Black Gold, Parkland schools support workers to vote on strikes next

School support workers, belonging to CUPE 3550, strike in Edmonton in January 2025. (Evan Klippenstein / CTV News Edmonton)

School support workers in two more Edmonton-area school divisions will vote this weekend on whether to strike or not.

• Sign up for breaking news alerts from CTV News Edmonton, right at your fingertips

Locals 3484 and 5543, representing education assistants, librarians, secretarial staff and others in the Black Gold and Parkland school divisions, are two of five unions across the province who have scheduled strike votes between Sunday and Tuesday.

CUPE Alberta says provincially mandated limits on pay increases have challenged the ability of locals to bargain for liveable wages and left some school districts with job vacancy rates near 10 per cent. The average educational support worker earns $34,500.

• School support worker strike poised to grow as two more divisions reach impasse

A vote to strike does not mean job action will happen immediately; the unions would have to notify employers of plans to strike.

The other locals facing strike votes in coming days are located in Calgary and the Foothills school divisions.

More than 4,000 workers in the Edmonton region and Fort McMurray are already on strike.