Calgary public and Catholic schools could be without their custodial, and other maintenance staff as early as Monday.
About 800 Calgary Board of Education (CBE) employees with CUPE Local 40, and 350 Calgary Catholic School District (CSSD) employees with CUPE Local 520, both voted 94 per cent in favour of a strike last week, issuing a 72-hour notice Wednesday morning.
“It’s a last resort,” said CUPE spokesperson Lou Arab. “A lot of our members feel they don’t have any choice because they are watching the state of education deteriorate in the province.”
CUPE says the average Alberta school support worker makes $34,500 annually and many have gone almost a decade without a raise.
Arab adds it is not uncommon for the workers to have second or third jobs or rely on a food bank.
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The Calgary custodial staff, including cleaners, facility operators, heavy duty mechanics, locksmiths and ground maintenance staff, will join 4,000 other school support workers on the picket …