ALF V1

EDMONTON - Leaders from the Alberta Federation of Labour and two unions representing thousands of forestry workers in the province will meet with Human Resource Minister Clint Dunford this afternoon in an effort to discourage the Alberta government from "going down a dangerous path" on the issue of softwood lumber.

"The softwood dispute between Canada and the United States has already resulted in the loss of thousands of jobs in B.C. and it's starting to have in impact here as well," says Les Steel, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour.

"We've reached a point where we obviously need a deal. But at the same time we have to guard against caving in to the Americans. That's a cure that would be worse than the disease."

WHAT:  Forestry union reps answer questions about their meeting with minister WHEN:  3 p.m., Thursday, July 3 WHERE: Rotunda, Alberta Legislature WHO: Dave Haggard, National President, Industrial, Wood and Allied Workers of Canada (IWA) Don MacNeil, Western VP, Communication, Energy, Paperworkers (CEP) Les Steel, President, Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) Mike Pisak, President, IWA Local 207-1 (Alberta)

Based on internal government documents obtained through freedom of information requests, the unions are worried the Alberta government is negotiating its own deal with the U.S. - one that would essentially give the Americans everything they want.

"That's why we're meeting with the Minister today," says Steel. "We want to urge our provincial government to be part of the solution, not the problem when it comes to finding a resolution to the softwood dispute. If they continue down the path they seem to be on, our province will pay a very high price - in the form of lost jobs and devastated communities. That's what we're trying to avoid."

For more information call:

Gil McGowan, AFL Communications @ (780) 483-3021 or (780) 910-1137

If you're finding it more and more difficult to keep up with the bills each month, you're not alone. Recently released figures show that the amount Albertans earn each week is falling far behind the increase in inflation - meaning real weekly income for most Albertans is shrinking.

Reports from Statistics Canada show that inflation increased the cost of living in Alberta by 7.6 percent between March 2002 and March 2003. At the same time, average weekly income (unadjusted for inflation) increased by only 1.3 percent.

The result is that, even though paycheques are slightly larger than they were last year, the average Albertan has experienced a 5.9 percent cut in their actual purchasing power.

"In a province that is supposed in the midst of an economic boom, this is a truly disturbing revelation," says Les Steel, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour. "If working people can't maintain their standard of living in the good times, what's going to happen when we hit the next down-turn?"

Alberta's inflation rate is by far the highest in the country and Steel says the biggest cause of that jump is the provincial government's ill-advised decision to de-regulate power (gas and electricity).

"For a year or so after the last election, the government managed to hide the true extent for their bungling by using our own tax dollars to subsidize power bills," says Steel. "But now those subsidies have been phased out and the real costs associated with de-regulation are clear. Basically, the Tories are taking a huge bite out of our wallets and eroding our standard of living."

In addition to being largely responsibly for Alberta's unprecedented spike in inflation, Steel says the Klein Tories must shoulder a large share of the blame for stagnant wages - the other half of the "cost-of-living squeeze" now being experienced by Albertans.

"This government has driven up costs for Albertans by deregulating power and failing to protect us from things like increasing auto insurance premiums," says Steel.

"But they've also hit working people hard by deliberately putting downward pressure on wages. They've done this through their anti-union and low minimum wage policies - both of which have weakened the ability of workers to get a fair share of the economic pie even during boom times."

Steel says the time has come for Albertans to "connect the dots" between declining real income and the policies of the Klein government.

For more information call:

Les Steel, AFL President @ (780) 483-3021 or (780) 499-4135 (cell)

Gil McGowan, AFL Communications @ (780) 483-3021 or (780) 910-1137 (cell)

EDMONTON - The Alberta Federation of Labour has adopted an aggressive new action plan aimed at helping working Albertans re-discover their collective political power - and convincing them to use that power to put the brakes on changes that threaten our families, communities and overall prosperity.

"Sometimes, the challenges we face as a community are the result of bad luck or circumstance," says AFL president Les Steel. "But many of the problems we're facing as a province today don't fall into that category. Instead, they're the result of bad decisions and bad leadership. That's what our new action plan is all about - convincing citizens to work together to put the train back on the tracks."

Steel says that the issues effecting working people in Alberta go well beyond traditional union concerns over wages and benefits.

"Under-funding of schools. Privatization of health care. Sky-rocketing prices for electricity and car insurance. These things are all hitting working people hard, says Steel. "People are starting to ask how things could be so bad in a province as wealthy as ours."

The AFL's new action plan is aimed at addressing many of these issues by educating and mobilizing union members and their families. The plan was developed in broad strokes by delegates attending the Federation's convention in Calgary last month. It was then fleshed out last week during a special three-day meeting of the AFL's new Executive Council in Red Deer.

The action plan, which will be acted upon within the next two years, has several major components including (but not limited to) the following:

Living Wage Campaign - The AFL will work with district labour councils and local activists to lobby municipal governments to pass living-wage bylaws. These bylaws would commit municipalities to pay all their workers - and all people working for companies with municipal government contracts - a minimum "living wage." "People who work full time should earn enough to keep themselves and their families out of poverty," says Steel.

