Fort McMurray school support worker strike is officially over, as members ratify deal
Fort McMurray education support workers approved a new contract and will return to work Wednesday.
In a statement released Monday night, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) said members ratified agreements with the Fort McMurray Public and Fort McMurray Catholic school districts. It comes after 1,000 members in Fort McMurray walked off the job in mid-November.
CUPE spokesperson Lou Arab said the union will not be releasing detailed results of the vote. The details of the collective agreement will become publicly available in the coming days.
Workers at Edmonton Public Schools will hold a ratification vote on Tuesday and could return Wednesday or Thursday.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
3 hours ago
- CTV News
City inside workers vote 86 per cent in favour of strike action
The City of Windsor's inside workers have voted 86 per cent in favour of strike action. A national communications representative with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) has confirmed that the members voted in favour of the strike mandate on June 3. CUPE 543.1 represents over 1,500 inside workers with the city who work in administrative and office settings. The contract between the city and CUPE 543.1 expired over six months ago and while bargaining meetings have been ongoing, the two sides have been unable to reach a deal, prompting the strike vote. CUPE 543.1 posted to social media stating that while they had received a deal that mirrored the agreement with the outside workers - represented by CUPE Local 82 - but that the city then presented an offer that was 'significantly worse' following council direction. Wages remain the key issue in bargaining at this time. Eric Bell, national communications representative with CUPE, said the strike vote doesn't mean a strike will happen. 'They have that mandate from their membership to strike, if necessary,' said Bell. 'The Local is going to be bargaining later this month with the City of Windsor, and they do hope that this sends a strong message to the employer that the membership is united in wanting to achieve a deal that is fair and makes gains for those members.' He said the city had proposed wages that were nearly identical to what the outside workers achieved before presenting an offer with a lower wage increase. 'They're blaming uncertainty and tariffs as a result of why they can't afford to pay those higher wages, but so far the city has not been able to provide any concrete evidence that the tariffs would prevent them from getting members to a deal that is closer to exactly what the outside workers achieved just a few months ago,' he said. He added at this time, there is no strike date set. 'They full would expect to be able to get close to a deal that they deem fair. There is no date effective that they would go on strike just yet, there's several steps that would have to happen before that.' Bell said a number of talks are currently planned throughout the month of June. The contract for the inside workers expired on Dec. 31, 2024. - Written by Meagan Delaurier/AM800 News.
CBC
7 days ago
- CBC
Technical, administrative support staff at Manitoba Hydro vote for strike action
Technical and administrative support workers at Manitoba Hydro have voted in favour of strike action after their union says negotiations with the Crown utilities corporation reached a stalemate. CUPE Local 998, the chapter of the union representing about 870 Manitoba Hydro workers, said the strike vote comes months into bargaining in which the Crown corporation has failed to present an offer that is consistent with other bargaining units. The vote in favour of the strike mandate happened on Friday. The union said in a statement Monday that it is filing for conciliation services in an attempt to reach a deal before setting a strike date, which could happen within a few weeks. The union said the Crown corporation was mismanaged by the previous PC government and the NDP government has failed to "right the ship," despite its promises. A spokesperson for Manitoba Hydro said the Crown corporation remains committed to the collective bargaining process with hopes of reaching a fair settlement consistent with agreements reached with other bargaining units. Manitoba Hydro workers represented by Unifor ratified a new contract with the Crown corporation earlier this year and a tentative agreement with workers from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union's local chapter in 2023. CUPE said it is bargaining for wage increases equal to other bargaining units, the reversal of privatization efforts and addressing union recognition issues by Hydro management. The union said its Local 998 chapter is the second-largest bargaining group at Manitoba Hydro, representing IT, the customer engagement centre and other technical and administrative support staff.
CBC
7 days ago
- CBC
Anglophone South eliminates library worker jobs
The Anglophone South school district is eliminating 13 full-time and five part-time library worker positions, just days after the province promised more collaboration to mitigate the impact of budget cuts. Theresa McAllister, the provincial president of Local 2745 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, said she learned of the cuts in a meeting Monday morning. She put the number of positions eliminated at 17, with 15 employees affected. "The kids are the ones that will be affected, because they're saying the libraries will not close," she said. "Wonderful. But who's going to be working in those libraries?" The district says the laid-off workers will be eligible for other jobs within the school system, and the cuts won't affect students because schools now use classroom-based book collections. "Schools no longer have traditional library tasks," spokesperson Jessica Hanlon said in an emailed statement. "The decision to reduce library worker roles was part of an overall effort to maximize our budget to focus most directly on student learning in our classrooms, and make best use of our employees' skill sets." The positions were the only library jobs remaining in the district. Last week, the Holt Liberal government asked districts for new spending plans to "mitigate choices that could impact the classroom and the supports our students rely on most." That followed a month of controversy over the province's budget allocation to the seven education districts and the cuts some districts made in response. While overall funding went up, the government's earmarking of most of the money in specific areas left the districts having to reduce spending by $43 million. Letters sent to the districts last week said the Education Department wanted to collaborate with the districts and would "consider adjusting funding in relation to the proposals you submit." The new district plans were due at the end of the day last Friday. McAllister said it was confusing that Monday's layoffs happened so soon after that deadline. "We would be the last to be invited to collaborate," she said. "Let's just put that out there. So I don't know. But I aim to find out exactly how that happened or didn't happen, if they did relook, if they got extra money." Hanlon said the decision on the library worker positions is final and won't be reversed as a result of any further discussions with the government.
