Living Waters support staff has been without a contract since August 31, 2016

 

On Wednesday, April 25, several support staff from École St. Joseph School were set up outside the school for a demonstration with Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) with Northwest Region Vice-President Rod Feland in tow. The purpose of the booth and signage was to bring attention to an issue that Feland says has stalled and needs to be put back on track, fast.

Back on August 31, 2016 the collective agreement for support staff was up for renewal and over a year and half later, there still isn’t a new contract in place. “They’ve been in contract negotiations since 2016 and things have been going very slowly. The employer (Living Waters School Board) has basically come back to the table with only zeros when it comes to money. We just want to get them back to the table to negotiate with us properly.” Support staff includes secretaries, administrative people, custodians, and teacher assistants.

AUPE is the largest union in Alberta and they represent public sector workers across the province, 95,000 strong. Collective agreements are legally-binding contracts between a group of workers (the union) and an employer, and they outline the benefits agreed upon by both parties during the bargaining periods. The previous contract for local Living Waters support staff was in place from September 1, 2012 through August 31, 2016, and Feland hopes they can get one in place sooner rather than later.

“There is no school without them, especially the teacher assistants because curriculum is prescribed, but how that curriculum needs to be adapted to deliver to special needs students is determined by the teacher assistant. The teachers review that kind of stuff, but they don’t develop it,” explained Feland.

Living Waters Superintendent Jo-Anne Lanctot agreed that support staff is very important. “The Living Waters Support Staff is valued by the Board of Trustees. Our ongoing goal is to continue to work in a co-operative, harmonious, and respectful manner for the benefit and good of all our students.” She said the board is still working its way through the bargaining process and is committed to achieving a memorandum of agreement.

Though the reason for the stalemate is different on both sides, Feland said their side feels that it all comes down to money. “It seems to us that this board has prioritized its spending to focus on less academic stuff, especially the increase in wages for the superintendent and the assistant superintendent positions.” In a five-year period, those salaries increased by 23.5 per cent, whereas the support staff in the same period, increased by 8.4 per cent.” He also said the school has a $4.4 M accumulated surplus which is a point that Lanctot strongly disagrees with.

 

“Living Waters does not have a surplus of $4.4 M. It is likely that much of the perceived surplus includes amounts expended in prior years for the purchase of capital assets such as the school building, furniture and equipment, computer equipment, etc. These are not funds that are available to be spent, but rather funds that have already been spent on school buildings, equipment and furniture,” Lanctot said. She added that Living Waters has had successive losses from operations in 2015 to 2017 totaling nearly $1.5 M over those last three years. “Our audited financial statements are posted on our Living Waters Catholic School Division website.”

Feland said support staff wants to see the board refocus money and spend it on those who work with students. “If you ask the students, they can tell you who the custodians are in their schools, they can tell you who the administration people are, and they can tell you who the teacher assistants are in their schools.”

He continued, saying that more support is needed for support staff and, especially, the teaching assistants. “They deal with very special needs students and should be compensated properly. Right now, the average wage of support staff is around $30,000 a year. We just want to see them refocus and put the money where it would be most useful for the students.”

Feland asks residents to talk to their Living Waters school trustees, the arch diocese and their MLA. “Let them know that they want to see what’s best for their students at their schools. Right now, we are waiting to see what happens and that’s why we are out here to let people know that this is happening and to please come and support us.”

When asked what he and the support staff want most from the board, Feland said that it was for them to come back to the table. “As a union, we are a value-based organization and we know that the Catholic School Board is a value-based organization, so let’s recognize our values and get back to the table to negotiate fairly.”

Lanctot said the board is committed to bargaining in good faith. “The board has a desire to return to the bargaining table to continue the process leading to the successful completion of a Memorandum of Agreement. The Board is in the process of co-ordinating dates with our AUPE Local to get back to negotiating soon.”

To read more from Living Waters, and to view its financial statements, visit www.livingwaters.ab.ca. To learn more about AUPE visit www.aupe.org.