After a 17-week long strike that spanned multiple cities, almost all of Alberta’s education support workers have ratified the tentative agreements between their union locals and their employer school divisions.
Education workers at the Foothills School Division operating out of High River are the last group to vote on their tentative agreement. Voting is expected to wrap on Friday.
Workers stayed on the picket lines through temperatures as low as -51 degrees. The strike included more than 6,600 workers across the province. The Alberta branch of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) said the provincial government imposed a bargaining mandate that limited the wage offers school boards could make. This mandate had impeded free bargaining.
READ MORE: CUPE education workers in Fort Mac and Edmonton reach settlement deal
The tentative deals struck include wage offers that exceed the mandate imposed by the Provincial government. In a press release, CUPE Alberta president Rory Gill said he was “in awe” of the workers who fought to secure these wage increases.
“Education support workers are critical to our school system, and today they finally won the respect they deserve,” he said.
Lou Arab, a communications representative for the union, said the strike spread across the province because workers had no other choice. Many education workers were making about $34,500 and had not seen a wage increase in almost a decade. Workers were ready to assert their power because they were fed up. And the conditions of their work had garnered support from unexpected places.
Over the course of the strike, two school board trustees had resigned in support of the education support workers’ demands. Trisha Estabrooks, a former trustee for the Edmonton Public School Board, resigned from her position in January and joined CUPE workers on the picket line. Marcia Hole, another trustee for the same school board, resigned the next month. In a statement on social media, Hole said she is not able to serve the public as a school board trustee in Alberta’s current political climate.
“The knowledge, skill and commitment support staff contribute to school communities is essential,” Hole’s statement reads. “I stand with them, and the students and families they serve, as they fight the provincial government for their right to earn a living wage which is a crucial factor in school boards’ ability to attract and retain support staff.”
Arab, said the actions of Hole and Etsabrooks were both surprising and unsurprising. These actions show the power the CUPE has built and the support people are willing to give to workers.
“It shows that Albertans understand the connection between well paid support staff and a properly functioning education system, and that’s heartening,” Arab said.
He said education support workers deserve full credit for these victories. As well, Arab said he hopes the momentum they created can galvanize other public sector workers who have been shortchanged by Alberta’s government.
“You know what? 2025 is a big bargaining year for the public sector in Alberta, not just for CUPE, but for other public sector unions as well,” Arab said. “What these workers show is that if you work together and if you fight hard and you stand strong, you can win.”
Support rabble today!
We’re so glad you stopped by! Thanks for consuming rabble content this year.
rabble.ca is 100% reader and donor funded, so as an avid reader of our content, we hope you will consider gifting rabble with a donation during our summer fundraiser today.
Whether it be a one-time donation or a small monthly contribution, your support is critical to keep rabble writers producing the work you’ve come to rely on as a part of a healthy media diet.
Become a rabble rouser — donate to rabble.ca today.
Nick Seebruch, editor
