ALF V1

EDMONTON - Alberta union leader Gil McGowan met with federal politicians in Ottawa on Thursday to protest a proposed extension of the Keystone XL pipeline, which he says will pump jobs into the United States rather than build opportunities to refine raw bitumen in Fort McMurray or Fort Saskatchewan.

"Frankly we were looking for allies, and we found them," McGowan said after the meeting, which was attended by opposition MPs.

The Alberta Federation of Labour president called the pipeline expansion a "job killer," suggesting its completion will ruin the chances of thousands of jobs being created in Alberta. Pulling from a cross-section of reports that show the pipeline could provide as few as 99,000 jobs to the U.S. economy by 2020 or as many as 270,000 jobs by 2030, McGowan said the Keystone XL project will create few new jobs in Canada.

"It's clear to us that the majority of Albertans and the majority of Canadians would like to see us move up the value ladder with our oilsands resources, rather than sell our resources south of the border in their raw form," he said.

Upon completion, the $12-billion pipeline expansion is expected to push about 900,000 barrels of bitumen from Alberta to Texas each day.

But Shawn Howard, a spokesman for TransCanada — the company building the pipeline extension — pointed out Thursday no one is in the market to build a new refinery in Alberta, so Canadian jobs aren't being lost.

"We don't go and build a pipeline like Field of Dreams, where we build it and hope we can fill it. We do this in response to demand that the market has identified," Howard said.

No refining jobs would have been created in Alberta as a result of the project, Howard said. "Good luck trying to get a refinery built. It's very difficult; it's extremely expensive."

McGowan said it is up to provincial and federal governments to tighten export regulations to require more upgrading be done in Alberta. "Just because it's cheaper for companies (to export) doesn't mean that we as the owners of the resource should allow that to happen."

While the pipeline project has vocal opponents concerned about potential environmental impacts, McGowan isn't alone in protesting the project on economic grounds.

Last week, in an interview with the CBC, former premier Peter Lougheed said he'd prefer that bitumen be processed in Alberta to keep jobs in the province. In an editorial piece penned for the Edmonton Journal this week, provincial NDP Leader Brian Mason also highlighted the potential loss of domestic job growth that could come with the pipeline extension.

Edmonton Journal, Thurs Sept 22 2011
Byline: Trish Audette

The Alberta Federation of Labour, which represents 145,000 workers, is adding its voice to the growing list of opponents of a proposed pipeline project that would ship raw bitumen from Alberta's oilsands to Texas refineries.

If the extension of the Trans-Canada Keystone X-L pipeline is approved, it would stretch 3 feet wide and run 2,600 kilometres from Hardisty all the way to Texas - the length of about 26,000 football fields.

The project is expected to cost 7 billion dollars, but is also anticipated to have an economic impact in the billions, as it would potentially almost double oil production in Alberta to a million barrels a day.

"It's hard for me to imagine that the eventual decision would be not to build that. The economic case is so overwhelming," said Prime Minister Stephen Harper in New York on Wednesday.

The U.S. State Department is in the midst of deciding whether the project is in their national interests, and will be holding public consultation meetings across the pipeline route over the next three weeks.

But environmental groups have already been making their voices heard, staging two weeks of protests outside the White House in opposition of the pipeline this past month.

Now economic groups are also fighting to stop the construction of the project, arguing the pipeline would allow the US to take Alberta's crude oil and reap the rewards for refining it. Gil McGowan, the president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, believes it would be more responsible for the province to develop its refining capabilities, instead of just shipping raw bitumen to be refined south of the border.

"As an Albertan, I'm profoundly worried," said McGowan in Ottawa on Thursday. "Once the construction is complete, all we are going to be left with is a pipeline sucking up our resources south of the border, and no jobs for future generations."

He argues approving Keystone XL would create hundreds of thousands of jobs in the U.S., but would only add about a dozen permanent jobs in Alberta.

Harper's government is refuting that claim though.

