Louis Riel educational assistants fed up with stalled contract talks

Fuelled by frustration and hot cocoa, more than 250 school support staff set up a picket line in the snow on Thursday to protest their stagnant wages.

Educational assistants in the Louis Riel School Division have been without a contract for nearly three years.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees organized a rush-hour rally outside the division’s headquarters to raise awareness about the stalemate in negotiations.

“We are the foundation of education. Without us being in a school, children cannot learn,” said Leanne Gregorchuk, president of CUPE Local 3473, surrounded by colleagues gathered at 900 St. Mary’s Rd. after work Thursday.

Attendees held up signs bearing the phrases, “Fair deal now,” “Schools work because we do,” and, “You can’t spell teach without EA.”

Nobody wants to strike, but the union has been making preparations to take job action, Gregorchuk said, noting wage increases are the key issue.

The union leader represents about 700 employees, including EAs, community liaison workers and interpreters, among others.

EAs are currently paid between $24.12 to $26.79 per hour in the division’s 41 schools. The last time they got a raise was in 2022.

Concerns about the pace of negotiations led CUPE Local 3473 to poll members on a strike mandate in the fall. Ninety-seven per cent of them, representing more than half of the overall membership, cast ballots in favour of taking job action.

The union is finalizing an essential services agreement with the employer, after which its leaders can set a strike deadline.

(Recent changes to the Labour Relations Act require parties to determine whether they provide essential services and if so, establish a baseline workforce during a strike or lockout.)

“I care about the students that I work with. I don’t want to leave them high and dry,” said Thomas Orchard, an EA who works at a high school in south Winnipeg.

Orchard said he felt compelled to attend to raise awareness about the key role he and his colleagues play and the financial pressures they face.

He noted he’s made “massive” cuts to his food budget and cancelled all of his subscriptions to make ends meet.

Other EAs spoke about how frustrating it’s been to watch teacher colleagues’ wages get topped up in recent years while their pay has stayed put, despite growing expectations and violent student outbursts.

Gregorchuk said morale is low and mental health concerns are high as members, many of whom have multiple jobs, struggle to pay their bills.

Recruitment and retention have become a serious problem because wages have fallen behind other city division pay scales, she said, adding there are almost 40 unfilled EA postings at present.

CUPE Local 3473 is proposing annual general wage increases between 3.5 and four per cent over a four-year period (2023-24 to 2026-27).

EAs in the Winnipeg School Division recently settled a deal that will bump up average wages by 18 and 21 per cent overall.

That division pays its support staff between $19.81 and $31.52 an hour. That range will be $22.41 to $34.77 by the time their new contract is up after 2027-28.

Pay increases aside, Gregorchuk said her members are fighting to keep their personal days instead of getting paid out for vacation on every paycheque.

The union is also lobbying to establish crossing guards as members rather than casual staff, she said.

Representatives from CUPE Local 4642, which represents custodians, bus drivers and other staff, also attended the rally. Its members, who’ve been without a contract since Dec. 31, 2023, are seeking similar pay raises.

“We respect employees’ right to lawful job action and remain committed to bargaining in good faith,” superintendent Christian Michalik said in a statement.

The board of trustees approved a $281.7-million budget, which includes a 9.9 per cent increase in the mill rate, for 2026-27 this week.

The average homeowner, with a primary residence valued at $423,300, will pay $153.60 more in education property taxes.

Michalik said there will be some reductions in non-school-based roles and the division will prioritize attrition and reassignment where possible.

The plan includes funding for 2,401 full-time equivalent employees, including 1,152 teachers and 685 EAs.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca