Parents can rest easy, there will be no strike by the Abbotsford School District’s support workers.
The members of the Teamsters Local 31 union voted on Nov. 25 to accept the district’s final offer for a new collective agreement, according to Kayla Stuckart, manager of communications for the district.
“Formal approval by the Board of Education and BCPSEA (B.C. Public School Employers Association) will follow in the coming days,” Stuckart said in an email.
The union and the district met three times with a negotiation mediator after the support staff voted 95 per cent in favour of a strike on Oct. 17. The district’s initial offer was rejected by 93 per cent of union members in September.
Clerical workers, bus drivers, librarians, education assistants, youth care workers, maintenance workers and custodians are all represented by the Teamsters.
The biggest grievances stemmed from support staff being the lowest paid district by an average of $3 to $5 an hour and receiving a third of the paid sick days most school districts get.
The details of the new collective agreement have not been made public yet.
RELATED: Abbotsford school support staff vote 95 per cent in favour of strike