"The fact is the oilsands are responsible for over 140,000 jobs across Canada," said Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver in the House of Commons, in response to questions from Laurin Liu, the NDP MP for Riviere-des-Mille-Iles, Que. "The job number is expected to grow to almost half a million jobs...Employment in Canada is much too important to be used to make political gains."

A final meeting on the pipeline project will be held in Washington on October 7th, with a final decision from the U.S. State Department expected by the end of the year.

Global Edmonton, Thurs Sept 22 2011

link to video

Letter to the Editor

Re: "Still solid," Letter, Sept. 7.

The Merit Contractors Association (Alberta) needs lessons in geography and reality.

Geography first. The oilsands are in Alberta - not "elsewhere." Now, the lesson in reality. These oilsands can be developed only in Alberta. You can't "go elsewhere" to get at them. Alberta's oilsands contain proven oil reserves of 171.3 billion barrels, the third largest proven crude oil reserve in the world.

Despite current fears over the economy, demand for oil will stay high. Royal Dutch Shell predicts global energy demand will triple by 2050. This means oil prices will remain at a level that encourages investment in our oilsands. Only eight per cent of the world's oil reserves are available to companies such as Exxon-Mobil, BP/Amoco, ConocoPhillips or Royal Dutch Shell without any restrictions. More than half of that eight per cent is in Alberta's oilsands.

The threat that investors will "go elsewhere" is an empty one. The labour code review that Merit seeks has nothing to do with Alberta's competitiveness. It is an attack on unions and is intended to undermine its competitors - employers who happily use unionized labour and are still able to win half the building contracts in the province. What Merit has asked for is that the Conservative government plays favourites, by tipping the scales in favour of Merit members over other employers. They are seeking a Merit Advantage, not an Alberta Advantage.

Gil McGowan, Edmonton

Calgary Herald, Mon Sept 19 2011
Edmonton Journal, Mon Sept 19 2011

OTTAWA, Sept. 20, 2011 /CNW/ - Following a briefing for Members of Parliament, Canada's largest energy workers' union will hold a news conference on the Keystone XL pipeline:

When: 10:30 am, Thursday Sept. 22

Where: Charles Lynch Press Room, Room 130-S, Centre Block, Parliament Hill

The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP) is opposed to Keystone XL. "The pipeline will create environmental destruction, take potential upgrading and refining jobs away from Canadians, and put our country's energy security at risk," says CEP President Dave Coles. Coles will be joined by other CEP officers and Alberta Federation of Labour President Gil McGowan.

CEP has opposed Keystone XL since 2009 through submissions to the National Energy Board, an appeal to Cabinet and leave from the court for judicial review. "Now that U.S. regulators are asking whether the Keystone XL pipeline is in the best interests of their country, we want Canadian decision makers to ask themselves the same question with all the facts in front of them."

istockanalyst.com, Tues Sept 20 2011

The union representing Air Canada's customer service workers can keep its defined benefit pension plan, an arbitrator has ruled. The controversial issue played a key role in the union's three-day strike earlier this year.

"This is an extremely important ruling and demonstrates that no employer, regardless of how large or small, should believe they have the unmitigated right to destroy a worker's retirement security," said Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) union president Ken Lewenza in a release. "We ultimately won on the merit of our argument for fairness."

Federal arbitrator Kevin Burkett rejected Air Canada's demand to put new hires into a defined-contribution pension plan. Instead, he sided with the CAW's proposal to maintain the defined-benefit pension plan for new hires, along with a defined-contribution portion to their pension. The result will be a "hybrid" pension for future new hires at the airline, consisting of both defined-benefit and defined-contribution components. Current CAW members at Air Canada remain in the existing defined-benefit plan.

The airline's 3,800 customer service workers took to the picket lines in June 2011. The union and the airline reached an agreement before back-to-work legislation, prepared by the federal government, could be debated in Parliament. The two parties agreed to send the issue of pensions for new hires to a mediation and arbitration process after they could come to an agreement on the matter.

Air Canada is currently negotiating with its 6,500 flight attendants for a new contract. The earliest the Canadian Union of Public Employees members could walk off the job is Sept. 21, 2011. Labour Minister Lisa Raitt plans to meet with both parties in order to avert a strike.

