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A diverse group of powerful unions has joined demonstrations in New York's financial district, lending institutional support, public credibility and potentially thousands of participants to a movement that began with a few university students.

The "Occupy Wall Street" protest movement, which began three weeks ago in New York's financial hub, was joined on Wednesday by a dozen US labour unions.

Among those who joined the clamour were members of the Chinatown Tenants Union and the Transit Workers Union, the liberal group MoveOn.org, and community organisations such as the Working Families Party and United NY.

In depth coverage of US financial crisis protests

The groups will embark on a march starting at Foley Square in lower Manhattan, an area encircled by courthouses.

Organisers say the marchers will then head to Zuccotti Park, the unofficial headquarters where protesters have been camped out in sleeping bags. It is unclear how many people will be joining the march, but some organisers said thousands could show up.

"We're really excited that labour is part of the protest,'' said Sara Niccoli, a spokeswoman for the Labour-Religion Coalition, an Albany, New York-based organisation that aims to "do justice" for workers.

Al Jazeera's Cath Turner, reporting from the scene of the rally, said protest organisers are "ecstatic that more groups are starting to take hold" of the movement.

The organisers feel their reach and appeal is expanding, she said.

Getting more organised

Police said that United NY had sought a permit for the rally on Wednesday and were expecting about 2,000 people to attend.

"I think they're capturing a feel of disempowerment, feeling like nobody is listening to them," said Camille Rivera, executive director of United NY.

"What do you do when no one is listening to you? You speak up, you take action."

IN Video

Occupy Wall Street movement turns online for help

Participants will not need permits to protest in a city in which picket lines and marches go on nearly every day. But a permit allows demonstrators to do things that would normally be illegal - like filling an entire street.

About 700 members of the Wall Street group were arrested and given disorderly conduct summonses for spilling into the roadway of the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday despite warnings from police.

Paul Browne, a spokesman for the New York police department, said police were prepared for a large group march on Wednesday, and that officers were anticipating spillover onto the streets.

"Officers will be in the lane next to the sidewalk, and we will try to keep people on the sidewalk, but we realise they may need to walk on the street if it's crowded," he said.

The type of activity that could result in arrest would be if members of the group purposefully try to stop traffic on Broadway, Browne said.

The Occupy Wall Street protests started on September 17 with a few dozen demonstrators who tried to pitch tents in front of the New York Stock Exchange.

Since then, hundreds have set up camp in a park nearby and have become increasingly organised, lining up medical aid and legal help and printing their own newspaper, the Occupied Wall Street Journal.

Other groups have periodically gathered and protested in spots throughout the country.

Aljazeera, Wed Oct 5 2011

The Alberta Federation of Labour claims anti-union construction firms want to amend the labour code to include unfair restrictions and union-busting measures, but others say the changes are all about increasing competitiveness.

"The changes being proposed in the government's review of the code are an unjustified attack on unions and hundreds of thousands of working Albertans," said Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL).

The AFL executive met in Calgary on Sept. 28 to issue a statement that calls on the provincial government to stop a proposed review of the labour code.

A group of non-union construction firms, called the Construction Competitiveness Coalition, are involved in a fact-finding process with Employment and Immigration Minister Thomas Lukaszuk to investigate the need to undertake a formal review of the labour code.

McGowan claimed this preliminary investigation was started at the request of the coalition, which includes members from Merit Contractors Association, the Christian Labour Association of Canada and the Progressive Contractors Association of Canada.

He is concerned that the terms of the review were set by this group, which is calling for union-busting measures.

"While those who sought the review claim it is under the guise of making the construction industry more competitive, the truth is the complete opposite," said McGowan.

They are asking the government to take sides and give an unfair advantage to them in competing against employers who work with traditional unions."

Merit Alberta vice-president Bill Stewart rejects McGowan's view about the suggestions being made by the coalition to Minister Lukaszuk.

"We want to provide investors with certainty, in terms of cost and schedule, but now it is being characterized as union busting," Stewart said.

"There is nothing that we are proposing that will affect the relationship the traditional unions have with their employers and employees."

According to Stewart, one of the main tasks undertaken by the coalition was to clarify language in Division 8 of the labour code.

"In B.C. and Saskatchewan, the labour code allows for an all employee, wall to wall, bargaining unit," he said.

"In the world of independent unions, they don't organize workers on a craft by craft basis. But, the labour code does not allow wall to wall bargaining units, as they do in other jurisdictions in this country."

