Support Staff Strike to Begin at Fort McMurray Catholic and Public Schools
FORT MCMURRAY, Alberta — Support staff across Fort McMurray’s Public and Catholic School Divisions will begin job action this week. Educational assistants and other members of CUPE Locals 2559 and 2545 will be on the job Tuesday, November 12, but a full strike across both school divisions is planned for Wednesday, November 13, and Thursday, November 14. Support staff will return to work on Friday, November 15.
Starting the week of November 18, CUPE members will move to a rotating strike schedule, with some schools affected by picketing while most will operate with a full complement of support staff.
Fort McMurray Public Schools, anticipating potential disruptions, has filed a lockout application with Alberta Labour Relations, although Superintendent Annalee Nutter clarified that no lockouts are planned at this time.
The Fort McMurray Catholic School Division has not filed a similar application.
CUPE Locals 2559 and 2545 plan to update affected schools and staff schedules via their respective Facebook pages.