Whats The Buzz?

Apostles;
What's the buzz
Tell me what's a-happening
Jesus Christ Superstar


Well Buzz Hargrove is at it again, with his own politics of Stratgic Voting. This morning he was interviewed on CBC and was supporting the NDP. This afternoon he introduced Paul Martin to CAW delegates and was supporting the NDP in a Liberal Minority Government. His whole fixation is anybody but Harper. Which means as Buzz puts it a Liberal Minority Government and a strong NDP opposition. Now this could be dismissed as RealPolitick, since Buzz is concerned about Southern Ontario and his Autoworkers.

Union head praises Martin

Liberal Leader Paul Martin tried to poach some union votes Friday -- and received a limited endorsement.

Buzz Hargrove, president of the Canadian Auto Workers Union, gave Mr. Martin a warm introduction to his union's leadership conference in Toronto and told reporters afterwards he wants the Liberal leader to remain prime minister after the Jan. 23 election.

The "extreme right-wing" Conservatives need to be kept from winning at all costs, Mr. Hargrove said.

Thus, union members might need to "vote strategically" in ridings where the NDP candidate is a distant third but the Liberals could win with union support, Mr. Hargrove said.

"We want a clear minority government, led by Paul Martin, with as many New Democrats holding the balance of power as possible."

The ideal political outcome, Mr. Hargrove continued, would be a minority Liberal government with the Liberals and NDP coming together to form a "stable coalition or sign an accord" to work together.

"That's in the best interest of Canada," Mr. Hargrove told reporters.

Mr. Hargrove, whose union has been a major financial supporter of the NDP over the years, has also been a bit of a loose cannon.

Asked if he had discussed the strategic voting idea with NDP Leader Jack Layton, Mr. Hargrove snapped: "No. I don't work for Jack."

But the CAW is more than just autoworkers now its a Canada wide union, one which also has ties with other unions like the Alberta Union of Public Employees, rogue unions that do not belong to the House of Labour the CLC and its Provincial Labour Federations. And Dan McLellan charismatic leader of AUPE is a died in the wool Liberal, as I blogged here he was being considered as a candidate in Edmonton for the Federal Liberals but turned them down. Instead he will be throwing his union weight behind Landslide Anne. Dan spoke at the CAW annual gathering and Buzz spoke in Edmonton at the AUPE convention. This little love affair has been going on since the CAW was suspended from the CLC for raiding the same time AUPE was. CAW raided SEIU, AUPE was raiding CUPE. AUPE supported the CAW. Buzz rejoined the House of Labour, and advocated for Dan. Dan saw more money coming into AUPE's coffers and not wanting to share it with the rest of the Labour movement stayed out of the CLC and its affiliates. AUPE is the largest Independent union in Alberta if not Western Canada.

What's the buzz
Tell me what's a-happening

Nor is the Strategic Voting concept new to Buzz he did it last election too. He started his political manouvers after the Provincial NDP government of Bob Ray attacked the unions with its social contract.

Internally it coincided with a rogue local in Oshawa, hmmm thats where all the job losses are now occuring, that revolted against the CAW/NDP alliance and supported the Reform Party. And went further demanding political freedom in the CAW to support the party of their choice. Note to those that are politically naive, Freedom of Choice is a Right Wing Slogan, as is We Are Not Political, We Are Non Paritisan. Wait a few minutes and the right wing will soon appear as being behind these slogans.

The debacle of the 1990-95 Ontario NDP government, opened up a serious rift between the NDP and the trade union bureaucracy, and in the 1995 election many unions chose to withhold aid, or at least downplay their support for the party. Currently the NDP hovers around 11% in the polls and few outside of some wildly optimistic party loyalists believe the party will improve on its 1995 showing. Hargrove then is caught in a bind. On the one hand he desperately wants to see Harris defeated, rightly describing his government as a disaster for working people; however, he has not forgiven the NDP (nor, for that matter, has the NDP asked for forgiveness!). No attempt is made to even conceal the contempt and loathing felt for the arrogant and intellectual Bob Rae in Labour of Love. Torn, Hargrove's alternative then has been to argue for strategic voting: In other words, while the paramount task is to defeat the Harris regime, this may mean in practice, the labour movement throwing their resources behind candidates other than the NDP if the NDP cannot win the riding. In effect they will be throwing their support behind the corporate Liberal party. Unfortunately the discussion around this policy was framed largely in terms of support for strategic voting or the traditional support of the NDP. Those who tried to argue a third policy were given little room for debate. After a long and heated debate at the CAW council in Port Elgin in December of 98, Hargrove's policy was adopted. Despite the fact that many CAW activists believe that most locals will pay only lip service this policy, the net effect will be to drag the CAW rightward and undermine any credibility the union has as a militant organization. Red & Black Notes #8, Spring 1999

Buzz developed his poltical plan of Strategic Voting around these events. But it has been a massive failure politically. And his current bid to be a Kingmaker with his mistaken Anybody But Harper Campaign seems out of step with current election reality. That was yesterdays campaign. But Buzz is hardheaded if nothing else. Unfortunately in politics that can mean disaster as his Strategic Voting campaign against Mike Harris in 1999 proved.

