From boardroom to picket line: former EPSB trustee resigns, joins striking workers

Trisha Estabrooks resigned as a trustee for Edmonton Public Schools Wednesday.

The following morning, she joined education support workers on strike for higher wages.

“We don’t pay them enough to pay the rent, put food on the table, purchase a bus pass, live a life of dignity,” Estabrooks said.

The former journalist was first elected in Ward D in central Edmonton in 2017.

Striking workers and their supporters welcomed her with open arms and some cheers.

“That is amazing to us,” said Michelle Bilodeau, the CUPE 3550 picket coordinator. “It’s great to have somebody that was in that position to stand up for us. We need somebody to stand up for us.”

“It means the world to us and to the workers for her to choose a side,” added Bradley Lafortune with Public Interest Alberta. “Sometimes you have to choose a side, right?”

Estabrooks is not done with politics, however. She’s running for the NDP in the next federal election and says she’s been door knocking in Edmonton Centre for months.

Estabrooks planned to stay on school board until a federal vote is called, but says she was compelled to take a side now.

She believes the real reason workers don’t have a deal is the UCP government’s funding formula for education. Estabrooks insists a provincial government projecting a $4 billion surplus can afford to spend more on schools and staff.

“We are in this situation because of years of underfunding of public education,” Estabrooks said. “And here we have workers who are bearing the brunt of this. Now is the time to invest in public education.”

But the Alberta finance minister, Nate Horner, argues a mediated raise of around three per cent is fair and says it’s up to the union and school board to make a deal.

Some 3,000 staff, from educational assistants to cafeteria workers, have been on picket lines since Jan. 13 over the wage dispute.

The union has said the average education support worker in Alberta makes $34,500 per year and educational assistants $26,400 per year.

Both parties returned to the negotiating table on Thursday. Workers say they want to go back to class – with a raise – on Monday.

–With files from The Canadian Press