A Foothills mother is stuck between a rock and a hard place amid the ongoing CUPE 5040 strike.
Jamie Hanson is one of 300 education workers with the Foothills School Division (FSD) currently on strike under CUPE Local 5040, itself being one of many union locals on strike in Alberta.
At the same time, her 11-year-old son Cale, a student at Red Deer Lake School in De Winton, has complex physical and educational needs that are usually met by a dedicated educational assistant that has worked with Cale for a few years.
According to Hanson, the school has offered alternatives for Cale to continue his in-class education, but Hanson doesn't feel her son's needs would be fully met.
"We were told to stay home last week, and then the school calls with options every couple of days. They offered guest teachers one time, and they're not educated at all, they're just there to help with the physical therapy and occupational therapy. And the teachers are expected to teach these healthcare aids on the education piece, and they're only offering half days and some full days every other day. We're expected to work around those hours."
She's also wary of the time it would take for Cale to adjust to the new support workers so late in the school year.
"I understand that these healthcare aids need the experience, but it's not the beginning of the school year. I would understand that, but we're in March. I'm not going to put that on him, I don't think that's fair."
FSD is exempt from the In-person Learning Regulation during the ongoing strike action, following a request to the Minister of Education, and is working to facilitate in-person learning for students with complex needs.
"These roles are not involved in student learning; teachers are, and always, responsible for the instruction and the continuum of supports for students. The addition of these trained personnel assists schools in providing the opportunity for all students to participate in meaningful learning. Safety in learning is the Division's priority," reads a statement from FSD.
"Schools, in collaboration with families, will make every reasonable effort to support a continuity of learning while balancing safety concerns and operational realities. This balance is always considered in individualized student learning plans, even during normal circumstances. As partners in education, parents have choice in their child’s learning; the Division respects a family’s choice to keep their child home during the current labour action."
Having assessed the available options, Hanson concluded that it would be better for Cale to have him learn from home, with his sister providing care during the daytime before leaving for work in the evening, and Jamie taking over after she returns home from her second job.
"My daughter is working evenings at her job, so we're like ships in the night... She's 18, that's not fair to her."
With Hanson continuing work at her second job during the strike, it means she isn't able to join her fellow members on the picket line full time and doesn't have access to strike pay.
It's also been a stressful time for Cale.
"We're trying our best, and the teacher is Google meeting with us once a week. The class misses him, apparently, and they don't know why he's not there," says Hanson.
"He gets confused and he gets upset when I say 'here's the options for going back to school,' and he bursts into tears and says 'I just want my people back,' and then that makes me cry. It's an emotional roller coaster but we're doing the best we can."
The CUPE 5040 strike is now entering its third week, with other CUPE locals having been on strike for over a month now.
At this point, Hanson is taking things one day at a time, with no indication of when her and Cale's situation could change for the better.
"We don't have another bargaining meeting until the end of March, then we need to take a vote as a union to see if they like the deal, and then we go back. So we have no end in sight right now."