Union leaders themselves are partly to blame for being taken for granted by McGuinty. Canadian Auto Workers president Buzz Hargrove, for example, refuses even now to say a bad word about McGuinty, who has promised to keep in place Mike Harris's pro-scab labour law.
"My campaign is to defeat the Mike Harris government and I don't care who gets elected, they can't be as bad," Hargrove says.

Earlier this month, the union's Canada Council voted by a majority of about two-thirds to endorse CAW president Buzz Hargrove's call for "strategic voting" to defeat the current Tory government--i.e. to support Liberal candidates wherever the nominees of the trade union-based New Democratic Party have little chance of defeating the Tory candidate. Although the "strategic voting" resolution did not specifically call for the election of a Liberal government, the province's parliamentary arithmetic and the NDP's current low-level of popular support make it all but inevitable that the CAW will be supporting the Liberals in a majority of Ontario's 103 parliamentary constituencies. The CAW resolution commits the union to "defeating as many Harris Tories as possible ... with the knowledge that this may bolster the Liberal campaign," and "not resourcing NDP campaigns without a chance." In speaking before the CAW's leading body, Hargrove was less circumspect. He sought to bolster Ontario Liberal leader Dalton McGuinty, proclaiming him as "at least ... not anti-labour."

Wow word for word what Buzz said today about Paul Martins Liberals versus Harpers Conservatives.

What's the buzz
Tell me what's a-happening

The NDP's own right wing rump further exasperated this situation over the years by demanding the party distance itself from the Labour movement, a movement that was the party's founding partner. The seperation which is slowly leading to a divorce has been messy. Its ended up with provincial parties passing legislation when they are government that ends union and corporate donations to Political Parties. While claiming its no loss to do this cause the NDP gets little if any corporate support, its object is to break the ties that bind between the NDP and Labour. The result is those ties are broken. As Buzz proves. No use crying about it, the NDP made their bed and now can lay in it.

What's the buzz
Tell me what's a-happening

Of course if Buzz was a politician he wouldn't get elected he thinks out loud too much, and his strategic voting strategy is too out front. Samuel Gompers founder of the American Federation of Labour, was to the right of Buzz but had more political acumen, his was a the politics of pragmatism; you work behind the scenes by rewarding your friends and punishing your enemies. In Buzz's case his poltical agenda is clear, save jobs in Southern Ontario. And to do that he needs both Martin and Layton in power. However its not a politics of pragmatism, nor of the possible, its out in your face Buzz-ego politics that sow dissension on the Left.Even his own Executive Assistant who is running against a Liberal for the NDP says so.

In Parkdale-High Park, Peggy Nash, assistant to Canadian Auto Workers president Buzz Hargrove, is taking another run at the Liberals' Sarmite Bulte. The NDP nomination takes place tomorrow night. Bulte won last year with 19,727 votes to 16,201 for Nash. Conservative Jurij Klufas, also running again, got 7,221. Nash said the NDP was hurt in 2004 by voters going to the Liberals in order to stop the Conservatives. With another minority government a solid possibility this time around, voters are less likely to be scared away from the NDP, she argues.

Opps somebody should tell her about Buzz's plan. And pragmatically it could mean the defeat of some NDP candidates in close races as happened last election, leaving the hated Conservatives to get elected. Thanks Buzz.

What's the buzz
Tell me what's a-happening

5 Alberta LPNs’ fight to be classified as ‘direct nurses’ continues as some unions push back

Story by Destiny Meilleur • Yesterday 

A nurse prepares a vaccine. .© GAC

Agroup of five licensed practical nurses (LPNs) pushing to have their jobs reclassified as direct nurses is now waiting to hear from the Alberta Labour Relations Board (ALRB) on where their fight goes next.

LPNs for Change is the name of the group of nurses. The group's members are working to have their job classifications changed from auxiliary nurses to direct nurses.

