Support staff in the Black Gold and Foothills school divisions could join thousands of other workers striking across the province within days. Their unions, CUPE Locals 3484 and 5040, say they served the divisions 72-hour strike notice Thursday evening and expect to begin job action Monday morning. CTV News is reaching out to both divisions for comment. Local 3484 consists of 570 workers who work in schools south of Edmonton, between Warburg and Beaumont. Local 5040 consists of 300 support staff in schools south of Calgary. CUPE Alberta president Rory Gill in a press release Friday morning called striking a final resort. Already, about 4,000 school support staff are on strike in Edmonton, Fort McMurray and Sturgeon School Division, excluding partial job action by another 400 employees of Parkland School Division, and strike notice also recently served by Calgary’s public and Catholic school divisions. Since the beginning of contract negotiations, CUPE has maintained that these workers – educational assistants, custodial staff, and others – do not receive a livable wage as a result of limited provincial funding. The provincial government has argued CUPE is being misleading, given that deals have been made elsewhere in the province, and that national union leaders are interfering in Alberta.
