Strike of school support staff could spill into Calgary after vote for job action

CALGARY — Job action involving more than 4,000 school support workers is on track to grow into Calgary and other areas of Alberta after five more union locals voted to strike.

Staff in Edmonton, Sturgeon County and Fort McMurray have been picketing for close to a month over a wage dispute with their employers.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees said Wednesday that close to 2,500 workers from five union locals elsewhere in the province have voted in favour of a strike.

Those workers are from the Calgary public and Catholic school boards, as well as the Foothills division just south of the city and the Black Gold and Parkland divisions near Edmonton.

Union officials said they will give divisions and the public 72 hours’ notice before engaging in job action.

CUPE Alberta president Rory Gill said the strong strike mandate is a sign that the government has to improve education funding in the upcoming budget.

“We’ve been telling the government that if they don’t address the funding problems in our classrooms, the strikes will expand,” Gill said in a statement.

“They did not address the funding problems, and now the strikes will expand.”

The Calgary Board of Education said a strike would cause roughly 800 employees, from cleaners to mechanics, to walk off the job. Unlike other school boards, support staff like educational assistants and office workers belong to the board’s staff association.

“We are committed to bargaining in good faith to negotiate a new collective agreement,” the board said on its website.

The school board said the union could strike by Monday. Schools are to stay open for in-person classes, and the board is looking at contingency plans should a strike happen.

Calgary Catholic School District spokeswoman Joanna French said custodians, cleaners and plumbers make up the workers who are poised to strike. She said the “unfortunate” situation brings uncertainty for many, but officials are working toward a resolution.

“We remain committed to keeping our schools open and maintaining safe and supportive learning environments,” she said.

Alberta Opposition NDP deputy leader Rakhi Pancholi called the possible job action a “heartbreaking situation.”

“We have a provincial government that has made the decision to under fund Alberta schools and Alberta classrooms,” she told an unrelated news conference in Edmonton.

“That is an embarrassment and … parents should be putting the pressure on the UCP government to fund education properly in this province.”

In a joint statement, Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner and Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides accused CUPE national leadership of interfering with local contract bargaining in Edmonton, Sturgeon County and Medicine Hat.

The union has denied the claim.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 12, 2025.

The Canadian Press