Division 8 of the Alberta labour code allows major developers, such as Syncrude and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd, to negotiate an agreement with the traditional building trades that spans the whole life of the project with a no strike, no lock out provision.

However, during the last oil boom period, the major developers wanted to employ workers for their construction projects from all available sources of labour involved in the industry.

For example, CNRL's Horizon project was built under an "inclusive agreement", which allowed everyone on site, including union, independent union and non-union.

From the union perspective, Division 8 of the Labour Relations code is considered to be unconstitutional because it is being used to force construction workers to be represented by an organisation and contract they had not voted to support.

"Other developers who want to use this provision, are at risk that if it is put in place there will be a lawsuit," said Stewart. "There is a need to clarify the language in the code so it addresses these Charter issues."

Another change proposed by Merit is legislation to prohibit unions from using member dues for political activities without the prior consent of their members.

"Merit has been advocating to allow people to opt out of the portion of their fees that is not related to the negotiation of a collective agreement," said Stewart.

According to Stewart, Canada is the last country in the world that still allows this to go on.

From the union's perspective, Merit does not practice what they preach because they were a large contributor to the recent campaigns for the leadership of the Alberta progressive conservative party.

Another proposal would ensure greater labour mobility by preventing unions from fining members for working for employers they deem to be hostile.

Finally, the coalition seeks to ensure that the restrictions on the use of Market Enhancement Recovery Funds (MERFs) are maintained.

They consider this to be an unfair bidding as these funds had been used by some craft unions to subsidize commercial bids of their signatory construction companies, in a way that distorted fair bid competition.

Journal of Commerce, Wed Oct 5 2011
Byline: Richard Gilbert

Occupy Wall Street has captured the imagination and passion of millions of Americans who have lost hope that our nation's policymakers are speaking for them. We support the protesters in their determination to hold Wall Street accountable and create good jobs. We are proud that today on Wall Street, bus drivers, painters, nurses and utility workers are joining students and homeowners, the unemployed and the underemployed to call for fundamental change. Across America, working people are turning out with their friends and neighbors in parks, congregations and union halls to express their frustration – and anger -- about our country's staggering wealth gap, the lack of work for people who want to work and the corrupting of our politics by business and financial elites. The people who do the work to keep our great country running are being robbed not only of income, but of a voice. It is time for all of us—the 99 percent—to be heard.

As we did when we marched on Wall Street last year, working people call on corporations, big banks, and the financial industry to do their part to create good jobs, stop foreclosures and pay their fair share of taxes.

· Wall Street and corporate America must invest in America: Big corporations should invest some of the $2 trillion in cash they have on hand, and use it to create good jobs. And the banks themselves should be making credit more accessible to small businesses, instead of parking almost $1 trillion at the Federal Reserve.

· Stop foreclosures: Banks should write down the 14 million mortgages that are underwater and stop the more than 10 million pending foreclosures to stop the downward spiral of our housing markets and inject more than $70 billion into our economy.

· Fund education and jobs by taxing financial speculation: A tiny tax on financial transactions could raise hundreds of billions in revenue that could fund education and create jobs rebuilding our country. And it would discourage speculation and encourage long term investment.

We will open our union halls and community centers as well as our arms and our hearts to those with the courage to stand up and demand a better America.

Contact: (202) 637-5018

AFL-CIO, Wed Oct 5 2011

Unions fight back against biased review of Labour Code

• The Alberta government has embarked on a biased and secretive review of the province's Labour Code that threatens to introduce Tea Party inspired, Wisconsin-style changes to the rules governing workplaces. Affiliates of the AFL have united in their opposition to the union-busting and possibly illegal changes – and have warned the government to expect unprecedented labour unrest if it pushes ahead. For AFL September 28th press release; AFL August 26th press release; September 5th op-ed

Unions in bid to stop Canadian jobs being shipped down Keystone XL pipeline

• While Alberta and Canada's political leaders acted like sales executives pitching TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline in the U.S., it was left to unions to fight for Canadian jobs. The AFL and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP) went to Ottawa to explain to MPs that the pipeline would mean hundreds of thousands of jobs in the U.S., but only a handful of permanent jobs in Canada. Meanwhile, new research showed that the Alberta government is set to fall even farther behind its target of refining 72 per cent of bitumen in the province, with a predicted drop to only 50 per cent by 2017. For more information, see AFL September 22nd press release and July 19th press release ...

