ALF V1

Calgary Liberal MLA David Swann has been quietly meeting with MLAs and other interested people about starting a new party based on green politics, accountability and democratic reform.

Swann's work, combined with an alliance proposal from the Alberta Federation of Labour, and leadership questions around the Liberals and NDP, helps set up a summer and fall of gut wrenching debate for those who oppose the governing Conservatives.

Many opposition party members believed they were on the verge of a breakthrough in the March 3 election. The subsequent drubbing they took has forced them to confront their party's weaknesses and wonder openly about different ways of doing business.

Swann has held two meetings in Calgary over the past months that have attracted around 25 to 30 people, mostly Liberal and NDP supporters and some Greens, including rural land activist and Green candidate, Joe Anglin. Swann has also held individual meetings with other interested people.

The purpose, for now, is to simply start a discussion among those who feel left out of the process of governance.

"How do we reengage the citizens of Alberta?" Swann said. "If the issues with the citizens of Alberta are not being reflected in either of the mainstream opposition parties, then we have to talk about the possibility of forming a new party. And that party would draw from everyone who doesn't approve of the Conservative approach to governing the province."

Meanwhile, Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan is proposing a temporary alliance between the Liberals, NDP and even the Green Party that would see them divy up ridings in an effort to prevent vote splitting on the left and centre left. He recently typed a memo titled "The way forward: An AFL proposal for a united alternative to the Conservatives," that is circulating among the province's political left.

The NDP will be discussing a similar proposition at their annual general meeting in mid June and the Liberals will do the same at their AGM in the fall. Both Liberal Leader Kevin Taft and NDP Leader Brian Mason have said they look forward to the discussion. Both face uncertain futures in their parties.

Edmonton Journal, Wed May 7 2008
Byline: Archie McLean

Labour Economic Monitor (May 2009)

It's springtime in Alberta, and signs of the new season are everywhere. Birds are flocking back, the ice is out of the river, and down at the Legislature, the government has unveiled Budget 2009, Building on Our Strength. Like most Alberta budgets, this one is as much about show business as it is about provincial finances.

When: May 9, 2009 @ 1:30pm

Where: Alberta Legislature, Edmonton

Join David Eggen and his special guests for this important event!

This is shaping up to be a big event, and Friends of Medicare needs you to help! Your job is to make sure you bring at least 4 people with you!

We are standing up to tell our Health Minister that we do not agree with the attack on seniors, the threats to our services, closures of hospitals, along with the rest of the dismantling that has been occurring.

Let's give the Health Minister a strong message that we want positive improvement to our public Healthcare system!

Issue: Old Dutch Chips Locks Out 170 Workers

Action: Don't Purchase Old Dutch Chips

When: Until the Workers Get a Fair Deal

Background:

On March 30^th, Old Dutch Foods locked out 170 workers at its Calgary potato chip plant. Old Dutch is trying to use the lock out to put the squeeze on its workers, despite its continued high profits.

The union has indicated its ongoing willingness to negotiate a settlement. The two sides are not far apart on wages, but the employer refuses to budget on other important issues, including paid sick leave. The union is concerned that sick workers are coming to work because they cannot afford the lost wages. The union is also looking for stronger food safety language to protect consumers.

The employer also refuses to require all employees in the bargaining unit to pay union dues, which is a standard provision in most collective agreements.

How You Can Help:

UFCW is asking Albertans to not purchase Old Dutch products until they bargain a fair deal with their workers.

Old Dutch chips include Superstore and Safeway generic (no name) brands. The following brands are made in the Calgary plant:

• Old Dutch
• President's Choice
• No Name
• Great Value
• Compliments
• Safeway Blue Bags

Edmonton - Alberta can create more than 200,000 long-term green jobs and build a strong economic future, according to a groundbreaking report on green jobs released by two prominent environmental groups and the Alberta Federation of Labour.

The report, entitled Green Jobs: It's Time to Build Alberta's Future, was commissioned by Greenpeace, Sierra Club Prairie Chapter and the Alberta Federation of Labour. This unique coalition responds to the interest Albertans have in a strong bottom line that also supports ecological health.

"This report shows what we've been saying for some time now: that a green economy is a healthy economy. Right now, we have the ability to put tens of thousands of Albertans back to work building the future," said Jeh Custer, Energy Campaigner with the Sierra Club Prairie Chapter. "All we need is a little bit of vision and a lot of leadership."

The green jobs strategy is needed now at a time when Alberta has record job losses and its first deficit in over a decade. Alberta has slipped from having the lowest unemployment levels in Canada to third. Since August 2008, employers have cut over 135,000 full-time positions.

The vision in the report will breathe new life into the province's economy and help improve its environmental track record, which has recently come under international criticism.

