CUPE Local 5040's membership of 300 Foothills School Division (FSD) support staff has overwhelmingly voted in favour of job action, a decision that could see members join thousands of workers across the province that are already on strike.
Eighty-two per cent of members voted in favour of a strike, which according to CUPE Local 5040 president Carla Penhalagan, was a vote in favour of the children of Alberta.
"We want what's best for the kids, we want what's best for their families," said Penhalagan. "It is ultimately because we care that we have to do this."
While a strike would not result in schools being closed, there would be a noticeable impact felt due to fewer staff, including special needs students being asked to learn from home and the potential cancellation of field trips.
A strike would not cause any school bus disruptions as drivers are represented by Foothills School Division Bus Drivers Association, not CUPE.
Following the successful strike vote, the union will have 120 days to enact the strike. Ahead of any job action, CUPE will provide school districts and the public with 72-hour notice.
Penhalagan did not say when a strike could take place.
At the time of publication, FSD had not received verified vote results or strike notice.
"The members of our school-support staff team are key to the engagement, support and success of all learners, and they make a significant impact on our students' lives," wrote FSD superintendent Chris Fuzessy in a letter to the school district's learning community on Feb. 12. "As a school division, the safety and well-being of every learner is our top priority. We respect the right of our colleagues in CUPE Local 5040 to take job action and know that any job action will impact the operation of our sites."
The vote comes amid numerous rallies and in the aftermath of the Foothills union striking a new deal with the Foothills School Division last year. That contract, which was reached Aug. 22, expired on Aug. 31, four days after it was ratified on Aug. 27.
Mediated bargaining between FSD and CUPE Local 5040 is still scheduled for Feb. 21 and 28.
"We remain committed to working with the CUPE Local 5040 negotiating team to collaboratively come to an agreement that is within division and provincial constraints and that recognizes the value our team members provide to the organization," wrote Fuzessy.
Updates on the bargaining process are available on the CUPE Local 5040 Facebook page and Foothills School Division website.
The Foothills staff are among thousands that voted in favour of a strike, including 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) and Local 5543 (Parkland School Division, 400 EAs and support staff employees). With the exception of Local 5040, the strike vote by all groups was over 90 per cent.
According to CUPE Alberta president Rory Gill, the strong strike mandate from these groups signals that the Alberta government needs to improve education funding in the upcoming budget, set to be released on Feb. 27.
“We’ve been telling the government that if they don’t address the funding problems in our classrooms, the strikes will expand,” said Gill in a statement. “They did not address the funding problems, and now the strikes will expand."
In an open letter published by the Western Wheel, Local 5040 invited FSD to stand together against the provincial government, which is widely considered to have a "secret mandate" influencing wage negotiations behind closed doors.
CUPE controversy
The strike vote comes amid a clash between the provincial government and CUPE over the union's handling of negotiations.
“CUPE National union with Ontario-based leadership is interfering in what should be local negotiations between school boards and CUPE locals, and in other areas using tactics of fear and intimidation to prevent deals from being signed," wrote Minister of Finance Nate Horner and Minister of Education Demetrios Nicolaides in a joint statement on Feb. 11.
The statement cited the removal of five executive members of CUPE Local 829, representing Medicine Hat Public School Division, which was deemed to be "the national leadership of CUPE effectively deregistered the local to prevent a ratification vote," reinforcing the fact that "the antics and disturbing action taken by union leaders in Ontario is causing extremely detrimental effects to learning outcomes for Alberta students," the ministers said.
The members had been removed from their roles less than one hour before the signing of a proposed memorandum of agreement between the local and the employer, which according to the government's statement "shows that education support workers who do not yet have a deal will not be permitted to vote on one, under fear of deregistration by union leaders in Ontario."
In response, Gill said that the government's statement is "full of falsehoods and baseless attacks."
Gill dismissed the government's statement as a distraction from the strike votes.
"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," he said.
Gill clarified that "Local 829 in Medicine Hat was put under administration for reasons unrelated to bargaining" and that the deal they signed immediately after being removed from their positions was invalid.
"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," he said.