Flood of TFWs heading to Alberta, but government still failing to protect them

• Alberta is bracing for a new influx of Temporary Foreign Workers (TFWs), but little is being done to make their workplaces safe. A court case against companies charged in the death of two Chinese TFWs in 2007 has been delayed for another year, meaning important lessons on how to keep workers safe will also be delayed. Meanwhile, AFL research revealed that there could soon be 100,000 TFWs in Alberta, but the government has failed to take any concrete action to fix the flawed program that has seen so many workers abused. For more information, see AFL September 16th press release and July 28th press release.

Alberta government fails to enforce safety rules at construction sites

• A CBC investigation showed that provincial safety rules were routinely being ignored on residential construction sites, putting the lives of workers at risk, but the government failed to response to calls from the labour movement for a more rigorous system of random inspections. Instead, the government ordered a one-time blitz of construction worksites – but undermined its effectiveness by warning employers when inspectors would be visiting. For more information, go to September 23rd CBC story and AFL September 12th press release.

Urgent Action

• Labour Code: Tell Redford to scrap the review! A review of the Labour Code launched by the Employment Minister is full of union-busting proposals. We need all affiliates to let the government know what they think of these ideas, but time is running out so submissions must be made NOW! For more information on the review and the AFL's reaction, see the top LabourBytes news story. For more info ... (AFL letter to affiliates (October 5th) and the Joint Statement from the Executive Council, September 28th

Events

• October 10: Thanksgiving
• October 10: World Mental Health Day
• October 17: International Day for the Eradication of Poverty
• October 18: Persons Day, commemorating the anniversary of the 1929 ruling that declared women to be persons in Canada
• October 21/22: Facilitators Re-facilitators Conference
• October 24-28: CUPW National Convention
• October 25-27: UNA AGM
• October 27-28: HSAA Labour Relations Conference
• October 31-November 4: CUPE National Convention
• November 4-6: 45th Annual Alberta NDP Convention
• November 11: Remembrance Day
• November 16: International Day of Tolerance
• November 18-20: Parkland Institute 15th Annual Fall Conference
• November 25: International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women
• December 4: AFL Women's Committee December 6th Commemorative Brunch and Morning of Solidarity

Did you know ...

•  The Alberta government has set a target of upgrading 72 per cent of our bitumen in the province.
• Currently, only 61 per cent is being upgraded in Alberta and the government predicts that figure will fall to 50 per cent by 2017.
• Various studies show that the Keystone XL pipeline will create between 99,000 and 550,000 jobs in the U.S., but only about a dozen permanent jobs in Canada.
• Alberta has 45,578 barrels of proven oil reserves per person living in the province, more than Saudi Arabia (10,125), Iran (1,766), Iraq (3,782) and Kuwait (40,067).
• The value of Alberta's oil sands is estimated to be $1.41 trillion.

For more information...

New York area union members will join an expected several thousand labor activists and supporters today in a Wall Street march and rally in support of the Occupy Wall Street protesters.

The grassroots-grown protest is now in its third week, with a diverse array of people from across the country camping out in the heart of the financial district to demand Wall Street is held accountable for the schemes and reckless games that led to the nation's economic collapse.

The mostly young Occupy Wall Street protesters are "speaking for the vast majority of Americans who are frustrated by the bankers and brokers who have profited on the backs of hard working people," says Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) President Larry Hanley.

Stuart Appelbaum, president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU), says Occupy Wall Street "has brought into sharp focus a reality that cannot be denied."

Corporate greed is responsible for harming the lives of millions of working people and unemployed people....A small group of firms, banks, and corporations now hold trillions worth of our collective wealth and assets. That money should be invested in job creation on a massive scale and used to rebuild countless lives damaged by the recklessness that caused the recession.

Over the weekend, the 800 young activists at the AFL-CIO's Next Up Young Workers Summit in Minneapolis threw their strong support to the Occupy Wall Street protesters.

Wall Street symbolizes this simple truth: a small group of people have the lives and livelihoods of working Americans in their hands.... We stand together in calling for a country that doesn't just work for the top 1 percent. We stand together to call for a sustainable future that doesn't begin with massive tax breaks for the wealthy and end with austerity measures and a jobs crisis.

