A group of Southern Alberta education workers ink new deal days before it expires

Four years of bargaining have led to a new agreement between CUPE Local 5040 and Foothills School Division.

The deal between the Foothills School Division education workers and their employer was reached Aug. 22 and ratified by the union's membership on Aug. 27.

"The division extends its gratitude to the bargaining teams from both sides for their dedication and collaborative spirit throughout the negotiation process," wrote the Foothills School Division in a statement on Aug. 28.

The contract — which expires on Aug. 31, four days after its ratification by the membership — concludes four years of bargaining between the union and employer, during which time a contract was not in place.

"We started [negotiating the contract] and then COVID hit," said Lesley Cole, president of Local 5040. "Both sides agreed to postpone and then it's just taken a long, long time to get to this."

Some agreements, such as improvements around training and safety in the workplace, were deemed gains, but ultimately money was at the forefront of the negotiations, according to Cole.

The agreement saw education assistants get a eight per cent raise, while all other support staff got the 2.75 per cent increase mandated by the government.

The contract encompasses Aug. 31, 2020 to Aug. 31, 2024, but retroactive pay stemming from the agreement only starts from Sept. 1, 2023.

Ninety-five per cent of the membership — which consists of approximately 270 Foothills School Division education workers — voted in favour of ratifying the agreement at a virtual meeting.

The agreement will be presented to the Foothills School Division board of trustees for ratification on Sept. 4.

While the raise is a small win, there's much more that needs to be done to keep up with inflation and the rising cost of living, according to Cole.

"Money is always top priority because we are way behind. When you compare our wages to the rest of Alberta, we need a pay raise. Lots of people haven't had a pay raise since 2018, and then it was pennies."

The next round of negotiations, following the current contract's expiration on Aug. 31, will begin in September at a date to be determined.

"Next round is different," said Cole. "We will be fighting for more... there'll be more proposals, things that we didn't get to."

The upcoming negotiations are part of a province-wide movement by CUPE members.

According to CUPE, 41 locals across Alberta — representing over 10,000 school administrative staff, educational assistants, custodial workers and more — will be seeking new agreements after simultaneously serving notices to bargain to their respective school divisions on June 26.

"This is a coordinated, very well-developed and planned round of bargaining coming up," said Cole. "The education workers across the province are going to be proposing very similar proposals, so it's going to be interesting."

According to CUPE, the average education worker in Alberta makes $34,000 annually while the average educational assistant makes $27,000, which the group deemed "poverty level wages" in a statement.

"It's going to be a lot of work, but we're determined that education workers are going to get a better deal," said Cole.

Learn more about CUPE Local 5040, including bargaining updates and upcoming events, on its Facebook page.