Members of LPNs for Change along with union officials met with officials at the Alberta Labour Relations Board (ALRB) on Tuesday so the board could decide if there was enough information to move forward to set a hearing date to determine if LPNs should be reclassified as direct nurses.

The ALRB determined that it needs more responses and evidence in order to schedule a hearing date.

If the ALRB decides a hearing will be held, the hearing date will be determined after the unions that oppose the job reclassification have provided a list of written objections and the group of LPNs provides a written response to the unions.

Following the written responses, the ALRB will determine if the case will be dismissed or not.

LPNs for Change

LPNs for Change was formed in May 2022 when LPNs were asked to vote on their latest contracts by the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE).

LPNs for Change's members say their roles have changed drastically over the years and that they now provide direct care to patients.

Direct nurses provide bedside nursing and utilize the standard nursing process: assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation and evaluation.

The group submitted an application regarding the matter to the ALRB.

LPNs for Change said its application asks to reclassify the positions of 11,800 nurses from auxiliary nursing, a classification it considers similar to a health-care aide or a nurse's helper, to direct nursing.

“Why are we not with the rest of the nurses?” was the question that Ginny Wong said she asked herself when she helped form LPNs for Change. “LPNs have always been left behind in terms of what we really should be represented by and how we should be represented.

“People have started questioning whether or not we are in the right bargaining unit.”

The group says it wants to make it clear its members understand the difference between LPNs and registered nurses (RNs). It also notes its members have respect for RNs and in no way mean to diminish their jobs or position.

“We don't even expect to ever be paid as (RNs are),” said Quintin Martin, another co-founder of LPNs for Change. “We're doing this because we provide direct nursing and we have for a long time.

“We want to be recognized as direct nursing care.”

Wong said she believes reclassifying LPNs would provide those nurses with a much-needed confidence boost.

“With the reclassification, we can get the recognition and acknowledgment that we so deserve," she said. "So then we can build our confidence in saying, 'We're nurses (and) we are providing the direct nursing care because that's what we do day in and day out.

“We are so used to being the second-class (nurse) that we even say that ourselves. In nursing, confidence is really important. We have the skill, we have the education. (But) we need the confidence to properly perform our duty."

Unions weigh in on push for reclassification

A number of unions that operate in Alberta have made statements regarding the application, and in one case a union has asked for the application to be thrown out entirely.

The AUPE, which represents most LPNs in Alberta, issued a statement regarding the matter on May 31, saying it believes “the application is without merit, is doomed to fail and is a colossal waste of the resources.”

The union has asked the ALRB to dismiss the case.

The AUPE said the group that filed the application represents only a small number of nurses who do not or should not be speaking for all nurses.

“It is notable that the applicants here are only five LPNs,” the AUPE said. “They explicitly do not purport to speak on behalf of any other LPNs.

“It would be problematic to permit five individuals to upset long-established and stable bargaining units.”

The AUPE also questioned whether reclassifying LPNs would actually address concerns regarding morale and wages.

The United Steelworkers (USW) union said it agrees with the AUPE’s position.

"Our position is that this application is without merit,” the USW said in a written statement on June 9.

“There is no reasonable prospect the application will succeed and no basis for proceeding with full hearing."

However, the United Nurses of Alberta (UNA) has said it agrees with the application and believes the nurses’ argument is valid.

“UNA believes LPNs clearly provide direct nursing care and belong in the ‘direct nursing’ bargaining unit, along with registered nurses and registered psychiatric nurses, who also provide direct nursing care,” the union said.

The UNA also said while it had no part in the application, it supports the movement and encourages the LPNs to keep pushing.

The UNA voicing its support for the group of LPNs has been met with criticism from others in the labour movement, who say they believe the UNA may be trying to bring members of other unions into its organization.

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) says it has filed a complaint with the Canadian Labour Congress to voice its concerns.

The UNA said that these claims are untrue and that it did nothing wrong by submitting a letter voicing its support of the LPN group's application.

David Harrigan, the UNA's director of labour relations, said he finds it very odd that CUPE would even make such a claim.

"It's not terribly unusual to have little jurisdictional issues where one union says, you know, 'That person should be in my bargaining unit and not that bargaining unit,'" he said.

The UNA said its opinion has not changed since more than 10 years ago when it first attempted to reclassify a small group of LPNs and the ALRB dismissed its attempt.

The two biggest employers of LPNs in Alberta -- Alberta Health Services and Covenant Health -- have both decided to remain neutral on the matter.

What’s next?

The AUPE is holding telephone town halls for its members later this week to have a "conversation about (LPNs) and the important work (they) do."