Canadian Labour Reporter, Mon Sept 19 2011

Residential construction sites in Alberta are being targeted by occupational health and safety officers for surprise inspections during a month-long inspection blitz.

"We launched a focused campaign on residential construction in September," said Barrie Harrison, spokesperson for Alberta Occupational Health & Safety (OH&S).

"When we choose the sectors to be targeted for our safety campaigns, we look at specific factors, such as the current state of the industry. The residential construction sector has been on our radar for a number of years."

As construction activity on residential sites ramps up for the summer, OH&S officers are increasing inspections of single and multi-family projects in Alberta.

"Several officers from each of the three regions in Alberta are dedicated to this campaign, while other officers will participate as able," said Harrison.

"We know a majority of the orders we write are in relation to a lack of fall protection, which is the number one culprit in residential construction.

"Officers will arrive unannounced at a site to look for everything and anything that contravenes the safety code."

Almost 1,700 inspections of Alberta's residential construction sector were undertaken in 2010, which resulted in 1,000 orders being issued.

A lack of proper fall protection topped the list of infractions, followed by issues with hazard assessments, safeguards, and clear entrances, walkways and stairways.

"The campaign is expected to last at least one month," said Harrison. "Once the results of the inspections are compiled, we will share them with the public."

This information will include the number of sites visited, the total number of inspections, and the number and types of orders issued.

"Throughout the province, we're beginning to see an increase in new home construction," said Employment and Immigration Minister Thomas Lukaszuk.

"We need to ensure safety on these job sites is a priority. I've said all year long that increased attention on residential construction projects was on my to-do list. My message to Alberta's home builders and their contractors is that we are on our way."

According to the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL), the blitz of residential construction sites by inspectors is a welcome step in making worksites safer.

However, the AFL said the campaign is not the solution to the provinces safety problems.

"Employers have been warned inspectors are on their way and have been told how long the blitz will last," said Gil McGowan, president of the AFL.

"They will make an effort to clean up their acts and follow Occupational Health and Safety rules for a few weeks but, once the blitz is over, they will be free to return to their dangerous ways, knowing that they are unlikely to see more inspectors until another blitz is announced."

McGowan said regular and random inspections, that come without warning, are needed to encourage permanent change in worksite practices. The Alberta government is implementing a series of changes to its workplace enforcement system after numerous problems were exposed by the auditor general.

In a five month period in 2007-2008, the auditor general identified 63 companies that repeatedly failed to comply with health and safety laws for one year or more.

This group of employers had a Disabling Injury Rate that is three to four times greater than the provincial average

Inspectors don't have the power to issue fines for infractions, but Lukaszuk is signaling he wants to start ticketing people, who break laws designed to protect workers.

"To make our workplaces safer – to save lives and prevent injuries – blitzes must also be backed up with more concrete action, including hiring more inspectors and giving them increased powers to issue on-site tickets for violations," said McGowan.

Currently, officers secure jobsites and issue orders or stop work orders when infractions are found.

Journal of Commerce, Mon Sept 19 2011
Byline: Richard Gilbert

For over two years Mexico's Electrical Workers Union (SME) has been fighting their government's persecution and attempt to annihilate the union. Finally after two years of incredible struggle, and with international support from CUPE and other unions, they have recognition and an agreement with the Mexican government.

They reached a negotiated settlement after getting official recognition of their union by obtaining their "toma de nota". Members of SME voted on the agreement and ended their six-month occupation of Zócalo, the main plaza in the heart of the historic centre of Mexico City.

The agreement includes weekly high-level negotiations to reach a solution for the employment of all 16,559 members who did not take severance when 44,000 workers were fired. It also includes unfreezing the union's bank accounts and release of embargoed dues.

This means that the government officially recognizes the union.

"We congratulate our brothers and sisters in Mexico on this historic victory," said CUPE National President Paul Moist. "This significant breakthrough highlights the importance of international solidarity and support in the face of increasing violence and repression against unions."

