ALF V1

AFL Convention a success: Read all about it!

• About 400 delegates and guests attended the AFL convention in Calgary for a packed schedule of events that included:
  • A moving ceremony to mourn workers killed and injured on the job;
  • A parade at Calgary International Airport in support of CAW workers negotiating a new contract;
  • A rousing speech from the secretary treasurer of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO that prompted affiliates to donate more than $50,000 to the group's Defence Fund;
  • An inspiring talk on how to organize campaigns by Harvard University Prof. Marshall Ganz, presented via Skype;
  • A picnic in Eau Claire park to support a drive by workers to keep Calgary's parks public; and
  • A rally before the federal election to remind voters of Harper's Broken Promises.

Lineup of star speakers at CLC convention

• Jack Layton, leader of the NDP and now head of Canada's Official Opposition, thrilled delegates at the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) convention in Vancouver. He called for a united front in the drive to push for improving the Canada Pension Plan. AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka brought a message of thanks for Canada's labour movement. "You were at our side in Wisconsin, in Indiana and Ohio when we called. You kept your promise of solidarity." Sharan Burrow, general secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) – the first woman to lead an international labour organization –came with a message of praise and encouragement. "You, your unions and your Canadian Labour Congress are a bright spot in a world where unions and workers are under attack." 

Battle for workplace safety continues

• New figures revealed that the number of Alberta workers killed on the job last year soared by 24 per cent to 136. The AFL continues to pressure the Alberta government to take real action to improve workplace safety, calling for a range of measures including posting the full safety records of employers online, rather than the meaningless statistics now provided; increasing the province's dismal record for prosecuting employers whose unsafe worksites cause injury and death (the prosecution rate for workplace fatalities is 2.8 per cent); giving inspectors the power to issue tickets for violations during inspections; and introducing mandatory worksite health-and-safety committees that include workers. For release on murder trial worksite ...; for blitzes release ...; for forklifts release ...; Day of Mourning release ...

Workers warned about delayed retirement

• An Alberta government plan - revealed by Employment and Immigration Minster Thomas Lukaszuk - to encourage workers to delay retirement to deal with a looming labour shortage raised concerns in the labour movement. "If he's talking about forcing people to work past retirement age against their choice, then he's going to have a war on his hands," said AFL president Gil McGowan. "Working Albertans won't take kindly to having their retirement dreams undermined or taken away." For AFL press release ... and for government release ...

Urgent Action

• Your help still needed at Gate Gourmet picket line - It's been a month since about 60 workers were locked out at Gate Gourmet's facility at Edmonton International Airport. The workers had been seeking only moderate increases – barely enough to keep pace with the rising cost of living and the soaring cost of gas needed to get to and from the worksite – but were given a final offer of a three-year wage freeze and a threat to close the facility. Join them on the picket line at Airport Road. For more info ...

Events

• May 17: International Day against Homophobia
• May 21: International Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development
• May 25: Multi-cultural Luncheon (CUPE 1158), 10410 – 111 Ave., Edmonton
• May 30: World No-Tobacco Day
• June 4: International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression
• June 5: World Environment Day
• June 11: Edmonton Pride Parade
• June 20: World Refugee Day
• June 21: National Aboriginal Day (click here for Edmonton events)
• June 27/28: AFL Standing Committees' Orientation and Meeting

Did You Know ...

• In 2008, there were 8.91 deaths per 100,000 workers in Alberta, compared to the national average of 7.14.
• In 1991, Alberta spent $11.14 per worker on health and safety programs. In 2009, it spent $10.13 per worker.
• In 2009, 620,000 Albertans (22 per cent of workforce) was employed in the top four most dangerous industries, compared to 341,000 workers (15 per cent of the workforce) in 1991.
• Between 2006 and 2009, there were 142 fatalities directly on worksite, but only four convictions – that's a 2.8-per-cent conviction rate.

For more ...

New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch (D) vetoed a so-called right to work bill today, saying that "There is no evidence that this legislation will offer any benefits to New Hampshire's economy or workers."

Earlier this month, the bill passed the state Senate by a veto-proof majority but fell short of a super majority in the House, where a close override fight is expected.

In his veto message, Lynch says New Hampshire has a lower unemployment rate and a stronger economy than most states with so-called right to work laws. He also points out that in states with "right to work" for less laws, workers on average have a lower standard of living, bring home less in their paychecks and go without health insurance more frequently.

