region. Five more groups are taking steps toward going on strike soon.

Environics research surveyed 1,002 Albertans, including 421 who indicated they were current supporters of the UCP. The online survey was conducted January 9-22.

CUPE Alberta President Rory Gill says he’s not surprised by the support among UCP supporters, as he has heard from many Albertans who are shocked to learn how poorly paid education workers are.

“Premier Smith and her Ministers should pay attention,” said Gill. “Their own supporters are worried about the state of education, and the lack of resources being put into classrooms.

Gill noted that when asked to pick a side between striking workers and the UCP government, a majority (53%) of UCP supporters picked education workers, while only 28% picked their party of choice.

“The public understands that these job actions are happening because the Alberta government has not addressed the poor wages of school support workers,” said Gill.  “Albertans understand that education workers have to stand up for students and education. Parents and others are cheering them on and joining them.”

BACKGROUND:

Q: Education workers in Alberta are underpaid and deserve wage increases.

  General public (n=1,002) UCP supporters (n=421)
AGREE 74% 61%
DISAGREE 16% 26%
UNSURE 10% 13%

 

Q: The Alberta UCP government is right to impose a wage cap that prevents school divisions from giving education workers a raise. They need to keep a lid on spending.

  General public (n=1,002) UCP supporters (n=421)
AGREE 27% 37%
DISAGREE 61% 51%
UNSURE 13% 13%

 

Q: If wages for education workers are kept this low, we won’t be able to attract or retain the people we need in our understaffed education system.

  General public (n=1,002) UCP supporters (n=421)
AGREE 77% 67%
DISAGREE 16% 26%
UNSURE 7% 8%

 

Q: If we keep underpaying education support workers eventually we get what we pay for and students will suffer.

  General public (n=1,002) UCP supporters (n=421)
AGREE 78% 67%
DISAGREE 16% 27%
UNSURE 6% 6%

 

Q: Decent pay and working conditions for education workers are a key to having a higher quality education system for our kids.

  General public (n=1,002) UCP supporters (n=421)
AGREE 81% 79%
DISAGREE 12% 19%
UNSURE 6% 6%

 

Q: If there were to be a job action by education workers in Alberta against the UCP government, whose side would you be on?

  General public (n=1,002) UCP supporters (n=421)
Totally/mostly on the side of the education workers 68% 53%
Totally/mostly on the side of the UCP government 15% 28%
UNSURE 17% 19%

 

Education workers launch new videos, $1.4 million advertising campaign

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Education workers launch new videos, $1.4 million advertising campaign

EDMONTON – Striking education support workers are taking to the airwaves with two new video ads in support of their campaign for better classroom supports. The videos, produced for the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), are part of a $1.4 million campaign the union has launched.

Over 4,000 education support workers are on strike in the Edmonton region and Fort McMurray, with over 2,000 more taking strike votes this weekend across Alberta.

CUPE Alberta President Rory Gill said the ads speak to issues any parent can identify with – classroom support.  In one video, a noisy classroom is in chaos until an Educational Assistant enters the room and calms things down. In the second video, young students talk about what they need to succeed, with one child pointing to “my Abigail,” his educational support person.

Ads direct viewers to visit www.helpstudentssucceed.ca where they can send a letter to their MLA.

“Alberta has the lowest per student education funding of any province in Canada,” said Gill. “Students are being impacted by classroom vacancies, overworked staff, and lack of resources.”

“The Alberta government has to act, and act soon, or this campaign and these strikes will expand and spread,” said Gill.

Gill said most education support staff have not had a wage increase in ten years, a period of 30% inflation. The average education support worker makes just $34,500 per year.

 

Video #1 – Education support staff help the entire classroom:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15N2JrEQ6aU

Video #2 – What do I need to succeed? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYT9jGLiq_4

 

Thousands more education workers to take strike votes this weekend

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Five groups of education support workers, represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) will participate in strike votes between Feb 9-11th.

The groups include:
Local 40, Calgary Board of Education (800 custodial and maintenance employees)
Local 520, Calgary Catholic School Division (350 custodial and maintenance employees)
Local 3484, Black Gold School Division (500 secretarial, librarians and EAs)
Local 5040, Foothills School Division (300 support staff employees)
Local 5543, Parkland School Division (400 EAs and support staff employees)

Over 4,000 education support workers in the Edmonton region and Fort McMurray are already on strike.

CUPE Alberta President Rory Gill says the votes are part of plans to escalate job action until the Alberta government addresses low wages of school support workers. Gill says the average educational support worker earns just $34,500 in Alberta. Alberta has the lowest per student funding of any province in Canada.

“Some support staff have gone ten years without a cost-of-living wage,” said Gill. “Many of our members work two to three jobs to earn a living wage.”

CUPE locals across the province have been bargaining since 2020, but face ‘mandates’ from the provincial government limiting increases to well below inflation.

“The impact of the UCP policy of starvation wages on the classroom is staggering,” said Gill. “People are quitting, no one will take the jobs at these wages, and students and education are suffering.”

Some school districts have job vacancy rates of roughly 10% of all positions, as schools cannot hire at such low wages.

“It is a hard decision to vote to strike,” said Gill. “But doing nothing will make a bad situation for students even worse in the long run. We need to act now to protect education in Alberta.”

Gill noted that a strike vote does not automatically mean job action will immediately follow, the province still has time to do the right thing and prevent these strikes from happening.

“We are trying to give parents as much notice as possible,” said Gill. “We know parents are in a tough spot, but we feel we have waited as long as we can, and we have to act for the long-term benefit of the students we love so much.”

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Contact Lou Arab, Communications Representative
larab@cupe.ca