CUPE strike hits home on multiple fronts for local mother – OkotoksOnline.com [Video]

A Foothills mother is stuck between a rock and a hard place amid the ongoing CUPE 5040 strike.

Jamie Hanson is one of 300 education workers with the Foothills School Division (FSD) currently on strike under CUPE Local 5040, itself being one of many union locals on strike in Alberta.

At the same time, her 11-year-old son Cale, a student at Red Deer Lake School in De Winton, has complex physical and educational needs that are usually met by a dedicated educational assistant that has worked with Cale for a few years.

According to Hanson, the school has offered alternatives for Cale to continue his in-class education, but Hanson doesn’t feel her son’s needs would be fully met.

“We were told to stay home last week, and then the school calls with options every couple of days. They offered guest teachers one time, and they’re not educated at all, they’re …