Jim Gannon, a spokesman for the Transport Workers (TWU), told the Daily Beast:

We view the protests as young people who are articulating the same kind of things that we've been trying to articulate... they've really thrown a spotlight on issues that are bothering people, especially bothering workers like our members.

AFL-CIONowBlog, Tues Oct 4 2011

Published Sunday, Oct. 02, 2011 8:40PM EDT

Last updated Sunday, Oct. 02, 2011 9:42PM EDT

Increase text size The Conservatives are set to take another hit at labour organizations, this time through a private member's bill designed to force Canada's unions to open their books to the public.

The legislation is set to be tabled in the House on Monday afternoon by Conservative MP Russ Hiebert, who has won a draw allowing him to be the first parliamentarian to present his private member's bill.

The bill's content is still confidential, but its title shows it will seek to change the rules governing labour organizations under the Income Tax Act, which exempts unions, along with charities and municipalities, from paying taxes. If adopted, the bill will force unions "to apply financial disclosure rules" that are already in place for charities, said a source, given the tax benefit that they receive.

The proposed bill is part of continued efforts in recent months by the Conservatives to take on Canada's unions, which are key backers of the NDP.

The Conservatives have accused the NDP of illegally accepting union sponsorships at its recent party convention in Vancouver, with Conservative MP Dean Del Mastro accusing union leaders of "seeking to buy influence" within the Official Opposition.

The NDP is rejecting allegations of wrongdoing, saying unions paid commercial rates to place advertisements at the convention this spring.

The Conservatives have also started to attack the main contender in the NDP leadership race, Brian Topp, over his union roots. Mr. Topp, who works as the head of the actors' union ACTRA in Toronto, has argued that the labour movement is essential to the successes of the NDP, through its organizational force and the values that it espouses.

However, the Conservatives are aiming to portray Mr. Topp as a "union boss" who is not looking out for all Canadians.

"How could Brian Topp speak on behalf of all Canadians, when he is so tied to big union special interests," a Conservative said in a recent memo.

In addition, the Conservative government sided against unions at Canada Post and Air Canada during recent labour disputes, while the NDP engaged in a filibuster to try to stop back-to-work legislation of postal workers.

By attacking unions, the Conservatives are trying to neutralize what will be one of their major opponents in a coming round of government cutbacks.

In that context, Mr. Hiebert's bill dealing with the Income Tax Act, for which he gave official notice last Thursday, seems part of a concerted strategy. Mr. Hiebert is planning to lay out the specifics of his proposal at a news conference on Monday.

Private members' bills are usually free votes, but there is growing evidence that the Conservative Party is using the tool to push its agenda through Parliament.

Last week, rookie Conservative MP John Carmichael presented a bill that would fine or jail Canadians who prevent others from flying the Maple Leaf. Expressing the government's approval for his plan, Heritage Minister James Moore was present at a news conference to unveil the bill, which included a display of flags and Canada pins set up by the government.

Meanwhile, Mr. Topp held a fundraiser in Toronto over the weekend that was attended by many players in Canada's cultural industry who appreciate his work on their behalf.

"Brian's 10 years with ACTRA Toronto have made him a real friend to artists," actress Fiona Reid said.

The evening attracted the likes of Gordon Pinsent at the home of actress Wendy Crewson, and raised about $10,000 for Mr. Topp's NDP leadership campaign.

However, Mr. Topp accused the government of using divisive tactics by attacking the union movement.

"It does seem to be the case that [Prime Minister Stephen] Harper and his team have identified the labour movement as a new opportunity to make people angry and to divide them, which is the essence of their approach to politics," Mr. Topp told The Globe and Mail.

Globe and Mail, Sun Oct 2 2011
Byline: Daniel LeBlanc

It all began in 1912, when the 1911 convention of the United Mineworkers of America (UMWA) District 18 resolved to launch a provincial labour organization. They invited Alberta's trade unions and the recently formed United Farmers of Alberta (UFA) to send delegates to a founding convention of the Alberta Federation of Labour in Lethbridge on July 14 and 15, 1912.

According to the story in the Lethbridge Herald, the 34 delegates at that convention resolved to support each other, because they knew that they could rely on nobody else. District 18 Vice-President John O. Jones of Hillcrest became the president of the new organization. Sadly, efforts at farm-labour unity collapsed under the weight of the contradictory objectives of the two parties, and the farmers did not follow through. However, the unity they forged at the convention helped the UFA to win the 1921 provincial election, after which it passed some of the most progressive labour legislation in Alberta's history.