Green Jobs: It's Time to Build Alberta's Future, shows a new way forward. It outlines what a green economy should look like. The green jobs of the future include electricians, computer software engineers, iron and steel workers, electrical engineers, electrical equipment assemblers, welders, metal fabricators, electrical equipment technicians, construction workers, machinists, construction labourers, operating engineers, and electrical power line installers and repairers, and sheet metal workers - a truly "green collar" industry.

"It's time this government invests in people and put our dollars towards building safe, vibrant and sustainable communities in Alberta," said Gil McGowan, President of the Alberta Federation of Labour. "This report shows undeniably that a green investment will allow us to diversify our economy, to stabilize it and to put tens of thousands of people to work immediately building our green energy future."

Other green jobs could be created in providing water treatment for First Nations communities, improving wastewater treatment systems, reforestation, and cleaning up contaminated sites. These opportunities can create many more good green jobs in rural and urban areas.

"Instead of investing $2 billion in false solutions like Carbon Capture and Storage, the government should choose solutions that will help every Albertan," said Mike Hudema, Climate and Energy campaigner with Greenpeace, Canada. "The time has come to let go of what's clearly not working and begin focusing our energy on creating the clean, green economy that will sustain us for generations to come. It's time to build the future."

Alberta Talks, Fri May 1 2009

When Yessy Byl arrived in Canada from the Netherlands, she was just a toddler. Her father found work as a bush pilot, bringing his family with him around the country as he moved from job to job, even working as an air ambulance pilot up and down the icy coasts of Labrador.

The contributions made by Byl's father and other bush pilots, many of whom were immigrants, to the formation of Canada is now irrefutable, but their jobs were often low-paying and never easy. So it seems poetically just that Byl, now 58, finds herself in the position of Temporary Foreign Worker Advocate for the Alberta Federation of Labour.

And with an economic recession and layoffs looming, she thinks there's no better time than now to start considering the rights of foreign workers.

"[Their conditions] are just horrible on all fronts," Byl says. "The whole regime of Temporary Foreign Workers is a very badly thought-out policy. There is no enforcement, no rights protection in place."

She adds that even the term "foreign worker" is itself a misnomer. "I've come to think that the [Canadian] government has set up failure and racism by calling these people 'temporary foreign workers.' All the foreign employees I've worked with don't consider themselves temporary at all. They came here to integrate and contribute to Canadian society, bring up their children here."

Byl's own experience with foreign workers is extensive. She has worked predominantly as a labour lawyer around Alberta since her graduation from the University of Calgary's law school in 1980, often working with employees under the classification of temporary foreign worker. She has since settled in the Highlands community, bordering the North Saskatchewan's northern banks in the east end of the city.

According to Byl, foreign workers in Alberta right now are facing a multi-front attack. Employers seeking non-citizen employees are required to obtain a labour market opinion, which is non-transferable, and can make finding other work difficult. Also, foreign workers are often the first victims of layoffs, which she decries as outright racism, and have families they're supporting in their home country, draining them of the "savings cushion" most citizens can rely on.

"Not only are temporary workers being laid off, they're being told they have to be laid off first, which is grossly unfair because that's discrimination on the basis of ethnic origin or country of origin," Byl said. "When recessions come around, all those really terrible tendencies start to come out in people and they say, 'They're temporary; send them home.'"

But despite a bleak outlook on working conditions themselves, Byl still finds opportunities to feel optimistic. Browsing through a list of former clients from her time as a labour lawyer, there are many faces she lists as deported, but there are still a few who have found their place as residents here in Alberta.

Profile, Thurs Apr 30 2009
Byline: Sean Steels

When Manuel came to Canada two years ago as a temporary foreign worker, the 35-year-old figured his family had landed a ticket out of El Salvador.

"When I came here, the only thing that I had in my mind is to build my baby girl a future," said Manuel, who spoke to reporters under an alias due to fears his family may be targeted by gangs in his home country.

But upon arrival in Edmonton, his wages were cut from a promised $15 to $10.86 an hour and he was housed in a duplex with 17 other men.

Manuel, who works at Maple Leaf Poultry, says his conditions have improved since he joined a union and he's expecting to hear any day now whether he's been approved for permanent residency status.

Yessy Byl, temporary foreign worker advocate for the Alberta Federation of Labour, says Manuel is lucky because it is rare for temporary foreign workers to get such an opportunity.

Byl is calling for the elimination of Canada's temporary foreign worker program in her latest report on the living and working conditions of Alberta's 57,000-plus temporary foreign workers.

"The government has made a choice that we need people to come here, but we're going to bring them in as foreign workers with less rights than immigrants," said Byl.

The first report Byl completed in 2007 highlighted cases of foreign worker exploitation, including illegal broker fees and substandard housing.

