Winnipeg School Division EAs give their union strike mandate

Six in 10 school support staff in Winnipeg’s inner-city and central neighbourhoods have considered quitting their jobs over the last year.

That’s according to a recent workforce survey undertaken by the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union.

MGEU represents about 1,800 employees, the majority of whom are educational assistants, in the Winnipeg School Division.

Fed-up workers have given their union a strong strike mandate, following a vote that took place early this week, MGEU president Kyle Ross told the Free Press Wednesday.

Ross declined to provide a breakdown of the vote, saying that would be against the public-sector union’s practices.

He said that EAs do not want to take job action during back-to-school-season this fall, but it has become a real possibility. A tentative strike date has not yet been set.

MGEU and WSD are in the process of negotiating a new contract to replace a previous one that expired last summer.

As part of that process, MGEU polled Local 460 members on their job satisfaction between May 29 and June 6.

“One of the leading concerns is salary, but it’s also the complexity of the classrooms, the violence in the classrooms, Ross said.

At the same time, he said members are eyeing recent raises that have been secured in the health care and early childhood education sectors.

The spring survey yielded 830 responses, representing just under half of the membership that encompasses library technicians and crossing guards, among other education support workers.

The findings show 69 per cent of these employees are satisfied with their work in and of itself, but 59 per cent indicated they had thought about leaving WSD over the last 12 months.

More than three-quarters of the latter group indicated they were enticed by better wages elsewhere.

Asked about what other jobs or sectors they’ve considered, the overwhelming majority indicated they had thought about moving to another school division.

There was also noticeable interest in both health-care professions and early childhood education.

Emily-Anne Paul, a public affairs specialist at the union, noted that members have fallen behind when it comes to both the general cost of living and counterpart wages in other divisions.

Educational assistants currently earn between $18.18 to $29.22 per hour in WSD, depending on their classification.

That range is $25.02 to $30.39 per hour in the Seven Oaks School Division. The Pembina Trails School Division’s hourly base rates for the current school year begin at $24.23 and max out at $36.02.

Superintentendent Matt Henderson said WSD has gone to the negotiating table in good faith.

“We are confident that we will be able to reach an agreement with MGEU,” said the chief executive officer responsible for overseeing the operations of 80 schools in Winnipeg. “WSD does not bargain in the media.”

MGEU Local 460 was established in September 2023.

Educational assistants in Manitoba belong to a patchwork of unions, including MGEU, Canadian Union of Public Employees and independent associations.

WSD support staff were previously represented by the now-defunct Winnipeg Association of Non-Teaching Employees.

WANTE leadership negotiated their last agreement, which was in force from July 2, 2017 to July 1, 2024.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca