Education Workers at Both Fort McMurray School Divisions to Strike Tuesday Morning

FORT MCMURRAY, Alberta--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Schools across Fort McMurray could be closed on Tuesday, September 17^th at 6 a.m. as education workers in both Public and Catholic school divisions in Fort McMurray will be on strike if agreements cannot be reached that address understaffing, burnout and declining wages for Alberta education workers.

On Wednesday education workers at Fort McMurray Public School Division represented by CUPE 2545 and Fort McMurray Roman Catholic Separate School Division represented by CUPE 2559 held votes to authorize a strike if an agreement is not reached by Monday. Both votes passed with overwhelming support from the vast majority of education workers.

“We want school to be open on Tuesday and there is a pretty simple solution to make that happen, which is to address the fact that these dedicated workers haven’t had a raise in over a decade while the cost of everything keeps going up,” said Danielle Danis President of CUPE 2559. “Workers, students and parents are all suffering from a staffing crisis caused by low wages. Our members aren’t going to take it anymore, which is why they voted overwhelmingly for a strike.”

In the face of stagnating wages and the rising cost of living many education workers in Fort McMurray have taken second or even third jobs in order to make ends meet. Something that CUPE 2545 President Lynn Fleet says has negative impacts for the entire community.

“The services that our members provide are services that every family wants. People want their children to get the support and attention they need to excel in school, they want a clean school with small class sizes and additional support for children with special needs. A job that is so important to the development of our children and our community should pay enough to live off of.”

Both School Divisions are operating under the direction of the Alberta Government who has mandated that the Divisions propose an insufficient wage offer to education workers, including actual wage cuts for new hires at the Public School Division.

“The government can stop this strike and keep schools open on Tuesday if they wanted to treat workers fairly and improve conditions in schools,” said Danis. “They are choosing to create chaos in schools, disrupt the lives of parents and children and force schools to close. At some point people just say enough is enough, and that’s what our members have decided. They have taken a brave step in fighting for better jobs and a better education system for all Albertans. Will the government listen?”

Both Unions remain available to meet at any time to negotiate and work out an agreement to improve Alberta schools and keep them open next week. The official results of the strike votes will be released tomorrow.