In my time as a CEO, in my years spent in the private sector turning around companies, and in my seven years as governor, I have never seen the so-called right-to-work law serve as a valuable economic development tool.

He also says that the push for "right to work" in New Hampshire is being driven by "national outside interest groups and is not a result of problems facing New Hampshire businesses or workers."

AFL-CIO Now Blog, Thurs May 11 2011

For years, billionaire brothers David and Charles Koch flew under the radar as they financed right-wing campaigns and extreme conservative think tanks to overturn financial regulations, corporate rules, environmental standards, workers' rights and the entire litany of "evils" on the radical right agenda.

But their cover was blown in a New Yorker article last year and further shredded when their connections to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) and his attack on public service workers and workers' rights were exposed.

Now, our friends at the Brave New Foundation—the same folks who bring us Brave New Films—are making the spotlight on the Kochs even brighter with a series of new videos in their new Koch Brothers Exposed campaign.

In the first video (above) they take us to five of the Koch's multimillion-dollar mansions around the country. Three seniors who rely on Social Security go to David's $37 million Palm Beach, Fla., estate to ask why the Kochs want to destroy Social Security.

Pushing the intercom at the $18 million Koch South Hampton beach estate, a Brave New filmmaker asks the Kochs why they are "financing all these organizations designed to smash the American worker."

He gets the same answer—nothing—at the luxurious $15 million Aspen, Colo., getaway when he asks why they are "spending millions of dollars to destroy American unions."

AFL-CIO Now Blog, Tues May 10 2011

Foreign corporations, some controlled by national governments, have been using their economic clout to buy into Alberta's oil sands and take control of our natural resources.

US, French, British, Chinese, Thai, Korean and Norwegian interests have all bought stakes in oil-sands projects. According to the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), international companies have invested nearly $20 billion in the last three years through mergers, partnerships and outright purchases of projects.

Not every foreign interest with a stake in the oil sands has our best interests at heart.

This increased foreign investment raises questions. Who has the right to develop our natural resources? Who sets the rules for how these resources are developed? Who controls where the resources are processed and sold?

For example, in April 2010, the Chinese company Sinopec, a majority-owned subsidiary of a national company, paid $4.65 billion for Houston-based ConocoPhillips' stake in Syncrude. What makes this deal significant is that under the terms of the deal, the state-controlled Sinopec has a veto on the critical decision of whether the company should upgrade bitumen here or export it in raw form overseas.

Most oil-sands producers are thought to be looking to upgrade and refine here or in the US, rather than ship raw bitumen overseas, and then sell their oil to whatever market that offers the most money. Sinopec's investment in the Northern Gateway Pipeline, however, is seen as a strategy to ship massive amounts of bitumen out of North America to Asia for upgrading, refining and finally consumption in mainland China.

Not every foreign interest with a stake in the oil sands has our best interests at heart. A case in point: Koch Industries is a major supplier of funds to the Tea Party in the US and other far-right groups. Their anti-union activities in Wisconsin and dozens of other states are having a serious and detrimental impact on middle-class families.

Koch Industries also makes money off our oil sands. Koch Exploration Canada Corporation has a small oil-sands project, known as Gemini, being developed in Cold Lake. Koch Industries is a major player on the pipeline and refining scene. It already processes and handles some 25 per cent of oil-sands crude imports to the US. Koch Industries would increase this share if the US government approves the Keystone XL Pipeline to export bitumen south (Canada has already given the project the green light).

If the US approves the Keystone XL Pipeline, not only will Alberta lose quality, value-added jobs by not processing bitumen here, we may also see our resources going to fuel anti-union, extreme free-market activities in the US and, perhaps, even here.

But the federal government does not pay heed to those sorts of political considerations. They do, however, pay lip service to environmental concerns.

During the 2008 federal election, Prime Minister Stephen Harper made a surprise announcement that his government would stop the flow of unprocessed bitumen to countries with worse environmental standards than our own. This would also keep oil-sands jobs and revenue in Canada, he said.

This decree was thought to be directed at China. China's increased involvement in the oil sands and Sinopec's stake in the Northern Gateway Pipeline might mean a future where hundreds of thousands of barrels of unrefined Alberta bitumen are piped to oil tankers bound for Asia, where environmental standards are virtually non-existent.

In response to Harper's election promise, then Alberta Deputy Premier Ron Stevens said: "Alberta has the responsibility for the development of its natural resources and that certainly includes bitumen."

Stevens is right, but the federal government determines whether resource exports are in the nation's best interests.

