Edmonton educational staff walk off the job during dispute inquiry
Some Edmonton public school support staff walked off the job Thursday morning, after the province stepped in on Wednesday to prevent strike action.
Cupe Local 3550, which represents educational support staff in Edmonton public schools, said members chose to participate in a political protest against provincial wage mandates and what they called "interference in collective bargaining."
CUPE Local 3550 members voted overwhelmingly in support of strike action on Oct. 18, after wage negotiations with the school board stalled.
The Edmonton Public School Board applied for an Disputes Inquiry Board (DIB), a third-party process to help with bargaining, and was granted one by the province on Wednesday.
Because it was approved before strike action, members were prohibited from striking before the inquiry was complete.
The union has called the DIB a delay tactic.
On its website Thursday, the union explained that members agreed collectively to take part in the day of protest, despite the impact it would have on students.
"Members have to do what is right in their heart and for the vast majority of them that means standing up for themselves and their students," said union president Mandy Lamoureaux said in a release posted on the CUPE Local 3550 website.
"We had a strike, and we were not allowed to do our strike," said one CUPE Local 3550 member at the rally, who said the DIB will not solve the current bargaining impasse.
"It's the wage cap that we're fighting against," she continued. "We did this because we wanted to show them at least we have the right to do a protest."
EPSB confirmed in a statement that it was made aware Wednesday night that those educational support staff would not be coming to work the next day.
"After receiving this news last night, principals started making arrangements to support student programming and learning in the absence of support staff," EPSB wrote in a statement.
"In some circumstances this included contacting families of students who require support staff for safety reasons, advising them that for their safety, they should stay home."
'Time for some respect'
The union joined thousands of other Alberta unionized staff gathered outside the legislature building for a rally.
Nurses, provincial employees, public employees, paramedics, teachers, educational support workers and University of Alberta staff were among those in attendance.
"They have a message for the provincial government, and that message is that it's time for some respect," said Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour.
Numerous Alberta union members came together for a rally at the Alberta legislature to call for better wages on Oct. 24, 2024. (Evan Kenny/CTV News Edmonton)
McGowan said the province has been offering workers a 7.5-per-cent wage increase over four years, which he said is less than half the increase in the cost of living.
"We're here to say to this government that what they're offering – disrespect and wages that don't keep up with inflation – that's just not acceptable," he added.
Shannon Epler attended the rally with her son William, who is in Grade 7. She said William needed to stay home because there was no educational assistant (EA) at the school because of the day of protest.
She said she was proud of the staff for standing up for themselves, as they're critical for children like her son.
"He cannot do writing or anything without an EA and honestly, they're the lifeline for our kids," she said. "We need them in the classrooms, and they need to be treated a lot better than they are, because they are so, so important for our kids."
Shannon Epler's son William needs an educational assistant to attend school. She came to the rally on Oct. 24 to support Edmonton public school educational assistants during a day of protest. (Evan Klippenstein/CTV News Edmonton)The right to strike is protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom, and McGowan and CUPE Local 3550 accused the province of using DIB's to undermine collective bargaining.
"We're not going to let this government strip working Albertans of their workers' rights," McGowan said. "If we lay down then all workers in this province are going to suffer.
"Instead, we're going to stand up, push back, fight for workers rights and make sure that all Albertans get the raises that they need to keep up with inflation."
CTV News Edmonton has reached out to the Minister of Jobs, Economy and Trade and is awaiting a response.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Miriam Valdes-Carletti
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING L.A. prosecutor seeks new sentence for Menendez brothers in 1989 murder of parents
A Los Angeles prosecutor said on Thursday he is asking the court to resentence Erik and Lyle Menendez after they have spent 34 years in prison for the shotgun murder of their parents, after new evidence emerged indicating they were sexually abused by their father for years.
'The mom is shattered': Body of employee who died at Halifax Walmart was found by her mother
The Maritime Sikh Society says the body of a young employee who died at a Walmart in Halifax last weekend was found by her mother.
Trudeau announces massive drop in immigration targets as Liberals make major pivot
The federal government is slashing immigration targets to levels that will flatten population growth as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau admits the government did not get the balance right after the COVID-19 pandemic.
2 suspects arrested after 4 teens stabbed outside Montreal high school
Montreal police say four teenagers suffered stab wounds after an altercation near John F. Kennedy High School in the city's Villeray—Saint-Michel—Parc-Extension borough on Thursday.
'Horrific': Four people dead after Tesla slams into pillar and catches fire on Lake Shore Boulevard in Toronto
Four people are dead and another is in hospital after a Tesla driving through downtown Toronto at a high rate of speed crashed into a guardrail and struck a concrete pillar on Lake Shore Boulevard.
Vince McMahon, embattled former CEO of WWE, sued for allegedly enabling sexual abuse
A new lawsuit alleges Vince McMahon knowingly enabled the sexual exploitation of children by a WWE employee in the 1980s.
B.C. election recounts won't start until Sunday afternoon
Voting officials say recounts in two ridings that could determine the outcome of British Columbia's election won't start until Sunday afternoon.
Woman stabbed to death in park in Ottawa's south end
Emergency crews responded to a call for a stabbing at Paul Landry Park on Uplands Drive, between Paul Anka Drive and Bennett Street, at 11:25 a.m. Thursday.
Stunning fossil trapped in amber reveals previously unknown species that lived during the time of dinosaurs
Diverse firefly species lit up the night during the late Mesozoic period, scientists have confirmed.