Issues Campaign -The AFL will launch a province-wide media and education campaign aimed at informing union members and their families about the issues and encouraging them to get involved in the political process. "Our goal is to give people information and convince them that they can make a difference by voting," says Steel. "We're going to help people connect the dots - between the policies of the current government and things like over-crowded classrooms and sky-high power rates."

Local Elections Strategy - The AFL will target new resources for municipal and school board elections. The goal will be twofold: first to encourage local governments to fight more aggressively for the interests of their constituents; and second, to find, train and support candidates who can act as catalysts for change.

Workers Resource Centres - The AFL will work with district labour councils to establish workers resources centres in communities around the province. These centres will help workers deal with a wide range of concerns including: health and safety, employment standards complaints, tenants' rights, WCB and unemployment insurance. The goal will be to better promote and protect the rights of both organized and unorganized workers.

Steel says that he has no illusions about the AFL's ability to turn the situation in Alberta around overnight. But he says the AFL's action plan will feed into initiatives being made by other organizations and the "simmering discontent" developing in other sectors.
"The wide range of assaults on working people, families and communities is too serious for us to ignore," says Steel.

"The good news is that we won't be alone in pushing for change. The teachers recently decided to get more actively involved in the political arena. And there is more and more pressure building at the level of municipal governments and school boards. Hopefully, our efforts will help create a mood and atmosphere that will open the door for real change in this province."

For more information call:

Les Steel, AFL President  at (780)483-3021 (wk)  or   (780)499-4135 (cell)

The Alberta Federation of Labour is marking National Aboriginal Solidarity Day by strengthening its commitment to promoting aboriginal involvement in the labour movement.

"For years now, aboriginal people have faced discrimination in the workplace and in the broader community," says Barb Ames, one of two newly-elected aboriginal representatives on the AFL's Executive Council.

"Unfortunately, up until recently, the labour movement has also been guilty of not doing enough to open doors for aboriginal people. We've failed to give them a real seat at the table. The good news is that's all changing."

At the AFL's recent convention, delegates from dozens of different unions voted unanimously to create two new positions on the AFL's Executive Council to represent aboriginal workers. Aboriginal caucus meetings will also now be held at every major AFL event.

"This is the beginning of a new and on-going commitment on behalf of the Alberta labour movement," says Ames. "We will be reaching out to the aboriginal community in an effort to find out how unions and aboriginal people can work together to promote justice and provide opportunity for aboriginals in the workplace."

The work of building bridges between unions and the aboriginal community has already begun. In March, the AFL held a meeting with aboriginal leaders and workers on the Enoch reserve south of Edmonton. Similar meetings - aimed at identifying common concerns and possible areas for cooperation - will be held across the province over the next year.

As a concrete  example of the labour movement's commitment to working with the aboriginal community, Ames says she and the AFL will help lobby provincial and federal governments to designate National Aboriginal Solidarity Day (June 21) as an official holiday.

"The goal of having an Aboriginal Solidarity Day was to celebrate the contributions of aboriginal people and promote a better understanding of aboriginal culture and concerns," says Ames. "But without designating it as an official holiday, the day won't get the attention it deserves. If the government is serious about encouraging non-Aboriginal people to think about aboriginal issues, then they should consider making June 21 a formal holiday - a day on which all Canadians can focus on the history, culture and problems faced by aboriginal people. "

For more information call:

Barb Ames, Aboriginal Vice President, AFL Executive Council (403) 246-7144

EDMONTON - The real extent of the classroom carnage caused by on-going government under-funding of education will become apparent tonight when the Edmonton Public School Board debates its budget for the next school year.

AFL president Les Steel will be at the meeting to hear what the trustees have to say - and respond to the massive staff reductions that have been forecast.

"Tonight the ax may fall in Edmonton, but this is really a province-wide story - and the villain is Education Minister Lyle Oberg and other members of the Klein cabinet," says Steel.

"We have huge budget surpluses and an almost non-existent level of public debt. Yet the provincial government keeps hoarding money while kids suffer and our school system crumbles. This is not prudent management. It's callous and reckless disregard for the best interests of our children."

WHAT: Labour leaders available to respond to education cuts WHEN:  6 p.m., Tuesday, June 10, 2003 WHERE: Edmonton Public Schools Board Meeting, McCauley Chambers,  Centre for Education, One Kingsway Avenue

At its meeting tonight, the board will consider laying-off as many as 400 teachers and possibly hundreds custodians and other support staff. Similar cuts are under consideration in Calgary and other communities across the province.

Steel will join Doug Luellman, president of CUPE 474 (the union local representing Edmonton public school custodians) and other labour leaders at the EPSB meeting. They will be available to talk to reporters after the board has finalized its budget.