Nevertheless, the Stelmach government has since reaffirmed its support for raw bitumen exports. In the 2011 Throne Speech, Premier Stelmach declared: "It is in the national interest that Western Canada has improved port capacity — whether by pipeline or rail — that will open the door to Asia's rapidly growing markets."

Since the 2008 election, the Conservative government has repeated Harper's promise to block bitumen exports to countries with poor environmental standards like China, but has been silent as to what exactly it will do. No binding legislation, regulations or trade barriers have been enacted. We're only just starting to wake up to the reality that there are companies and countries investing in our resources whose track record on human rights, pollution, accountability and transparency as far below the standards we demand here at home.

As a nation and as a province, we've been naïve about being good neighbours and good free traders. We're the owners of this resource. As owners, it's up to us to demand our provincial and federal governments enact strong and meaningful rules on how the oil sands are developed — rules that ensure tens of thousands of jobs are not sent down the pipeline to countries with worse environmental and human rights standards than we demand at home.

As global demand for energy grows, and supplies of stable, accessible energy shrinks, we must set the ground rules now before all the stakes in the oil sands are claimed.

Tony Clark is a researcher with the Alberta Federation of Labour. His research interests include energy and taxation policy.

Straight Goods, Mon May 9 2011

Thank you, readers, for sending in some stories about life in Canada's one-party province after reading my story, The Fear Factor in Alberta Politics. Tories and non-Tories responded. I was surprised to hear from labour Big Guy Gil McGowan, head of the Alberta Federation of Labour. It always seemed to me over the years that unions are among the few organizations that stand can and DO at times stand up to the government – nurses go on strike (or rather used to, years ago), construction unions protest workers' safety, teachers speak out on issues – without fear of job loss, as far as we know.

But it's not that simple, McGowan told me. If you want into the inner circles of power, there's a price to be paid, he says. Here's how it works.

Two years ago, McGowan was elected president of the Alberta Federation of Labour. He had his first meeting with new Employment Minister Thomas Lukaszuk, Edmonton's bright, talented, up and coming Conservative. "He told me good things would happen if I stopped criticizing government in the media," said McGowan.

"I told him I'd be happy to work together and happy to give him credit when it was his due. But I told him I would not be doing my job if I did not talk about my members' concerns in public forums. So I continued to give interviews and issue press releases. The result? Lukaszuk refuses to meet with me, EVER. "

"So the message has been crystal clear – toe the line and you get access. Refuse to play along and you get added to the long list of Albertans who are excluded," says McGowan.

Seems to me that's a pretty good sign of a code of silence – or should that be cone of silence? – in Alberta. If you want to get anything done with government, talk only behind closed doors. I've heard that advice from some Tory lobbyists and insiders. The doctors, for instance, were told, if you go public, you won't get anywhere. No partisan politics. That's how it works here.

But Thomas Lukaszuk takes a different view. "I had only one meeting with Gil McGowan him andf asked him if he was willing to work with me in a constructive manner and cast politics aside. But he just went out of his way to criticize everything," said Lukaszuk.

"If I was walking on water, Gil would say, ' he can't swim.' He's more interested in politicking than the substantive issues."

So Lukaszuk's strategy is to ignore the AFL, an umbrella organization of many unions, and hold talks with each union individually. It's works well, says the minister.In fact, some of those other unions say they aren't happy with Gil, he reports – a fact we haven't heard in public and won't likely, I presume.

"If Gil has any comments, he can meet with the deputy minister. Meeting with Gil is not a productive use of my time," says Lukaszuk. Gil's big mistake was alo talking about gettting rid of Conservative governments, he adds.

SO HERE'S THE QUESTION: Why do the Tories prefer all the discussion about public issues to happen only with them, behind closed doors? It's a great way to control the public debate. But really, what's so bad for THEM if people talk out loud ? They could look like heroes for fixing things.

(By the way, Lukaszuk noted some confusion in my story. He noted that he earned his reputation as a rare, outspoken Edmonton MLA in 2001-o4 after his first victory. He won with comfortable margin, so it is erroneous to suggest he was allowed to be outspoke to save his seat. It was his second election, 2004, that he squeaked by.)

Meanwhile,young Calgary MLA Jonathon Denis also called me with a comment that I'm happy to pass along. Denis, now minister of housing, who this week announced another $100 million for affordable housing in Edmonton, used to be among the Fiscal Four. He and Rob Anderson were the backbench fiscal hawks who hassled the government about over spending. The Fiscal Four were called to a meeting with the premier's right-hand man, Ron Glen. According to Anderson, Glen told them to back off the tough questions, that senior cabinet ministers were unhappy. So Anderson crossed the floor to the WildRose.

