Members of CUPE Local 5040 are among the latest education support workers to join the ongoing strike action.
The union branch represents about 300 workers with the Foothills School Division (FSD), including education assistants, secretaries, and youth development coaches.
They're one of four groups to join the ongoing strikes, with workers from the Calgary Board of Education, the Calgary Catholic School Division, and the Black Gold School Division also starting strike action.
According to CUPE Alberta, the four groups represent over 2,000 workers, with about 4,000 already on strike in other areas in the province.
Members of 5040 are picketing in a few locations across the Foothills, including near the Foothills Composite High School, Highwood High School, and Oilfields School.
The strike action is being taken due largely to dissatisfaction with education funding in Alberta.
"The UCP government has been chronically underfunding classrooms for years now, and it is leading to the suffering of programming, students, and staff alike. In the last 10 years, most of us haven't seen any meaningful wage increases and classrooms are packed and bursting at the seams," explains Carla Penhalagan, president of CUPE Local 5040.
Negotiations at FSD are ongoing, though Penhalagan and CUPE see the provincial government as the primary barrier.
"We have given our ask to the employer, who is being mandated by the government as to what they can offer back. The Foothills School Division wants to work with us, and we want to work with them because we don't want to be out here any longer than we have to be. We care about our students and the families we serve, and we want to get back into classrooms, but we also don't want to have to work two to three jobs and eat at the food bank every week."
Wages aren't the only issue, says Penhalagan.
"In addition to wages, we are seeking safer classrooms for ourselves and the students we serve. A lot of us are hit, kicked, spit on, punched, we get our hair ripped out, I've had my arm broken by some of the students we work with. We're looking for safer environments for ourselves and those children we work with."
It's not clear how long these strikes will continue, though she believes they will continue to spread.
"We're ready to hold out for as long as it takes, for the students of Alberta."
FSD has been releasing regular labour relations updates on its website.
