Public school support staff in School District 57 have voted 85 per cent in favour of strike action, joining at least 16 other Canadian Union of Public Employee (CUPE) locals in the province that also overwhelmingly favour job actions.
CUPE Local 3742 president Lorraine Prouse, who represents 667 clerical/custodial staff and educational assistants, announced the result of the April 16 vote at Tuesday's public school board meeting.
"There are still locals in the process of bargaining and some that are taking strike votes and we're hopeful by May 24 all the locals will be in the same spot as we are, at an impasse," said Prouse. "Our board's hands were tied because they couldn't bargain any monetary things, just housekeeping."
A series of three votes by CUPE Local 4991, which represents 49 maintenance and grounds crew workers in SD 57, resulted in a 95 per cent strike mandate.
Talks with the B.C. Public School Employees Association have so far proved fruitless. CUPE Local 4991 president Brian Trotter said 14 provincial bargaining sessions since November have resulted in only slight changes in the wording of their contract.
"We haven't had a wage increase in four years," said Trotter. "Our property taxes go up 3.5 per cent every year and we're just falling further and further behind. Our guys want an increase. When the government has a co-operative gains mandate, the money saved has to come from mining our own contract, so we'd be funding our own raise by doing that."
The contract of both SD 57 CUPE locals expired on June 30, 2012. Province-wide, there are 27,000 CUPE staff working for school districts.
Trotter said with so many CUPE locals favouring strike action, the next step is to organize a collective job action.
"We'll do something as a province as a whole sector, rather than local by local," he said.
