FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 15, 1998
Cormack urges Catholic board to
return to the bargaining table
AFL pledges support for school board workers
CALGARY -- A strike by caretakers and maintenance staff at Catholic schools in Calgary can be avoided -- but only if officials from the Catholic school board stop playing games with their employees' jobs, says Audrey Cormack, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour. "We are one day away from a strike that will almost certainly disrupt operations at dozens of schools in the City of Calgary," says Cormack. "No one wants that to happen. But by refusing to guarantee that custodial and maintenance work won't be contracted-out, the school board has left its employees with no other options. They are fighting for their jobs." The dispute between the school board and its support staff -- members of CUPE Local 520 -- centres around a clause in the current collective agreement which guarantees that custodial and maintenance work will not be contracted-out to private firms. Negotiators from the board have demanded that the clause be removed from the agreement -- but the employees say it must remain. "The school board says that custodial and maintenance jobs will not be in jeopardy if the clause is removed," says Cormack. "But who do they think they're kidding ? Why would they demand the elimination of the 'no-contracting-out' clause unless they were considering privatizing custodial and maintenance services?" Pointing to a recent study conducted by the Edmonton Public School Board , Cormack said it is in everyone's best interest to make sure that custodial and maintenance work continues to be performed by the board's own employees. "The Edmonton study compared the quality of custodial work done by public-sector employees with the work done by private contractors -- and the results were clear," says Cormack. "The study found that contractors left schools dirty and actually cost the board more in the long run. Contract staff also consistently failed tests on safety knowledge. And many Edmonton parents were concerned by the high turn-over rate of contract staff. They never knew who was actually working with their kids in the schools." Given that continued in-house service makes so much sense, Cormack called on the board to re-evaluate its position and return to the bargaining table. "This isn't about demands for money or better benefits," she says. "It's about a dedicated group of employees who want to continue providing high-quality service in our schools. All they want is a guarantee that their jobs won't be farmed out to low-wage, low-quality contractors. I urge the school board to return to the bargaining table with a promise to leave the 'no-contracting out' clause in place. If they do, the dispute will be settled and we will be able to avoid a strike that nobody really wants." However, if the board refuses to reconsider its position, they are in for a tough battle, predicts Cormack. "The whole labour movement is behind these workers," she says. "And I suspect that when the issues are presented, the public will be quite supportive too. If the board thinks they can force the workers into quick submission on this issue, they're mistaken." As a demonstration of the AFL's support for the school board workers, Cormack will speak at a rally outside the boards' office (located at 1000 5th Ave. S.W., Calgary). The rally will be held tomorrow, Friday, January 16th, at noon. "I will be pledging support for the school board workers on behalf of unions from across the province," she says. "Once the custodians and maintenance workers walk off the job, the AFL will play an active role in bringing out people from other unions to help bolster the picket lines. The bottom line is that these workers will not be standing alone."
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