More than 900 Edmonton Catholic School secretaries, librarians, teacher assistants and special-needs teaching assistants are voting today and Wednesday on a contract offer.

Workers walked off the job Monday over wages, job security and full-time positions being reduced to part-time.

Donna Richard, an office administrator and librarian, hopes her colleagues won't back down.

"It's cold out here and, walking the streets, it's not enjoyable," she said. "It's rather degrading.

"I'd rather be in my school doing my job and I'm hoping that people don't give in and say 'Yes' to the memoranda and just take it just because they don't want to walk the streets.

"We are on strike right now and we should support it."

The Catholic school board asked the Alberta Labour Relations Board to order a second vote on its offer after only half the workers cast a ballot in a vote last week.

The contract offer was rejected by a margin of 277 to 202.

Richard expects more staff will cast ballots with the vote taking place over two days, at a number of locations, during striking hours.

The offer contains a 4.54-per-cent wage hike in the first year, with the possibility of another increase in the second.