On Saturday (Sept. 21), education workers represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) held an Education Day of Action in several Alberta municipalities.
Rallies were held in Okotoks, Calgary, Edmonton, Fort McMurray, Drumheller, Leduc, and Red Deer.
The Okotoks rally was held on Southridge Drive, near the Foothills Composite High School.
President of CUPE Local 5040, Lesley Cole, says negotiations are about to resume just weeks after a deal was reached with the Foothills School Division.
“We just signed off on our collective agreement a couple of weeks ago, but that’s already expired because we were four years behind. So now we are negotiating our new contract, and we are exchanging proposals this coming Thursday… We’re sending a message to the government that they need to stand up and pay attention because support workers through the province deserve better and acknowledgement for their work.”
The Education Day of Action was also held in support of education workers in Fort McMurray, whose planned strike was recently halted by the provincial government.
“They were ready to strike, and the provincial government decided to tell them they’re not allowed to. Similar to what happened in Ontario a few years ago, when the school staff were ready to go on strike, they basically went against the Charter rights to bargain… so we have some signs here that are in support of Fort McMurray.”