Denis remembers it very differently. The meeting wasn't about intimidation or pressure to toe the line, he said, it was just a routine call, the premier's office checking in with the four ambitious guys, he said. They were not told to back off.

So does that mean intimdation is in the eye of the beholder? Does it look differently if, shortly after, you end up in a cabinet post? Of if you cross the floor?

One last little item. Dave Hancock, who has been a Tory forever, was shocked when I told him that people whowere looking at joining the Alberta Party were afraid to be publicly identified. Many didn't want to give their names a year ago. At first Hancock downplayed the fact. Albertans usually keep their voting preference to themselves, he said Really? Voting Tory is a badge of honour or essential identity in most parts of Alberta.

Then Hancock said: "Do you really think someone would believe they would get into trouble for saying they were in the Alberta party? "That's not the Alberta I live in."

No, he lives in the Tory cocoon.

Edmonton Journal, Fri May 5 2011
Byline: Sheila Pratt

Alberta's employment minister says safety inspectors are fanning out across the province for a month-long safety sweep focused on inexperienced employees and the places they work.

Speaking at Bumpy's Cafe in the Beltline on Wednesday, Thomas Lukaszuk said he was issuing a "fair and public notice" to employers and workers to make sure proper training and equipment are in place.

"At the end of the day, this is not a game of hide-and-seek," he said. "We want you to be safe not because of the risk you may be caught, but because of the risk that this is your employee, this is somebody's kid, somebody's husband or wife that can potentially be killed on the job."

From 2006 to 2010, Alberta workers aged 15 to 24 accounted for 27,166 lost-time claims -or roughly 18 per cent provincewide, according to ministry statistics.

During the same time, 37 young workers died.

Employers and workers are each responsible for making the workplace safe, Lukaszuk said.

The targeted inspection is the third safety blitz launched by the government following recent criticism of workplace safety in Alberta.

Results from two previous sweeps -looking at construction sites and forklift safety -have proved disappointing, according to the minister.

Lukaszuk said he was unhappy with the dozens of infractions encountered, noting that the industries were forewarned about the inspections.

However, the minister said he still believes focused inspections are the right way to help change workplace safety culture in Alberta.

Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan called Lukaszuk "the minister of workplace blitzes" and said the short-term inspections only partially address safety concerns.

Alberta must step up its enforcement, including ongoing random inspections, heavier fines and more aggressive prosecution of safety infractions, McGowan said.

"Blitzes breed complacency. Once they're over, employers breathe a sigh of relief and think they can go back to their bad habits."

Diana Doublet, 19, started working at Bumpy's about two weeks ago, when she came home to Calgary on summer break from university in Victoria.

Food preparation at the bustling cafe has been a major change of pace from her previous summer job at a library. The teenager said even in the middle of cafe chaos during peak traffic hours, keeping safe is a priority and often comes down to common sense.

Bumpy's owner John Evans said the average age of staff at the popular cafe is about 23.

In addition to regular training, managers ensure younger staff are only given tasks they're capable of performing as they learn the ropes, said Evans. "We sort of move them up as they're ready to move up."

Renovations just wrapped up at the location. Improvements focused on making the 1,100-square-foot cafe more efficient for staff, Evans said.

"We try to make sure we take care of our staff as much as possible."

Calgary Herald, Fri May 5 2011
Byline: Jamie Komarnicki

In 2008, Milwaukee, Wisconsin became the third city in America to guarantee workers paid sick leave, joining Washington D.C. and San Fransisco. These cities are stepping up to fill a void left by the federal government, which is content to leave America as one of the only countries in the developed world that does not guarantee workers paid time off if they are sick.

The sick leave law was approved by referendum — with nearly 70 percent of voters in favor — and was upheld a few weeks ago by the state's court of appeals. However, Republicans in the Wisconsin state legislature passed a bill preempting the city's law and ensuring that no jurisdiction within the state of Wisconsin is allowed to decide it wants to mandate paid sick days. Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) — who gained notoriety for proposing a law stripping public sector workers of their collective bargaining rights and sparking mass protests — signed the anti-sick leave bill into law today:

Gov. Scott Walker has signed a bill that prohibits local governments from passing ordinances guaranteeing workers' paid sick and family leave...Walker, a Republican, says in a statement the bill removes another barrier to creating jobs.