Those issues continue to persist, said Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour.

"Instead of saying to immigrants or people from abroad who come to Canada that we will consider you for citizenship, we're basically saying that we'll take your labour, we'll take your hard work, and when we're done with you, we'll discard you like a used Post-it note," McGowan said.

The report notes that temporary foreign workers coming to Canada are increasingly low-skilled labourers.

"What we're witnessing essentially is the creation of a vast and growing underclass of workers where people get stuck in job ghettos at the low end of the wage ladder (and) are not getting the same kind of rights in the labour market as others," said McGowan.

The federation's update was to be sent to both provincial and federal governments on Monday.

"We'll be reviewing the report carefully," Janice Schroeder, employment and immigration spokesperson for the government of Alberta, said on Saturday.

"There are some points where the issues they are raising are certainly aligned with what the government is doing in terms of what those workers need," she said. "There are, of course, some areas where we disagree."

Schroeder said the province does not support ending the temporary foreign worker program.

"We believe it's still meeting a labour need," she explained.

She emphasized employers must meet workplace laws at all times and cases of exploitation should be reported.

Byl would like to see an overhaul of Canada's immigration program that will allow all low-skilled foreign workers to apply for permanent residency. Her report also recommends that foreign workers currently here on valid work permits be offered permanent residency and that the government more actively enforce employment rights.

"We would like to see the issue of the temporary foreign worker program and its transformation into a European-style guest-worker program become a major issue at the next federal election, whenever it comes," said McGowan.

Edmonton Journal, Tues Apr 28 2009
Byline: Jennifer Fong

The construction industry accounted for the highest number of work related deaths in B.C. and Alberta last year.

The fact was brought to light as workers across the nation commemorated the 25th time that a Day of Mourning has been recognized in Canada.

The BC Federation of Labour, the Business Council of B.C. and WorkSafeBC hosted a Day of Mourning Ceremony at the Workers' Memorial Sanctuary in Hastings Park, Vancouver, on April 28.

During the ceremony, Dave Anderson, president and CEO of WorkSafeBC reported that there were 160 work-related fatality claims in B.C. in 2008, which is up from 139 in 2007.

"Those 160 workers died needlessly and preventively, primarily from four causes," said Anderson.

Out of these claims, 76 were the result of occupational disease, mainly from exposure to asbestos.

"We know that number is expected to grow year on year based on the exposure data we have from the past," he said. "While we can't do anything about those past exposures, we do know there is a lot we can do about current exposures, to ensure that this generation of workers is better protected than previous generations."

Last year 21 workers died from motor vehicle accidents, which was the second most common cause of worker death. This effected workers in all industries.

Finally, 43 people died from worksite traumatic injury, which is the lowest number on record.

The construction industry suffered 34 fatalities in general construction, heavy construction and road construction.

"Last year was the worst year on record going back as far as far as I could find for aviation crashes," said Anderson.

"There were five crashes last year. We also had some claims from the previous year. Twenty workers died from helicopter and plane crashes, which were mainly people being transported to work in remote places."

According to Peter Kiewit Sons project manager Greg Dixon, who was at the ceremony in Hastings Park, this year was an extremely difficult one for the company.

On Nov.17, a plane chartered in Vancouver to deliver personnel and supplies to a construction worksite for a hydro electric project crashed on an island north of Powell River, B.C. killing seven passengers and leaving one survivor.

Kiewit is the main contractor on the East Toba River/Montrose Creek run-of-river power project.

The Alberta Ministry of Employment and Immigration reported that there were 164 occupational fatalities in 2008, up from 154 in 2007.

These fatalities are broken down into three categories; 50 were motor vehicle incidents, 51 were workplace incidents, and 63 were occupational disease deaths.

The construction industry and associated trade services, with 59 deaths, accounted for the largest number of workplace fatalities among all sectors in 2008. This is 36 per cent of last year's total.

"Overall we're making progress reducing workplace injuries, but there are still far too many workers in Alberta getting killed on the job," said Hector Goudreau, Minister of Employment and Immigration. "It will be a priority to reduce fatalities, especially related to motor vehicles and disease."

In response, the government increased its occupational health and safety budget by more than $5 million for the new fiscal year.

Hector claimed progress is being made because the disabling injury rate decreased to 3.48 injuries per 100 full time jobs in 2008, from 3.88 per 100 in 2007.

The disabling injury rate includes workers who cannot work their next shift or have to be placed on modified work to accommodate injuries.

The provincial lost-time claim rate for 2008 was 1.8 per 100 full-time jobs, down from 2.12 per 100 in 2007.

This rate compares the number of lost-time claims submitted, but does not include modified work.

However, a union representative in Alberta does not see this as progress.