For more information call:

Gil McGowan, AFL Communications @ (780) 483-3021

It's not often that Business Week magazine praises unions - still less often that it recommends unions as a model for business. That's just what happened, however, in that magazine's May 27th issue.

Readers of Labour News will remember that, in our last issue, we reported on the scandal at the union-owned insurance company Ullico. The company, which was set up to provide insurance coverage for union members, invested heavily in Global Crossing, a giant telecommunications firm riding the dotcom wave of the late 1990s. Some directors of Ullico, all of whom were union leaders, were able to buy Ullico shares at a price set by the board. When the company's investment in Global Crossing soared in value, the value of these shares also increased.

When the dotcom bubble burst, however, Global Crossing went into the tank, and it was clear that the value of Ullico shares was also about to fall. At that point, the same directors sold their shares back to Ullico, netting handsome profits for themselves and passing the losses on to the union pension funds that owned the company.

This was exactly the kind of corporate shenanigans that unions consistently criticize, and the scandal caused serious damage to the union movement. Our Labour News editorial argued that unions had to insist on higher standards of behaviour from labour leaders.

Fortunately, that's exactly what happened. AFL-CIO President John Sweeney, backed up by Laborers Union President Terence M. O'Sullivan, won the support of the union pension plans, and used that support to force the resignation of CEO Robert Georgine. They also put the directors who profited from the share trades on notice that they will be expected to return those profits.

The union movement owes a debt of thanks to Sweeney, and to the trade unionists who supported him in this fight. Business Week called their decisive action "an example Corporate America should heed." Labour News doubts very much that Corporate America will do so, but we're pleased to report that Labour is keeping its own house in order.

There is a lesson for the future in all this: we can't always rely on the personal integrity of individual union leaders like Sweeney to solve these problems. Union-run pension and benefit funds must always be subject to rigorous oversight, and the directors of these funds held to a very high standard of conduct.

The Ullico story has a happy ending, and the labour movement can be proud of the outcome - we just can't be smug about it.

Tom Fuller, AFL Executive Staff
June 2003

AFL Convention wraps up tomorrow

CALGARY - Ken Georgetti, president of the 2.5-million-member Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), will be in Calgary tomorrow to address the Alberta Federation of Labour's biennial convention.

In his speech, Georgetti will explain why the labour movement is so concerned about the conservative policies being pursued by governments in places like Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario.

"For years now, the Klein government has been under-funding important public services like health care and education," he says. "Now he's going after health care workers and their contracts. And he's opening the door to sweeping privatization by earmarking billions for so-called public-private partnerships. This is a government that has obviously gone too far."

Georgetti is scheduled to speak at 10 a.m. in the main ballroom of the Westin Hotel (320-4th Ave.)

Other highlights of tomorrow's convention agenda (Saturday, May 3) include the following:

10 a.m. - Guest Speaker: Ken Georgetti, CLC president
11 a.m. - Election of officers and Executive Council
12 noon - Closing Ceremonies

Reporters interested in attending the AFL convention are asked to report to the Lake Louise Room (Conference Level) for media credentials and press kits
The AFL is Alberta's largest labour organization with more than 105,000 members. AFL conventions are held every second year.

For more information call:

Gil McGowan, AFL Communications @ (780) 910-1137

CALGARY - Five delegates to the Alberta Federation of Labour convention in Calgary - including AFL president Les Steel himself - will shave their heads in front of a crowd of 400 later today in an effort to raise money for children battling cancer.

The head shaving ceremony will take place on convention's main stage at 11:45 a.m. today (Saturday, May 3). The AFL convention is being held in the Westin Hotel, located at 320 - 4th Ave S.W.

Delegates have already pledged at least $10,000 for the privilege of watching their president and other activists "take it all off." Money collected as a result of the fund-raiser will be donated to Kids with Cancer, an Edmonton-based group helping children cope with the disease.

In addition to Steel, the following convention delegates have agreed to "lose their locks" for a good cause: Jane Sustrik, United Nurses of Alberta (UNA); Jim Connelly, Canadian Auto Workers (CAW); and Sam Grexton and Arlene Crozier from the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW).

Steel says that making a public gesture of support for sick kids is a natural thing for union members to do.

"As union activists we know how important it is to show support for those in need. Solidarity is what the union movement is all about. And with this fund-raiser, what we're attempting to do is show our solidarity with kids fighting cancer."

Reporters interested in attending the head shaving ceremony are asked to first report to the Lake Louise Room (Conference Level) for media credentials and press kits. The ceremony itself will be held in the Westin's main ballroom.

The AFL is Alberta's largest labour organization with more than 105,000 members. AFL conventions are held every second year.

For more information call:

Gil McGowan, AFL Communications @ (780) 910-1137

Workers of Tomorrow: The Promise and Problem of Young Workers and Unions (May 2003)

Policy paper adopted on 43rd  Convention, May 1 - 4, 2003

Migrant Agricultural Workers in America (2003)

Policy paper adopted at 2003 AFL Convention, May 1 - 4, 2003