From the beginning, the AFL was divided between 'moderate' and 'radical' unionists. Moderates tended to come from the skilled craft unions affiliated to the American Federation of Labor and Canada's Trades & Labour Congress (TLC), whereas the radicals tended to come from ranks of the unskilled and semi-skilled.

Though a major force in the early days, miners were not always in the AFL. When they formed the One Big Union (OBU) in 1919 in Calgary, 95 per cent voted to leave the UMWA, and remained outside until 1923, only to be taken out again by the new communist-led Mine Workers Union of Canada (MWUC) in 1925. They rejoined in 1935, only to be expelled in 1939, on orders from the U.S.

Largely shunned by the mainstream of the conservative AFL, miners joined with the United Packinghouse Workers of America (UPWA) and the Civil Service Association of Alberta (CSA) to establish the Industrial Federation of Labour (IFL) in 1949 - just as McCarthyism was taking hold.

The IFL gained an ally when Neil Reimer came to Alberta in 1951 to organize with the Oil Workers' International Union (later the Oil Chemical & Atomic Workers; then the Communications, Energy & Paperworkers' Union). By 1955, the IFL claimed over 8,000 members including workers in mines, steel plants, packinghouses, energy and on the railway.

From the beginning, labour centrals have brought union leaders and activists together to debate policies and take collective action, transforming groups of workers seeking specific gains into a labour movement capable of fighting for the welfare of all. Gains in the early years included Workmen's Compensation; construction safety; a prohibition on child labour, a tenant's franchise, a fair wage policy, abolition of property qualifications for civic office, etc.

Through all these years, the industrialbased Canadian Congress of Labour and the IFL remained faithful supporters of the socialist Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), while the TLC and its provincial body the AFL remained nonpartisan, reluctant to denounce Social Credit policies, even when these restricted members' right to organize and strike.

Unity came in 1956, when the Trades and Labour Congress and the Canadian Congress of Labour merged to become the Canadian Labour Congress. The AFL and IFL followed suit, and craft unionist Charlie Gilbert was elected first president of the new body.

By 1957, the new Federation had grown to about 34,000 members, and had begun to challenge the Social Credit regime. When it moved to formalize its relationship with the CCF in 1959, the CSA withdrew its affiliation, and after the 1959 election, a victorious Social Credit government punished the AFL by passing negative changes to Alberta's Labour Act.

The 1960s saw a rise in the fortunes of organized labour with growing political influence of the New Democratic Party and unionization of the public sector. A bitter strike by the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) in 1965 led to the passage of the Public Service Staff Relations Act (PSSRA), opening the door to collective bargaining for all government workers. In 1963, a council of municipal unions became part of a new national union, unifying municipal, school board and hospital employees into the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).

Edmonton Journal, Friday August 30 2012

Alberta's biggest labour organization is calling on federal politicians to reverse the Keystone XL pipeline construction approval, but a representative of the local open shop association thinks the lobbying campaign is poorly conceived and futile.

The president of the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) thinks the pipeline shouldn't go ahead.

"Members of the Alberta and federal governments have been acting like sales executives for pipeline company TransCanada, travelling to the U.S. to persuade Americans what a great idea the raw bitumen pipeline will be, but they are ignoring what's best for Alberta and Canada," said Gil McGowan, AFL president.

McGowan and leaders from the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers (CEP) Union of Canada went to Ottawa on Sept. 22 to meet with opposition members of parliament and explain why Canada should oppose the Keystone XL pipeline.

"The whole development model for massive exports of raw bitumen, and the regulatory process that ignored the real issues has been botched from the start," said Dave Coles, president of the CEP.

"We are saying to the government that they should stop lobbying for XL in Washington and instead reopen this issue in Canada with a Parliamentary review."

TransCanada received approval for the Canadian section of the project from the National Energy Board in April 2010.

The federal government is required to reconsider the approval of the pipeline because construction didn't start within the period required by the federal permit.

Bill Stewart, vice president of Merit Contractors Association of Alberta, is critical of McGowan's lobbying efforts.

"McGowan has done a wonderful thing by going to Ottawa, but he is sucking and blowing at the same time," said Stewart.

"In order for him to say we don't need the Keystone XL pipeline, he needs to have a better idea of how he proposes to do it. It's an absurd position to be taking at this time because oil companies are not lining up to build refineries in Alberta anymore."