But Walker's concern about job-loss is overblown. The Drum Major Institute conducted a study examining San Francisco's paid sick leave law and found "no evidence that businesses in San Francisco have been negatively impacted by the enactment of paid sick leave." In fact, the U.S. economy as a whole loses $180 billion in productivity annually due to sick employees attending work and infecting other workers.

Despite Walker's misguided action, as the National Association of Working Women noted, plenty of other cities are forging ahead with paid sick leave legislation:

In Philadelphia, a paid sick days bill was passed out of a City Council committee a few weeks ago, and in Connecticut, the state legislature is moving forward on a bill with bipartisan support. Paid sick days legislation in New York City has 35 City Council sponsors, legislation is about to be introduced in Seattle, and more than a dozen states have coalitions advocating actively for paid sick days and paid family leave policies. San Francisco and Washington, DC have already implemented paid sick days laws.

In the end, repealing Milwaukee's paid sick leave law is simply one more way in which Walker is undertaking his assault on Wisconsin's workers.

Wonk Room, Thurs May 5 2011

A recent series of workplace safety blitzes by occupational health and safety inspectors has confirmed there are serious safety problems in Alberta workplaces – but this approach is doing little to help.

"These inspection blitzes have provided undeniable proof of the dangers faced by workers," says Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL), which represents 140,000 workers.

"However, these one-off inspection blitzes do not solve the problems of workplace safety – they simply show that the problems exist," says McGowan.

"To make our workplaces safer – to save lives and prevent injuries – blitzes must be backed up with more concrete action, including ongoing random inspections, hiring even more inspectors than the minister has announced, giving them increased powers to issue on-site tickets for violations, increased mandatory training for such things as forklift operations and mandatory joint worker-employer safety committees."

Yesterday, the minister revealed that a forklift inspections blitz in February and March resulted in 214 orders being issued by inspectors against employers for violations. Of the 87 employers visited, 65 were found to have failed to maintain or inspect their forklifts or did not properly train workers.

Today, he announced there would be a similar blitz focused on young workers. In February, there was a blitz on commercial construction sites.

"The minister is trying to convince Albertans that he's being serious about safety, but one-off blitzes simply scratch the surface. They don't save lives," says McGowan.

"The minister agrees with us that saving lives and preventing injures will also save money for employers. Why won't he agree to take real action? Time and time again we have offered simple and obvious solutions to the problem," says McGowan.

"It's hard not to come to the conclusion that Employment and Immigration Minister Thomas Lukaszuk is simply playing politics and trying to create the impression that he is doing something. In reality, all these blitzes do is tell us how serious the safety problems are."

For more information call AFL President Gil McGowan @ (780) 218-9888

The Pennsylvania AFL-CIO communications team, Jim Deegan and Karen Gownley, sent us this report.

Some 5,000 private- and public-sector union workers came together in Harrisburg, Pa., yesterday to rally for a responsible budget. Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President Richard Bloomingdale called it an incredible event because it

"wasn't just about public sector workers—this was about ALL working men and women in our state. Today they all came together and demanded that the budget not be balanced on the backs of working families.

Gov. Tom Corbett's recent budget proposal slashes millions from public education and other vital public services. Meanwhile, big corporations like Marcellus Shale gas drillers, pay little or no taxes to the state. As Pennsylvania AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Frank Snyder put it:

The corporate loopholes must be closed. It is time corporations pay their fair share.

The rally was sponsored by the CLEAR Coalition, which is made up of labor organizations across the state, and represents more than 1.1 million people. AFSCME Council 13 Executive Director David Fillman emceed the event, in which workers from SEIU, UFCW, PSEA and others spoke about their experiences.

AFL-CIO Now Blog, Wed May 4 2011

Imagine one day you woke up and there were no sanitation workers to pick up the pile of stuff in your trash. No letter carriers or postal workers to move your mail. No teachers in the classrooms, no firefighters to stop your neighbor's house—or yours—from burning to the ground.

Such is the scenario being created by many Republican lawmakers in the states who are destroying collective bargaining rights for public employees and decimating our ability to attain good middle-class jobs.

Sam Gilberg, an 18-year-old songwriter with a band, One Track Mind, thinks about the plight of workers and has created a video depicting this bleak scenario, with the hope that it will stir people to action. Watch it.

AFL-CIO Now Blog, Tues May 3 2011
Byline: Tula Connell