The AUPE and the other objecting unions have until mid-August to provide written reason as to why the application should be dismissed.

The LPNs will then have two weeks to provide written responses to the arguments for dismissal.

The ALRB will then make a decision on whether there will be a hearing or if the case will be dismissed.

LPNs for Change is asking Alberta LPNs to send the group a list of what tasks they complete in their jobs. LPNs for Change also wants RNs and patients who believe LPNs' jobs involve direct nursing to send letters to the group explaining what LPNs do.

If there is a hearing to determine if the LPNs will be reclassified as direct nurses, LPNs for Change said it suspects that would take place sometime in the fall.

If the reclassification application is successful, LPNs for Change said LPNs would have three options: stay in the AUPE, be moved to the UNA or a new union would be formed -- a decision that would be based on a vote of all Alberta LPNs.

Harrigan said he believes it is very unlikely the LPNs would form their own union.

"I expect if they're reclassified, there would then be a vote of all of the nurses: the RNs, RPNs (registered psychiatric nurses) and the LPNs," he said. "And there would likely be a vote to see for that group who they wanted as their union."

Video: UCP changes regulations so Alberta LPNs can do more

Notley, AUPE respond to Kenney's cabinet shuffle

BY JOSH RITCHIE
Last Updated Sep 22, 2021 

CALGARY — It didn’t take long for reaction to roll in after Jason Kenney shuffled his cabinet on Tuesday.

The cabinet shuffle was quick and saw former Health Minister Tyler Shandro shifted to be the new minister of labour and immigration.

While the man who held that role for the last two years, Jason Copping, was sworn in as the new minister of health.

Opposition NDP Leader Rachel Notley says swapping two ministers doesn’t change the fact that Jason Kenney is still the premier.

“Even if Jason Kenney were to step down, it doesn’t change the fact that the UCP has proven fundamentally that they cannot provide a responsible government for Albertans in a life-threatening pandemic,” said Notley.

She adds that while she isn’t sure if Tyler Shandro actually resigned from his position or not, the current issues the government face go beyond the former health minister.

Meanwhile, the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) welcomed seeing someone new take on the role of health minister.

“Good riddance,” said AUPE Vice-President Susan Slade. “Tyler Shandro set fire to Alberta’s health care system and hung Albertans out to dry throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s past time for him to suffer some consequences for his actions.”

In a release, AUPE says members recently obtained more than 1,299 online signatures calling for Shandro to resign.

Slade says Kenney’s cabinet shuffle is an attempt for the premier to salvage his reputation and echoed Notley in saying that, this is still a government run by Kenney.

“This is still Kenney’s government,” she said. “This does not erase how he has mistreated and attacked health care workers. Doctors won’t forget. Nurses won’t forget. Support services won’t forget. Patients won’t forget.”

Slade added that there are still some blemishes on Copping’s record, which include “regressive changes to workers’ compensation and legislation that could shut down protests against the government.”

“AUPE members are ready to defend themselves and all Albertans, regardless of whomever Kenney appoints,” she said. “When workers are under attack we stand up and fight back.”

Tyler Shandro and Jason Copping swap cabinet positions

Labour and Immigration Minister Jason Copping will take over the health portfolio this afternoon

Author of the article: Ashley Joannou

Publishing date: Sep 21, 2021

Health Minister Tyler Shandro announces the province's new COVID restrictions at McDougall Centre as Dr. Deena Hinshaw joins the press conference from Edmonton on Friday, September 3, 2021

 PHOTO BY AZIN GHAFFARI /Postmedia

Tyler Shandro is no longer Alberta’s health minister after more than a year of heavy criticism over his handling of the portfolio.

Shandro was shuffled out at a short ceremony Tuesday afternoon, swapping roles with former labour and immigration minister Jason Copping who now takes over the health ministry.

Media was not invited to the ceremony, which was broadcast online. At a press conference later in the day, Premier Jason Kenney said Shandro offered his resignation from the health role and that both he and Shandro agreed it was time for a change.

“It is time for a fresh start, and a new pair of eyes on the largest department in the government, especially at a time such as this,” Kenney said, adding that it has been a “gruelling” file for Shandro.

Shandro had repeatedly faced calls to resign as health minister amid the COVID-19 pandemic and a protracted dispute between the government and doctors.

NDP Leader Rachel Notley — whose party had made those calls — said the news of Shandro’s shuffle was “welcome” but not a solution to the crisis going on in Alberta hospitals, which are overwhelmed by COVID-19.

