Edmonton Public School custodial staff in CUPE 474 held a strike vote in person over two days on October 17th and 20th. The membership of roughly 900 voted decisively in favour of taking strike action by 97%. After confirmation of the final results by the Alberta Labour Board, the Local is now in a position to give 72-hour strike notice.
President of CUPE 474 Barry Benoit said, he had anticipated this strong result, having heard consistently from the membership that “issues around respect, wages, and benefits have to be addressed for an agreement to be acceptable.”
This is the second CUPE local in Edmonton Public to take a strike vote, following CUPE 3550’s strike vote on October 16th. This is the first time in the history of both locals that members are overwhelmingly willing to take strike action. “We are very determined to achieve a fair collective bargaining agreement,” said Benoit. “We are, as we have always been, open to getting back to the table to consider an offer we can recommend to members if it properly addresses the issues.”