School support workers hold rally in Dartmouth as strike deadline looms

School support workers held a rally at the Ferry Terminal Park in Dartmouth on Saturday afternoon to draw attention to their union’s ongoing negotiations with the province for increased wages.

Workers represented by CUPE’s Nova Scotia School Board Council of Unions were out by the dozens as they held signs that read messages such as “Schools work because we do” and shirts that said “I stand with CUPE” to showcase solidarity for the cause.

Bryan Landry, an educational program assistant, said the union members want both the government and the public to become more aware of the issue.

“This is something to put ourselves out there and show the government that we’re serious about what we want, not just with us here in Halifax, but with the entire province,” he said.

Dartmouth wasn’t the only location in Nova Scotia where workers and community members alike gathered to show support. Similar rallies took place in nine other communities throughout the province Saturday including Truro, Yarmouth, and Port Hawkesbury.

“We’re all tired,” Landry said.

“We’ve been pitted against each other for so long because so many places are paid differently. The government wants to keep everyone separated — they have this centre and that centre —  but we’re all support workers. We all work for our students, and that’s what we’re here to recognize.”

The union represents more than 5,400 staff members consisting of bus drivers, teaching assistants, cleaners, ECE and EPA staff, tradespeople, and food service workers. In a Friday release, CUPE said workers have voted 97.5 per cent in favour of strike action “if an agreement that secures significant wage increases for members can’t be reached.”

“CUPE education workers are among the lowest paid workers in the public sector, with the majority making less than $30,000 a year,” the release said.

Melissa Brown, an early childhood educator, says there are about 40 different classifications of school support staff throughout the province who aren’t paid fairly.

“There are a lot of people who are working two to three extra jobs on top of the work that they do working with the children in public schools,” she said.

N.S. Education Minister Becky Druhan said on Wednesday that she is confident that there still is a path to a negotiated agreement between union members and the provincial government.

“We know historically they’ve had different pay across regions. There hasn’t been equity, but we’re really looking for and we’re committed to a path to equity,” she said.

Chris Melanson, president of the area’s CUPE division and chairperson for the Nova Scotia School Board Council of Unions, said the purpose of Saturday afternoon’s “info picket” was to talk with the public and “call a few people’s bluffs.”

“There are a few government officials and a few employers around the province that actually don’t think CUPE members are willing to ‘walk the line,'” he said.

Melanson noted the number of members from other sectors who came out to rally and support.

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“We’ve got some teachers here today that are standing beside us and supporting us because they recognize as well that our members need that raise to come up out of poverty,” Melanson said. “We have so many of our members that are single parents, single mothers, that are struggling to make ends meet.”

“They are working two and three different jobs and sometimes making those horrible choices like, ‘Do we pay a utility this month? Do we pay for groceries? Do we pay for medication?’ It’s a struggle for all,” he said.

Melanson said seeing people come together like this is motivating and shows that workers are unified and supported.

According to the release from CUPE, talks failed after the NSSBCU filed for conciliation “in hopes that a third party would help refocus government on finalizing a fair deal that helps members escape poverty.”

If a deal isn’t reached, education workers will be in a legal strike position on April 21.

Landry hopes Saturday’s rally will send a message to the government to return to the negotiating table.

“Right now, it feels like we’re being told, ‘Go get a better job if you feel that you’re not being paid enough.’ And that’s what we want. We want to be paid enough to do what we love to do, and we love working with our kids,” he said.

“That’s what we do this for, to help as much as we can. We want to be able to be allowed to do it and make enough money to live a life.”

— with files from Vanessa Wright and Megan King