Custodians, school support workers on strike in Calgary

Around 800 support staff at the Calgary Board of Education and another 350 from the Calgary Catholic School District walked off the job Monday.

School support workers in Calgary, members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), will start their strike Monday morning, picketing at several locations across the city.

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This job action comes after around 800 employees at the Calgary Board of Education and 350 members with the Calgary Catholic School District overwhelmingly voted in favour of a strike last Wednesday.

Support workers in the Foothills and Black Gold school divisions will also be on strike today.

Picket lines will be in place at the following locations:

- CUPE 40 (Calgary Board of Education) McDougall Centre: 7 to 9 a.m., CBE head office: 9 to 11 a.m.;

- CUPE 520 (Calgary Catholic School Division) McDougall Centre: 7 to 9 a.m., CCSD head office: 9 to 11 a.m.;

- CUPE 5040 (Foothills School Division) Diamond Valley: Oilfield High School: 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.;

- High River: Highwood High School: 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.; and

- Okotoks: Foothills Composite High School: 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

CUPE notes these locations are for Monday only, and will change during the strike.

The maintenance and custodial workers starting job action Monday join 4,000 education support workers in Edmonton and Fort McMurray who have been on strike for the past six weeks.

CUPE says the average school support worker in Alberta makes around $34,500 a year and is calling on the province to increase wages.

Calgary’s public and Catholic school boards say schools will remain open and classes will continue.