Custodial and maintenance workers at public, Catholic schools in Calgary to serve strike notice

The union representing maintenance and custodial workers at Calgary’s public and Catholic schools served a 72-hour strike notice Wednesday with a walkout expected next week.

CUPE Alberta president, Rory Gill, says the union expects to walk out on Monday morning. He adds there may be some impact on community events happening at schools over the weekend as worker will be in a position to strike.

Employees in Calgary will join the 4,000 education workers already on strike in Edmonton and Fort McMurray. Around 400 employees of the Parkland School Division began limited job action on Tuesday.

About 800 Calgary Board of Education (CBE) employees, who are members of CUPE Local 40, voted 94.5 per cent in favour of a strike last week.

A further 350 Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD) workers, members of CUPE Local 520, voted 94 per cent in favour of a strike.

Foothills School Division and Black Gold School Division education workers are also in the position to strike after an overwhelming vote last week.

According to CUPE, the average school support worker makes $34,500 annually, and many have gone almost 10 years without a wage increase, a period of 30 per cent inflation.

Gill said his members don’t want to strike, but they feel they have been left with no other options.

“Many of our members work two or three jobs,” said Gill. “Many live on the edge of poverty.”

The president adds CUPE members hoped the provincial government would respond to the Fort McMurray and Edmonton strikes, claiming a settlement for those divisions would likely have prevented a strike in Calgary.

“Unfortunately, the province doesn’t seem to respect the role of education support workers,” he said. “So that leaves us little option but to escalate the strike.”

Gill says custodial and maintenance workers are essential to a school functioning, as they keep buildings clean and running well.

CUPE won’t comment on how the school districts will operate in the absence of the workers on strike.

In a statement to CityNews, CCSD says it’s aware of the notice from CUPE.

“We respect the collective bargaining process and remain committed to reaching a fair agreement that supports our CUPE employees,” it said.

The school district adds that schools will remain open, and its priority is to minimize any disruptions for students and staff.

It says it also has a contingency plan in place to maintain safety and cleanliness in its schools.

“CCSD will continue to engage in negotiations in good faith and provide updates as more information becomes available,” the division said.

CBE says it will be prioritizing in-person learning during the strike. and all of its schools and buildings will stay open and classes will continue.

“We value the contributions of all employees who support student success, and we respect the bargaining process,” CBE said. “CBE will continue to bargain in good faith with CUPE Local 40 to bring an end to labour action as soon as possible.”