“A cabinet shuffle will not ease the immense pressure on our hospitals from this severe fourth wave. It won’t reschedule the life-saving surgeries of thousands of Albertans. It won’t recover our economy. And it won’t help everyday families looking for leadership. Albertans deserve better.”

As newly-minted health minister, Copping said his focus will be on increasing hospital capacity, educating vaccine hesitant Albertans and preparing the health-care system for potential future waves of COVID-19.

“I stepped into this role, resolutely committed to building immediate capacity. However, we also know that COVID-19 is not likely to go anywhere, anytime soon,” he said.

Shandro’s departure comes as the province grapples with the fourth wave of COVID-19, which has put heavy pressure on the health-care system, particularly in intensive care units, leading to the cancellation of all surgeries that are considered non-essential and calls for other provinces and the federal government to help

.

Premier Jason Kenney standing in front of Jason Copping the newly appointed Minister of Health during a news conference in Edmonton, Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021. 

PHOTO BY ED KAISER /Postmedia

Kenney under fire

It also comes as Kenney faces internal conflict over the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. On Tuesday, a senior member of the UCP called for his resignation, days after asking the UCP board to hold an emergency meeting to discuss an early leadership review.

Mount Royal University political scientist Duane Bratt said Tuesday that he doesn’t think swapping Shandro for Copping will be enough to quell the discontent Kenney is facing.

“I don’t think he could have done anything to keep his job. I mean, Shandro is being removed why? Because he implemented exactly what the premier wanted him to do,” he said.

Ahead of a caucus meeting scheduled for Wednesday, Kenney said he believes he still has the support of the members of his party, caucus and party board.

“There have been a voices of opposition to public health policies from within my own party from day one of the pandemic. It’s not a secret. But my responsibility as premier is to listen to public health advice, look at the reality, not wish it away, not allow politics to pressure us from taking the necessary steps to save lives and protect the health-care system,” he said.

Bratt also said he believes moving Shandro off the health file has been in the works for some time but that Kenney held off until after Monday’s federal election to avoid doing more damage to the federal Conservatives.

When questioned multiple times by reporters about the timing of Shandro’s move, Kenney repeated that the pair decided that it was time for a “fresh set of eyes” and said the government is focused on getting through the fourth wave of the pandemic, not on politics.

‘Good riddance’: AUPE

Shandro was regularly at odds with the province’s health-care associations and doctors, leading to the multiple calls for his resignation.

In March, 2020, after Shandro took fire for confronting a Calgary doctor in his driveway over a social media post, Kenney rejected such calls, saying it was understandable Shandro became “passionate” in defending his spouse.

After doctors voted down a contract offer from the province in April 2021, Kenney rejected calls to fire him, saying he had his “full, 100 per cent confidence.”

Dr. Paul Boucher, president of the Alberta Medical Association, said that while there has been challenging times during negotiations, he appreciates Shandro’s “efforts to improve the relationship with physicians in recent months.”

“I wish him well. We look forward to continuing with his successor our current efforts to solidify the relationship between government and the medical profession,” he said in a statement Tuesday.

In 2020, the government said it would be cutting 11,000 Alberta Health Services jobs mostly by outsourcing positions in laboratories, housekeeping, food services and laundry. The change is estimated to save $600 million annually.

The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE), which has raised the alarm about the outsourcing, welcomed the news of Shandro’s departure.
“Good riddance,” said Susan Slade, AUPE vice-president, in a statement. “Tyler Shandro set fire to Alberta’s health-care system and hung Albertans out to dry throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s past time for him to suffer some consequences for his actions.”

Kenney, meanwhile, thanked Shandro for his service and called him “one of the hardest working people I’ve ever known.”

The AUPE and Friends of Medicare criticized Copping for a piece of legislation he tabled last year limiting presumptive coverage for psychological injuries to only firefighters, police officers, peace officers, paramedics, corrections officers and emergency dispatchers.

Friends of Medicare also condemned a call his local constituency association made for the government to “support the option of a privately-funded and privately-managed health-care system” during the UCP’s 2020 convention.

Slade claimed moving Shandro is Kenney’s attempt to salvage his reputation by giving the impression of a fresh start for his government’s management of the health-care file.

“This is still Kenney’s government,” she said. “This does not erase how he has mistreated and attacked health-care workers. Doctors won’t forget. Nurses won’t forget. Support services won’t forget. Patients won’t forget.”

