Custodial and maintenance workers reach tentative deal with Calgary Board of Education

Andrew Jeffrey · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 18, 2025 9:39 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

Striking custodial and attraction workers at the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) whitethorn soon beryllium backmost connected the occupation aft their national reached a tentative woody with the schoolhouse board.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) announced connected Tuesday greeting that it had reached tentative agreements with some the CBE and the Parkland School Division, westbound of Edmonton. The agreements, which would extremity a three-week enactment stoppage, are for a three-year word ending successful August 2028.

More than 1,100 custodial and attraction workers from Calgary's nationalist and Catholic schoolhouse districts went connected onslaught successful February, arguing they haven't received a wage summation successful years. The striking workers included cleaners, plumbers, tradespeople, installation operators, mechanics and members moving connected crushed attraction and snowfall removal.

Members of CUPE Local 40 inactive request to hold to ratify the woody with the CBE. The national volition clasp an physics ratification ballot connected Tuesday night, with results announced the pursuing evening. If approved, the workers would instrumentality to Calgary nationalist schools connected Friday.

CUPE Alberta president Rory Gill said connected Tuesday that his union's members made it wide passim the past fewer weeks they were superior with the schoolhouse boards and state astir needing amended wages, which has resulted successful caller deals for striking acquisition workers astir Alberta.

"These person been precise agelong strikes, incredibly pugnacious struggles for our members," Gill said. "But they've maintained their determination, their spot and their solidarity, and it's paying off. It's paying disconnected successful decent surviving wages and due backing for nationalist education."

CUPE Local 5543, representing Parkland School Division employees, volition clasp a ratification ballot of their ain opening Tuesday afternoon.

More details about the caller deals volition beryllium released aft national members person reviewed them, Gill said. But CUPE noted the agreements are for a wage bundle higher than what the provincial authorities primitively mandated.

The caller agreements follow thousands of acquisition enactment workers crossed Alberta reaching a tentative woody of their ain with the Edmonton Public, Fort McMurray Public and Fort McMurray Catholic schoolhouse districts connected Saturday. CUPE's statement with the Fort McMurray schoolhouse boards was ratified this week, which volition bring them backmost to enactment connected Wednesday.

CUPE 3550 members astatine Edmonton Public Schools volition ballot connected their tentative statement connected Wednesday. If accepted, the Edmonton nationalist schoolhouse workers connected onslaught will return to enactment connected Thursday.

Strikes stay ongoing for CUPE workers astatine the Calgary Catholic School District (CCSD), arsenic good arsenic the Black Gold School Division successful cardinal Alberta and Foothills School Division.

Gill said his knowing is that Local 520 members, who are connected onslaught from the CCSD, volition beryllium negotiating with their schoolhouse part today, and he's hopeful they'll scope a woody conscionable similar their counterparts astir the state successful the past fewer days.