As Edmonton Public Schools kicked off reading week Monday morning, a looming crisis lingered, which union leaders claim could lead to mass school closures in the Alberta capital.
Support workers, including more than 4,000 educational assistants, librarians and custodians, could vote to strike as early as next week.
“There is a wage catastrophe at this point. These folks haven’t had a raise in five years and the raise they got before that was abysmally low,” said Rory Gill, the Alberta president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).
“They can’t support themselves, and if they can’t support themselves, they can’t support the kids in the public education system, which is their absolute passion.”
While the board chair of Edmonton Public Schools refused to explain what will happen if support workers walk out, Gill said there would be “no safe way” to open schools without them.
“Hypotheticals are not within my purview, so I would ask you to reach out to communications,” Julie Kusiek told CityNews.
“I believe I’ve answered all your questions,” she said when asked what is being done to prepare for a potential work stoppage.
When asked if Alberta provides enough money to ensure workers are fairly paid, Kusiek said, generally, the board continues to advocate for more education funding.
The average educational assistant makes $26,000 a year, according to CUPE. The union wants that boosted to around $40,000 a year.
With high inflation in recent years, the Alberta Living Wage Network pegs a current living wage in Edmonton at $22.25 an hour, which works out to about $45,000 a year for full-time.
Last month, education workers in Fort McMurray tried to strike but the province enacted legislation to send them back to work. As part of that, the government appointed two Disputes Inquiry Boards to mediate.
How involved is the Alberta government?
The NDP says the UCP was wrong to force workers back on the job, and instead should allow collective bargaining.
“Ultimately the buck stops with the government. It’s the UCP government that is putting local school boards in almost impossible positions. They have been underfunding education for years, and this is the result,” said Amanda Chapman, the Opposition critic for education.
In a statement, the UCP government said it’s the job of school boards to negotiate with CUPE and the province “is not involved.”
Like the NDP, Gill does not buy that. He added the pay is so low that some school workers are struggling to pay rent and buy food, and many have extra jobs.
“All the funding for Edmonton Public Schools comes from the Government of Alberta. They have claimed they’re not negotiating, that’s an absolute lie. They set the mandates, they set the funding,” Gill said.
CUPE and Edmonton Public Schools have been to formal mediation and are now in a “14-day cooling off period.”
The union says if the government forces more education workers back on the job, a lawsuit is possible, to preserve their right to collective bargaining.