Fort McMurray Education Workers Serve 72-Hours Strike Notice and The Public School District Serves Lockout Notice

[Link] CUPE 2545 and 2559 issued official strike notices, indicating a full withdrawal of services on Wednesday, November 13, and Thursday, November 14, 2024. Picketing will start at 7:45 a.m. at or near Dr. Karl A. Clark Public School and Lady of the Rivers Catholic School on Wednesday, November 13, 2024, and at a different location on Thursday, November 14, 2024.

Beginning Monday, November 18, 2024, the strike and pickets will start rotating through various schools in Fort McMurray, with a different location identified daily.

Hours before the strike notice was served, the public school district delivered a lockout vote notice to CUPE 2545. Public school board trustees will take a vote to determine if they will lockout education support workers.

"We will carry out the strike as planned and respond to the lockout vote as events unfold. In the meantime, we urge parents, supporters and the community to contact the public school board trustees and encourage them to vote against a lockout," said CUPE 2545 President Lynn Fleet. "The rolling strikes will no doubt create a disruption for families. However, rolling strikes also mean that our most vulnerable students won't fall behind. They will still get socialization, education, and care on the days we are not picketing. A lockout would rob children of the services they need for an undetermined length of time. This would be chaotic for families," added Danielle Danis, president of CUPE 2559.