Since 2009, the Felipe Calderon government has run a vicious campaign to eliminate the independent labour movement. They systematically tried to destroy the SME through privatization of the Central Light and Power Company (Luz y Fuerza del Centro) that eliminated 44,000 jobs, freezing the union's bank accounts, and imprisoning union leaders and members. Court hearings for the 13 political prisoners are being held this week, with their full release expected.

CUPE has actively supported the SME over the past two years through direct financial contributions, letters to the Mexican government, publicity campaigns, and sponsoring an observer at the last union elections.

cupe.ca, Mon Sept 19 2011

Over the summer months, the Saskatchewan Federation of Labour and 25 additional plaintiffs (SFL et al.) filed their legal argument in the Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench related to the Charter Challenge by the SFL et al. against the Sask. Party government's unconstitutional anti-worker and anti-union legislation. Legislation which the Wall government introduced and passed in late 2007 and early 2008.

In what is arguably the largest lawsuit ever filed by working men and women against a sitting government in Saskatchewan (and quite possibly Canadian) history, the SFL filed its 230-page legal argument and tendered thousands of pages of evidence.

In support of the SFL et al.'s case, three additional intervenor unions filed thousands more pages of argument and evidence. The arguments of the intervenor unions re-inforced that the ill-conceived Bill 5 and Bill 6 violate workers constitutional rights as outlined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The intervenor unions are: Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE); Service Employees International Union -- West (SEIU-West); and the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses (SUN).

In addition to the Charter Challenge, the SFL and the Saskatchewan Government and General Employees Union (SGEU) won a case in March 2009 wherein the Sask. Party government was found guilty of violating Saskatchewan workers international human rights by the United Nations International Labour Organization .

The ILO requested that the Sask. Party government take action to repair the offending legislation in consultation with representatives of the labour movement. The government has steadfastly refused to comply with the ILO ruling and refuses to meet with the labour movement to discuss the matter.

This historic Charter Challenge case will be heard in the Saskatchewan Court of Queen's Bench from November 14 - 25, 2011.

rabble.ca, Fri Sept 16 2011

The delay of the criminal case against companies involved in the deaths of two oilsands employees is bad news for Alberta workers, says the province's largest labour group.

"Justice delayed is justice denied – and the families of these workers have been waiting for more than four years for the court to hear what happened," says Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL), which represents 145,000 workers. "But this delay also spells danger for people now working in Alberta or who will be working here in the months and years to come," he says.

"The two workers who died in April 2007 at the Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (CNRL) Horizon project, and another four who were injured, were temporary foreign workers (TFWs) unfamiliar with Albertan workplace procedures and safety standards. The Alberta government failed to take the necessary measures to ensure our standards were being maintained – and the workers paid the price with their lives," says McGowan. "Alberta is on the cusp of another boom in bringing in foreign workers – we could have more than 100,000 TFWs here soon. We need to learn the lessons from this tragedy now in order to ensure the same fatal mistakes aren't made again. This trial delay makes learning those lessons more difficult," he says.

The number of applications to bring TFWs into Alberta approved by the federal government soared by 37 per cent between 2009 and 2010, rising by 11,655 to a total of 42,885. Add that to the 57,774 TFWs already working here in 2010 and Alberta could soon pass the six-figure mark.

A total of 53 charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act have been laid against CNRL, Sinopec Shanghai Engineering Company Ltd. and SSED Canada Ltd. The companies were to go to trial October 3, but the case has been put over until October 1, 2012.

"The Alberta government had a hand in the accident in 2007. Alarm bells should have gone off for provincial regulators when it became known that CNRL was hiring a Chinese contracting firm. Inspectors should have been at the site before ground was broken and should have made frequent visits to ensure our safety standards were being met – but that didn't happen," he says.

"We cannot ignore or fail to enforce our rules just because these are foreign workers. The government must be more serious about its responsibility to inspect worksites and enforce its rules, or more workers will die or be hurt," says McGowan. "We have to make sure that these foreign construction firms, whether they come from China or other countries, are not importing Third World labour and health and safety practices along with the temporary foreign workers that they use."

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