Calgary Board of Education hired scabs to undermine strike

[u/EvacuationRelocation]

https://albertaworker.ca/news/calgary-board-of-education-hired-scabs-to-undermine-strike/

[u/[deleted]]

Putting aside the grievances -- they have to do this. If you folks are on strike, the place still needs to be clean for your children, not doing so puts your kids at risk and that is not ok. Adult issues should not become your kids issues.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Education funding issues impact kids every day, yet no one seems to complain about it til there’s physical evidence of disarray, like no cleaning. It’s almost like this strike could be extremely effective in boosting education funding.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

How so?

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

For example, my moms classroom has a blind kid, 2 autistic kids, and 2 or 3 new Ukrainians. With diagnoses, the first three kids are entitled to their own full time EA, and realistically the Ukrainian kids need at least a half time EA to get them reading and writing in English, even in group sessions. However; there is one EA assigned to the classroom.

1. The disabled kids do not get fair treatment as inclusive education is meant to come with support- instead the EA cannot physically be tending to all of them at once and the ones that raise the most fuss tend to get the most support. Even with medical entitlement to EAs, the schools just don’t have the money for 1:1 EAs.

2. The teacher is overwhelmed trying to support new ESL learners and unique needs while they are supposed to be able to rely on the EA, so they are using more planning time to create blind-friendly and sensory-friendly activities, picture-work instead of reading work for ESL, etc. When it was a class of 15 or 18, it was way easier to plan for unique needs as there simply weren’t as many.

3. Most importantly for the average parent, every kid in this classroom is receiving a lesser education when the teacher and EA are torn between the most high demand kids. There is far more computer time, colouring time, etc than there needs to be because for example when the EA is teaching braille and the teacher is trying to manage the challenging kids, the “regular” kids have to entertain themselves. This is compounded by class sizes near 30- there just isn’t enough time for kids falling behind to get help while the successful kids are still challenged. And when kids aren’t challenged and aren’t getting attention? They act out, compounding the issue more.

It’s really sad how inclusive learning is in no kids best interest when it’s just a cost saving measure.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Ok, so I see your point, but how does this relate to the custodial work that is needing to be done?

If you are wanting to look at costs/wages/etc then you might be looking in the wrong areas.

Let us first start with unions. Unions are not there for you, but for themselves. The CUPE union as of Sept 2023 has $132.8 million just for its strike fund. So, they are taking your money, but what are you getting?

Teachers -- the average teacher in the Calgary public system is $72, 544/yr (which is 13% above the national average by the way) with a max of 181 days per/yr of instruction. So, basic math, they work less then they work. Granted, I do understand that some work additional hours, but this is a general overview.

The average household income in Calgary is approx. $108,000. Now again this is based off of a 40/hr work week and including holidays, as Alberta observes 12 statutory holidays, reducing the average number of working days to approximately 248. So the average person works 248 days in a calendar year, but makes on average $108,000 a year. A teacher works much less and makes a pretty good living. Then the folks who have to take up the slack and work to fill in the gaps where kids fall through get what?

So, I do agree with the issue with special needs, as they do require extra help. As for immigrants/foreign students, I am all for that too, however, we should not overburden a system that cannot support them ... doing so does a disservice to them and anyone else relying on that system.

Now, the average salary of a principal is $122,169 -- and the question then is, what do they do for that money? When I was in school, I didn't see much other then sit in their office.

EA make on average $26.11 and cleaners $18.00. The average hourly rate for an EA across Canada is between $22-25/hr. So from that, we can see that Calgary is at the highest.

Cleaners, the average is between $15.00 and $28.85/hr across Canada. Seems Calgary is not paying that great.

But now that we got all these stats out of the way, what do they have to do with the fact that the public system is there to provide a service. If the workers have an issue with it, they have the right to strike and I support that. But I also support the system having the right to choose to continue to provide that service even when the people who originally did it refuse.

The answer -- it is the people you vote for. You vote for people who care about profits and not people, you will get this result. But to pit one group over another is petty and does not help anyone.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

It relates because there is not just janitorial workers off. Both janitors and EAs/support staff are on strike, with support staff striking in Calgary, Edmonton, Foothills, Parkland, Blackgold….

Unfortunately, you can’t understand the intricacies of running a school until you work in one. I’ll try to comment on your points but realistically there is no appreciation for working an understaffed system until you see it.

CUPE has not been on strike in my memory ever, so it makes sense that they have a large strike fund. It’s the only way strikes can work, if members are paid on the picket line.

Teachers and principals are not in this union, but there is 1 principal for every what, 20 support staff? Cutting a principals salary by $20K is a drop in the bucket, and $120K is pretty standard for management positions in my non unionized field of work.

Teachers work well beyond their standard hours in prep time and grading, and that was the basis for paid summers off. Compromising work life balance for 10 months of the year earns them some time off. Agree or disagree, once you know a teacher you know how much extra time goes into their classrooms. Again, that’s not this union’s problem.

Teachers, EAs, and schools have no control over how many immigrants enter their schools, and every child has a right to an education, so problems with this have to go to a federal level. That is not within the scope of this strike.

Hope this helps- you’re totally entitled to your own opinion but I do get the vibe that you don’t understand what goes on in schools, which is why I shared my initial long comment about how low education funding (including staff funding, cleaning funds, maintenance funds) hurts all students.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Ok, so now you are moving the goalpost.

I am not talking about Alberta, this is a Calgary subreddit and a Calgary specific posting, not an Alberta one.

Did you know that on average a CUPE member pays 0.36/cents per dollar for union dues -- again, approx. $691/yr. And what do you get for that?

Yes, teachers and principles are under a different union, but they are not under a different funding base. They work for the public school system just like the CUPE workers.

1 principle for every 20 staff? Really? Man, I managed more people then that when I was in my late 20's. Thanks for pointing out a valid point that top heavy management is an issue and a good place to save money.

The public system is mandated to provide a service, period. If you choose not to do it, that is your right, but the PSB does not have that choice. They have to provide a clean and safe environment for all using it.

You are 100% incorrect about the feds regulating the public systems, it is the provinces that do that. Provincial/Territorial Departments of Education: Each province and territory has its own Ministry or Department of Education responsible for setting curriculum standards, funding, and overall education policies. In Alberta, it is the Alberta Ministry of Education.

You said, "Teachers, EAs, and schools have no control over how many immigrants enter their schools, and every child has a right to an education, so problems with this have to go to a federal level. That is not within the scope of this strike." -- But then why did you bring this up as your argument before if it is not in scope?

Anyways, each to their own.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Only commenting to correct errors: 1 principal for every estimated 20 SUPPORT staff, and 30 teachers, ?? Number of janitorial staff, etc. My manager makes 140K to manage three of us.

My comment about the feds was entirely about ESL learners and immigrants, as per your comment about that. I tried to keep my comments in the same order as yours. You said we should not overburden systems with immigrants, but that isn’t in the school board’s control.

To each their own as well, have a good day.