Crossing the line: Some support staff and educational assistants defy union as province doubles down

Cold weather and strike cuts to already-low wages have prompted some striking CUPE education workers to cross the picket lines after six weeks in the trenches.

But while temperatures dip, the battle heats up with claims of union finger-pointing at provincial wage caps and claims of interference lobbed by the government.

Union communications spokesperson Lou Arab acknowledged Monday afternoon that some workers have trickled back.

Article content

“I’ve heard some isolated incidents of a small number of them, and that’s not uncommon,” Arab said.

February has been the fifth-coldest start the month has ever had in Alberta, according to Environment and Climate Change Canada. With wind-chill effects making it feel like -40 C, prolonged picketing has been a hard slog.

“I don’t have hard numbers on how many might be going back to work, other than just to say it’s very common in every job action for a few workers to cross the line, especially in a difficult battle.

“It has been cold. There’s no doubt about it. Strike pay is not a lot of money. There’s no doubt about that,” Arab said.

Among the 92 per cent of the 3,000 or so CUPE workers who turned out to vote, the strike vote was 97 per cent.

More than 4,000 education support staff — a group that includes many education assistants, licenced practical nurses and support workers — are on strike in Fort McMurray and the Edmonton region.

Article content

Additionally, five more CUPE locals around Edmonton and Calgary held strike votes Feb. 9-11 and an overwhelming majority voted in favour of taking strike action.

Article content

Article content

Asked if the union is going to penalize or prosecute workers who cross the picket line, Arab said that’s not what the union is focusing on.

“I’m not going to get into that at the moment. Right now, we’re 100 per cent focused on a job action that has gone on for weeks in order to improve funding for public education in a province that has the lowest education funding in the country. That’s what we’re focused on. We’re not going to engage in some battle with individuals who have decided to go back. We’ll address that when this job action is over, but that’s not what we’re focusing on,” Arab said.

Province wades into the fray

After earlier vowing to stay out of negotiations amid claims that bargaining is between school boards and CUPE and protests about provincial wage caps, the province went on the offensive Tuesday.

Press secretary Justin Brattinga issued a joint statement to Postmedia from Finance Minister Nate Horner and Education Minister Demetrios Nicolaides.

“CUPE national union with Ontario-based leadership is interfering in what should be local negotiations between school boards and CUPE locals, and in other areas using tactics of fear and intimidation to prevent deals from being signed,” the statement said.

Article content

After an agreement was reached between Medicine Hat Public School Division and CUPE local 829, the national leadership of CUPE effectively deregistered the local to prevent a ratification vote, the statement said.

“Alberta’s government and school boards have shown up to the table to find a path forward, but CUPE national leaders clearly have ulterior motives that are not in the best interests of their members or Alberta students.”

Last week, the province accused CUPE national of demanding wage increases that amount to “between 40 to 50 per cent increases in the face of U.S. tariffs and deteriorating economic conditions.”

Such wage hikes could lead to staffing reductions, Brattinga warned last week.

Additionally, the province said, that in the Sturgeon School Division, the Alberta Labour Relations Board had to issue an injunction to prevent union activists from blocking school buses.

In Edmonton, after nurses were “contracted to administer insulin and other medications to medically fragile children,” CUPE pressured the nursing agency to withdraw service, forcing students to stay home, the province said.

Article content

Even UCP support strong for workers: poll

Numbers from an Environics poll of 1,000 Albertans commissioned by CUPE in January suggest even UCP members are behind the striking workers’ quest for better wages.

“The public understands that these job actions are happening because the Alberta government has not addressed the poor wages of school support workers,” CUPE Alberta president Rory Gill said on Feb. 11.

When asked to pick a side between striking workers and the UCP government, 53 per cent of UCP supporters picked education workers, while only 28 per cent picked their party, the poll concluded.

Half the UCP respondents disagreed with the Alberta UCP government’s assertion they were right to impose a wage cap that prevents school divisions from giving education workers a raise.

“Albertans understand that education workers have to stand up for students and education. Parents and others are cheering them on and joining them,” Gill said.

— With files from Cindy Tran

jcarmichael@postmedia.com

Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don’t miss the news you need to know — add EdmontonJournal.com and EdmontonSun.com to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.

You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun.

Article content