As a result of the recent recession, plans for the construction of about 10 bitumen upgrader projects were delayed or postponed in Alberta. Currently, there are plans to build only one.

"He (McGowan) fails to recognize that the province needs to be more competitive, in terms of construction costs, to develop these refineries," said Stewart.

"The fundamental problem is the costs of construction. These companies are not building because it costs a lot of money."

McGowan and Coles argue that the National Energy Board and the federal government need to address the issue of jobs.

A study by Infometrica in 2006 found that 18,000 jobs would be lost with the export of unprocessed bitumen at a rate of 400,000 barrels per day.

With reference to several reports, McGowan said the pipeline could provide 270,000 jobs in the U.S. by 2030 and 465,000 jobs by 2035. He estimated that Keystone XL will add only about a dozen permanent jobs in Canada.

"We have a one-time chance to take control of our own resources and build a value-added refining industry here," said McGowan.

"What we have instead is a mad rush to approve every application to develop the oilsands and ship our raw resources and good jobs down the pipeline."

Stewart pointed out the fact that the project is almost at the conclusion of a protracted political process in the U.S.

"We support the construction and development of upgraders in the province, but we are not against the Keystone XL pipeline either," he said.

"We would like to see it all refined in Alberta, but under the current circumstances, this is not possible."

The U.S. Department of State (DOS) is in the final stages of the approval process and is currently in a 90-day review period. The final Environmental Impact Statement was issued in August and found that Keystone XL would have no significant impacts.

A final decision to issue a Presidential Permit for the U.S. portion of Keystone XL will be made in December.

The Keystone pipeline expansion is a 3,200-kilometre, 36-inch crude oil pipeline stretching from Hardisty, Alberta and moving southeast through Saskatchewan, Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma to a delivery point near existing terminals in Nederland, Texas.

When completed, the US$12 billion expansion project will increase the capacity of the Keystone pipeline system from 590,000 barrels per day to about 1.1 million barrels per day.

Journal of Commerce, Wed Sept 28 2011
Byline: Richard Gilbert

Alberta is heading for unprecedented workplace unrest if the province proceeds with a biased and secretive review of the Labour Code, union leaders warned today.

"The changes being proposed in the government's review of the code are an unjustified attack on unions and hundreds of thousands of working Albertans," says Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL), which represents 145,000 workers.

The executive council of the AFL meeting today in Calgary issued a joint statement calling on the current premier and the new premier to stop the Labour Code review initiated in the summer by Employment and Immigration Minister Thomas Lukaszuk.

About two dozen union leaders will present a copy of the joint statement to Progressive Conservative leadership candidate Gary Mar's campaign headquarters at 4340 Macleod Trails South, Calgary, at 3:00 p.m. today (Wednesday).

The statement says: "As representatives of many of Alberta's largest unions, we are truly proud of the important role that our members play every day in building the Alberta economy. We consider ourselves partners in the project of building a broadly shared prosperity in Alberta: a prosperity that benefits individuals, families and communities along with businesspeople and investors. We agree that the government should strive for a stable labour relations climate in Alberta. But stability comes from good and productive relations between workers and employers – and good and productive relations are based on respect. Unfortunately, the current review process is neither fair nor respectful. It needs to be scrapped."

Representatives of all the unions on the AFL's executive council unanimously condemned the Labour Code review process as "biased, unfair and perhaps even unconstitutional."

"The review was launched at the behest of a coalition of anti-union employers; the terms of the review were set by this group; all of the changes under consideration are union-busting measures, and the lawyer appointed to lead the review has a long history of acting against unions," says McGowan. "While those who sought the review claim it is under the guise of making the construction industry more competitive, the truth is the complete opposite. They are asking the government to take sides and give an unfair advantage to them in competing against employers who work with traditional unions. The ramifications of these changes would affect all workers in the province, not just construction workers," he says.

"Albertans will not stand idly by while the provincial government embarks on a U.S. Tea-Party inspired, Wisconsin-style attack on workers and the middle class who have built this province. The government should expect a Wisconsin-style response from Alberta workers," says McGowan.

The joint statement says: "The review as currently designed is the very antithesis of a fair and balanced process. We would go so far as to say that it is a 'kangaroo court,' not befitting any government in a country with strong democratic tradition like Canada."

-30-

MEDIA CONTACT: Gil McGowan, AFL president, 780-218-9888