"2008 was the fourth deadliest year for workers in Alberta's history," said Gil McGowan, Alberta Federation of Labour president. "There were more workers killed last year than in more than 25 years."

The worst years in Alberta history were 1914, which was the year of the Hillcrest Mine disaster, 1980 (169) and 1982 (169). McGowan agreed that the fatalities were avoidable.

"It is wrong to throw up our hands and declare fatalities as 'unavoidable,' or to blame the boom," he said. "We know how to prevent workplace death - we have the technological, scientific and occupational hygiene knowledge to make workplaces safe."

Journal of Commerce, Mon Apr 28 2009
Byline: Richard Gilbert

The Alberta Federation of Labour is encouraging Albertans across the province to stop for a moment today to remember workers who were killed because of work. April 28^th is the International Day of Mourning, commemorated in more than 150 countries.

"It is important to have a day to remember workers killed because of work," says AFL President Gil McGowan. "Focusing our attention on the epidemic of workplace injury and death helps us remember the loss thousands of workers' families experience. But it also should re-double our commitment to preventing it in the first place."

"Employers, workers and the government can and must do more to make our workplaces safer," McGowan adds. "Employers need to stop cutting corners on safety; the government must enforce our safety laws more aggressively; and workers need to stand up for our rights more."

McGowan notes that in 2008, 166 workers were killed because of work in Alberta - over three a week. This is up from 154 deaths in 2007.

"2008 was the fourth deadliest year for workers in Alberta's history," observed McGowan. "There were more workers killed last year than in more than 25 years."

The worst years in Alberta history were 1914 (221 - the year of the Hillcrest Mine disaster), 1980 (169) and 1982 (169).

"It is wrong to throw up our hands and declare fatalities as 'unavoidable,' or to blame the boom. We know how to prevent workplace death - we have the technological, scientific and occupational hygiene knowledge to make workplaces safe."

"What we are missing is the political and economic will to do it."

"There are Day of Mourning ceremonies in every Alberta municipality. The AFL encourages Albertans to mark April 28th at their workplace and by attending your local community ceremony"

For more information call:

Gil McGowan, AFL President (780) 483-3021 (office) (780) 218-9888 (cell)

Older, male workers and employees in the construction industry accounted for the largest number of workplace deaths in Alberta in 2008 -- with total work fatalities reaching a 26-year high -- according to new data released Friday by the provincial government.

Once-booming Alberta saw 165 occupational deaths last year, the most in more than a quarter century and up 33 per cent from 2006, although the number of disabling injury claims decreased slightly in 2008.

Of the 165 Albertans who died because of their job last year, about seven in 10 were aged 45 and older (114 occupational fatalities), while roughly one-quarter were workers between 25 and 44 years old and five per cent of occupational deaths befell employees aged 24 and younger.

About 91 per cent of the workplace victims (150 deaths) were men.

"We're making progress reducing workplace injuries, but there are still far too many workers in Alberta getting killed on the job," said Employment Minister Hector Goudreau.

Included in the on-the-job fatalities were 51 direct workplace accidents, 50 motor vehicle incidents and 64 occupational disease deaths.

The construction industry and associated trade services, with 59 deaths (36 per cent of last year's total), accounted for the largest number of workplace fatalities among all sectors in 2008.

Over the last five years there have been 253 occupational deaths in Alberta's construction industry.

On a more positive note for the province, the tally of disabling injury claims in Alberta decreased about three per cent in 2008 and six per cent over the past two years.

All told, there were 60,692 disabling injury claims last year, while the number of lost-time claims (another measure of on-the-job injuries) decreased about eight per cent, to 31,410.

Yet, the rising death toll has come amid a province-wide campaign by the Stelmach government to reduce workplace fatalities.

In response, the government has beefed up its occupational health and safety budget by more than $5 million for the new fiscal year for additional enforcement. The allocation of the cash will be determined following a workplace safety conference this fall with various industry groups, said Alberta Employment spokesman Chris Chodan.

But the Alberta Federation of Labour says far more dollars must be invested into workplace inspections and enforcement of occupational health and safety rules.

The AFL is demanding mandatory workplace safety committees for all employers, and has thousands of signatures on petitions urging the move, that will be presented to government on Tuesday -- a day of remembrance for those who've died on the job.

"We are not surprised by the number (of deaths), but we are deeply troubled," said AFL president Gil McGowan. "What it shows is that neither employers or government are taking workplace safety as seriously as they should."

McGowan noted the large number of deaths among older workers is a bit of an eye-opener, figuring younger employees would have accounted for a greater percentage of the death toll.

Alberta's now-deflated boom saw a slew of older employees jump back into the workforce or change jobs over the past few years, lured by skyrocketing salaries amid a once-crippling labour crunch.

Calgary Herald, Fri Apr 25 2009
Byline: Jason Fekete