– With files from Lisa Johnson

Fort Saskatchewan Correctional Centre workers seek third-party review of 'toxic' workplace

Jonny Wakefield 

4/21/2021

© Provided by Edmonton Journal Exterior of the Fort Saskatchewan Correctional Centre.

Staff at Fort Saskatchewan Correctional Centre are demanding an independent review after a survey found most employees feel their workplace is “toxic.”

Seventy per cent of respondents to a recent survey reported feeling bullied at work, according to results released Wednesday by the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE).

Eighty-five per cent said the work environment has taken a toll on their mental health, while around 75 per cent reported negative consequences to their physical health. More than half believed managers would retaliate if they raised concerns.

Ninety-five per cent of employees want the provincial government to order a third-party review of the workplace, AUPE said in a news release, saying relations between managers and staff have broken down.

“It’s a very hard job,” said Susan Slade, AUPE vice-president. “And it’s a very trying job, dealing with, you know, criminals. But at the end of the day, you should still be able to have a healthy work environment.”

FSCC was built in 1988 . It can house 546 prisoners , including pretrial inmates and those serving sentences. It has averaged fewer than 300 inmates during the COVID-19 pandemic.

AUPE represents the majority of workers at the facility, including correctional officers, licensed practical nurses and administrative staff. Around 80 per cent filled out the AUPE survey.

Slade said the current issues go back at least five years. In October, staff presented managers with a list of issues, but were “brushed off.”

“(Staff) feel that management just doesn’t want to listen,” said Slade.

The pandemic has increased tensions. In December, correctional peace officer Roger Maxwell died of COVID-19. Slade said his passing is now considered a workplace death. Forty-seven per cent of respondents said the centre’s COVID response was among their biggest concerns, “second only to the issue of bullying, harassment, and intimidation,” AUPE spokesman Jon Milton said.
Other jails flagged after ‘toxic’ workplace complaints

FSCC is the latest Edmonton-area correctional facility to report toxic workplace concerns.

In 2019, the province released the results of an independent workplace review of the Edmonton Remand Centre (ERC), which compared the workplace culture to a “high school” riven with cliques, bullying and immature behaviour.

In response to the report, then-Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer announced unspecified “staffing changes” at the management level.

The federal, maximum-security Edmonton Institution, meanwhile, has long been plagued by complaints about the workplace culture.

In 2019, Postmedia obtained a workplace review which found numerous allegations of sexual assault and harassment involving co-workers at Edmonton Institution. Canada’s correctional investigator has repeatedly highlighted bullying, harassment and intimidation issues at Edmonton Institution, which fired, suspended or forced out 11 staffers in 2018.

Slade said the ERC review resulted in positive changes, but stressed that the workplace is still “not a perfect scenario or anything like that.” She hopes to see similar action at Fort Saskatchewan.

In a statement, justice ministry spokeswoman Katherine Thompson said the government “takes concerns about workplace culture very seriously, and that is why plans continue to be developed to enhance collaboration and the workplace culture among the staff and leadership at Fort Saskatchewan Correctional Centre.”

“Management or staff who don’t support a professional and respectful work environment are not meeting expectations, whether those of their colleagues, this department, or Albertans at large,” she added.

Slade said correctional facilities should not be inherently toxic workplaces.

“We need to stop that kind of culture, and we need to stop that kind of (belief), that it’s OK to not feel mentally healthy because you work in corrections,” she said.

jwakefield@postmedia.com

twitter.com/jonnywakefield

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AUPE Recognizes National Indigenous History Month and the Importance of MMIWG Final Report | AUPE

AUPE - Alberta Union of Provincial Employees

Sponsored · 

“This Indigenous History Month, AUPE members call on the provincial government to commit to reconciliation and justice for Indigenous people," said Karen Weiers, AUPE Vice-President and Chair of the union's Human Rights Committee.

"This is especially important given the recent release of The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls’ Final Report.”

Supreme Court won't hear Alberta union's constitutional challenge of Bill 

Thu, August 4, 2022

AUPE asked the Supreme Court for leave to appeal the ruling. The court declined without providing reasons why, as it does in all of its leave to appeal denials. \(Michel Aspirot/CBC - image credit)

The Supreme Court of Canada has decided not to hear an appeal of a decision on the constitutionality of the United Conservative Party government's Critical Infrastructure Defence Act.

The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees challenged the law, also known as Bill 1, after it came into force in June 2020.

AUPE argued the law is unconstitutional as it would prohibit picketing of what the government deemed "essential infrastructure" during labour disputes and hurt its ability to engage in collective bargaining.

The union wanted the court to declare Bill 1 unconstitutional.

