Union representing support staff leaves bargaining table, says Edmonton school board

The public school board employing thousands of striking school support workers says the union representing them has left the bargaining table. Union members and supporters picket for better education funding, and more classroom support in Edmonton, on Monday, Jan. 13, 2025.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

EDMONTON — The public school board employing thousands of striking school support workers says the union representing them has left the bargaining table.

Some 3,000 staff, from educational assistants to cafeteria workers, have been on picket lines for almost a full month over a wage dispute with the Edmonton Public School Division.

In a letter Wednesday, Superintendent Darrell Robertson said the division and union remain far apart and that the union is focusing on wage increases that "far exceed" what the division can pay.

"We continue to bring creative ideas to the table and explore all options," Robertson said.

He said the division has offered pay raises of 13.5 per cent spread over eight years, along with the removal of steps from its salary grid to "accelerate wage progression."

The division has also promised to extend the workday by 15 minutes, more training opportunities that pay workers a premium and earlier recall dates to take part in professional development.

Robertson said this is the "very best offer" the division can make.

"We are extremely disappointed that we could not reach an agreement, which means the strike continues," he said.

"Despite these challenges, we remain committed to bargaining in good faith and are hopeful that we can find a resolution soon."

The Canadian Union of Public Employees, which represents the workers, has said the average education support worker in Alberta makes $34,500 per year. Educational assistants make $26,400 per year.

Local president Mandy Lamoureux said the union walked away from the bargaining table because the division refused to budge on its wage offer.

"We're asking them to come up a bit on their number then we can come down on ours; however, they refused," she said Thursday. "So we decided to end it."

Lamoureux said some of what the division had to offer, like extending the workday or providing more training, wouldn't apply to all members and would be based on school budgets and operational needs.

The union has been offered retroactive wage increases of 1.25 per cent for 2023 and 1.50 per cent for 2024, followed by three per cent for 2025 and 2026, 2.5 per cent for 2027 and 2.25 per cent for 2028.

Lamoureux said one of her fellow locals was offered higher than that by the division and is asking them to match the cost of living.

"We're not willing to sign an eight-year contract because we don't know what the cost of living is going to be like in eight years," she said, adding that what her members are asking for is realistic.

"Membership ... can't afford to strike, but they can't afford not to, so they're finding it tough to be on that picket line, but they know this is the only way they're going to get that livable wage."

Union brass has said the job action is poised to grow by more than 2,300 workers as chapters across the province, including school boards in Calgary, hold strike votes in the coming days.

Workers in Fort McMurray and Sturgeon County have also been on the picket lines since early January.

“It is a hard decision to vote to strike,” said CUPE Alberta President Rory Gill in a statement. “But doing nothing will make a bad situation for students even worse in the long run."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 6, 2025.

Aaron Sousa, The Canadian Press