As long as teachers do not set up picket lines during their planned three-day walkout, other unionized school staff will be on the job this week.
The strike takes effect Monday, and no classes will be in session until Thursday, assuming teachers follow a B.C. Labour Relations Board ruling that limits the length of their walkout to three days in the first week.
"We've been told by CUPE there won't be picketing, it's just an information line, but if there is a picket line, legal or not, we won't be crossing it," said CUPE local 4911 president Brian Cotter, which has 48 maintenance staff and grounds crew workers employed by the school district.
"If they're just out on the street handing out pamphlets then we'll go to work as we're instructed. We won't know until Monday."
CUPE local 3742 has more than 700 school support staff, educational assistants, custodians, and clerical workers who work at School District 57 schools.
Schools will be open during the strike for families of students who are unable to find alternate care during the strike but the non-teaching union staff have been told not to fill any supervisory roles.
"We're just maintenance guys, we're not going to do the teachers' job, we'll do our own job," said Cotter. "It's actually better for us if the kids aren't there, it gives us more room to work."
CUPE has stated it is in complete support of the teachers and their stand against the province in the face of a legislated settlement to their six-month job action, introduced by the Liberal government last week as the Education Advancement Act. To avoid prolonging last week's LRB hearings on essential services, the B.C. Teachers' Federation had asked the labour board to allow non-teaching unionized staff to work during the strike.
Prince George District Teachers Association president Matt Pearce said teachers will be outside the schools handing out leaflets starting today at 7 a.m.
"The Labour Relations Board ruling was that we can have information lines up, but they aren't true picket lines and we won't be wearing the sandwich-stye signs," Pearce said. "Other unions are not only allowed to cross, but we've told them they should cross and make sure our job action stays a legal job action."
The Professional Employees Association has 30 social workers, psychologists, occupational therapists and speech pathologists working in Prince George-area schools. The organization is asking its employees to visit teachers in front of schools this week and bring them coffee, pizza and donuts as they hand out their leaflets. The PEA has made up buttons to show they support the teachers.
"The teachers won't be working, they're in a legal position to strike, but they've got their order to not set up picket lines," said Melissa Moroz, labour relations officer for the PEA. "My members are unionized employees and they would not cross picket lines.
"It won't be business as usual, because the primary responsibility of professional employees is to work with children, and there's not going to be a lot of children at school. They've probably got a lot of paper work to catch up on."
Moroz said PEA members are strongly on the side of teachers in their labour dispute.
"They are feeling the government's lack of funding to public education, just like the teachers are," she said. "They're very sympathetic to the goals the teachers are trying to achieve. The legislation will likely get passed next week and if it does it would impose huge fines on the teachers if they strike. Whether they go out illegally remains to be seen. They're in a tough position.
"They could pass a law that makes it illegal for CUPE members and PEA members to go on strike. I wouldn't put it past this government."