In December, the Alberta Court of Appeal dismissed the AUPE's claim, ruling that the union had no standing in the case because none of its members have been charged under the act. The court said AUPE was basing its arguments on "hypothetical" situations.

AUPE asked the Supreme Court for leave to appeal the ruling. The court declined without providing reasons why, as it does in all of its leave to appeal denials. The Alberta Court of Appeal decision stands.

Eric Adams, a law professor at the University of Alberta, wasn't surprised the Supreme Court declined to hear the case.

"For a legal challenge to fully come before the courts, you need evidence," Adams said.

"You need evidence of how it actually is operating on people's lives, what rights and freedoms it actually is impacting.

"And the (Alberta) Court of Appeals said, since we don't have any of that evidence, we don't have any of that information, and the claim could not proceed."

Bill 1 was introduced in response to the blockades of CN rail lines by Indigenous protesters in January 2020.

The bill levies hefty fines against individuals or companies found to have blocked, damaged or illegally entered any "essential infrastructure" including pipelines, rail lines, highways, oil sites, telecommunications equipment, radio towers, electrical lines, dams and farms.

Artur Pawlowski, the controversial Calgary street preacher, was charged under the act in February. He was accused of inciting protesters at the border blockade in Coutts, Alta.

Alberta’s public service union votes to accept new collective agreement with province

By Emily Mertz Global News
Posted December 13, 2021


The two sides reached a settlement in mid-October after months of mediation.

AUPE represents about 95,000 workers in the province, including 22,000 who work in government services such as corrections, sheriffs, trades workers, conservation workers, social services, as well as administrative and support service workers.

The settlement was reached on Oct. 13 after about 20 months of negotiations.

“This round of bargaining has been the most challenging we have faced for many years,” AUPE president Guy Smith said.

“While these negotiations proceeded, our members have worked through a deadly global pandemic while continuing to provide vital services to Albertans. We appreciate the determination our members displayed to support each other and their negotiating team,” Smith added.

“They stood strongly opposed to the proposed employer concessions and to secure a collective agreement that respects them and the services they provide.”

READ MORE: Alberta government asks unionized public sector workers to take 4% pay cut

The agreement will expire on March 31, 2024.

According to the AUPE, it includes:
employment security for permanent staff staying in effect until Dec. 31, 2022
a 1.25 per cent salary increase effective Jan. 1, 2023

a minimum 1.5 per cent salary increase with potential for an additional 0.5 per cent increase based on economic factors effective Sept. 1, 2023

an eight per cent salary increase for employees performing duties as part of the Rural Alberta Provincial Integrated Defence response force as a result of significant expansion of policing duties, responsibilities and risks. The 8 per cent increase will be retroactive to April 1, 2021, and remain in place as long as RAPID exists

The union said the government withdrew concessions it had been seeking, including:
a four per cent salary rollback
the elimination of employment security
a significant reduction in shift differential pay
a significant reduction in weekend premium pay
the elimination of the paid Christmas closure days
added benefit plan costs for employees
reductions in overtime pay
reductions in health spending account provisions

2:03 Alberta nurses and other public sector unions warn of job action after wage rollback request – Jul 7, 2021

Alberta’s minister of finance said he was pleased AUPE members voted to accept the mediator’s recommendation.

“This four-year agreement comes after months of dedicated negotiations between the government of Alberta and the union. Full details of the ratified deal will be made available in the coming days,” Travis Toews said.

“I want to thank AUPE leadership for helping us achieve labour stability for the public service.

“This agreement recognizes the province’s long-term economic outlook and offers members compensation increases in the third and fourth year of the contract.”

Toews said this deal accomplishes the government’s goal of bringing spending in line with other provinces.

“I am hopeful that other public sector unions will look to this successful process, and that bargaining will proceed constructively across the broader public sector,” Toews said.

“The government respects the hard work and dedication of Alberta’s public service employees and their contribution to our province.”

AUPE taking province to court over National Truth and Reconciliation Day

by News Staff
POSTED SEP 20, 2021

People stand on Parliament Hill alongside a memorial for children who died at Indian Residential Schools, during a rally to demand an independent investigation into Canada's crimes against Indigenous Peoples, in Ottawa on Saturday, July 31, 2021. 

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

EDMONTON – The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees is taking the province to court over its decision not to recognize National Truth and Reconciliation Day on Sept. 30.

The AUPE has filed a formal policy grievance in court, hoping that the government will change its mind and recognize the day.

The province announced last month that it would be up to individual businesses to decide if they want to recognize the day and grant employees a paid day off.
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AUPE’s vice president, Bobby-Joe Borodet, says Alberta’s stance defies common sense and decency.

“If the government was going to leave this important responsibility up to employers, they should have taken a leadership role and honoured the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation themselves,” said Borodet in a release.

“How can an employer, let alone the provincial government, say they are working to act on reconciliation while refusing to acknowledge the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation? If they are still searching for something to act on, here it is.”

AUPE says previously the government had told the union it was still considering whether or not to recognize the day.

CLASS WAR IN ALBERTA

'Egregious attack': Unions warn of labour unrest as province introduces bill to delay wage talks

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Updated: June 13, 2019

Premier Jason Kenney, left, and Finance Minister Travis Toews speak about the government's finances on Tuesday, May 7, 2019, in Edmonton .GREG SOUTHAM / POSTMEDIA, FILE

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Unions representing thousands of Alberta workers are blasting the province for controversial legislation to delay wage talks, calling the move an “egregious attack” that could spur labour unrest.

Bill 9 — the Public Sector Wage Arbitration Deferral Act — was introduced Thursday and gives the province a “responsible path forward” to delay negotiations, said Finance Minister Travis Toews.

“This is not a removal of rights, it’s simply a postponement of process,” he told reporters ahead of the bill’s introduction. “Albertans elected this government to bring Alberta’s finances into balance.”

The bill delays talks until after Oct. 31.

Numerous union leaders were at the legislature to slam Bill 9, calling it an assault on the collective bargaining process and a “bully bill.”

“It’s about breaking legally binding contracts and imposing wage cuts on thousands and thousands of public sector workers, who have already willingly given two years of wage freezes as part of a good-faith effort to help the government deal with a bruising recession,” said Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan.

‘Level of anger … I haven’t seen in years’

Leaders from Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE), United Nurses of Alberta, Alberta Teachers’ Association, Health Sciences Association of Alberta and Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) joined forces to condemn the legislation.

Flanked by dozens of people in the rotunda, AUPE president Guy Smith called the bill an “egregious attack.”

He noted the union is supposed to be ramping up negotiations that will impact 70,000 members, including conservation officers, correctional officers, Alberta Health Services general staff, librarians, and others.

“This is authoritarian, this is ideological … and it does nothing but create labour unrest,” he said, adding members are ready to “take action.” He didn’t specify what that means, but said unions will seek legal counsel.

“The level of anger amongst our members is something I haven’t seen in years,” he said.

NDP Leader Rachel Notley also slammed the bill Thursday ahead of its introduction.

“It’s stunning,” she told reporters. “Weeks on the job and the government is bringing in a bad-faith bargaining bill.”

She said the NDP will debate the bill as long as it can and do whatever possible to stop it. The NDP voted against the bill in first reading.

‘Defensible path’

“It is a fundamental breach of the constitutional rights of unionized employees here in this province,” she said.

Arbitration for AUPE government services, AHS nursing care and general support services members started June 11. The agreements stipulate that wage talks re-open before June 30.

Bargaining units for post-secondary education and government boards and agencies are scheduled to enter arbitration as well, said AUPE.

“We believe we have a defensible path forward,” Toews said, adding that the province received legal advice on Bill 9.

He said the province is waiting for advice from the blue-ribbon panel headed by Janice MacKinnon.

In a research paper MacKinnon co-authored with economist Jack Mintz, she argued the Alberta government should reduce public sector compensation to “help to trim the deficit.”

100 YEARS AGO ALBERTA LABOUR WAS FORGED IN THE FIRE OF THE 1919 GENERAL STRIKE!
https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2019/06/blog-post_287.html
WILL HISTORY REPEAT ITSELF
🚨🚨Here's what you can do now🚨🚨
CONTACT ALBERTA'S LABOUR MINISTER and let him know a deal's a deal. Using legislation to break the terms of a negotiated collective agreement isn’t bargaining. It’s bullying.
📢By phone: Call Labour Minister Jason Copping at 780-638-9400 and call Finance Minister Travis Toews at 780-415-485.
📢By email: Email Labour Minister Jason Copping at labour.minister@gov.ab.ca and Finance Minister Travis Toews tbf.minister@gov.ab.ca.
📢On Twitter: Tweet Labour Minister Jason Copping @JasonCoppingMLA and the United Conservative Party @Alberta_UCP. Use hashtag #ableg
📢Talk to your coworkers: Ask them how they feel about this illegal attack you your rights, your wages and your jobs. Talk about what you’re prepared to do to take action. Show them how to join the fight.