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EDMONTON - Health care workers from seven different unions will rally at the Legislature over the lunch hour tomorrow to protest Bill 27, the government's controversial amendment to the Alberta Labour Relations Code.

If passed, the Bill will strip the right to strike from more than 7,000 community health workers; it will remove decision-making power from the impartial Alberta Labour Relations Board and hand it to the provincial cabinet; and it will set up a process that could lead to lower wages and reduced conditions of work in the health sector.

"These are the most sweeping and potential damaging changes to Alberta's labour laws that we've seen in the past 20 years," says Les Steel President of the Alberta Federation of Labour.

"And they're being rammed through the Legislature without input from the public or affected health care workers. If the government thinks they can use the distraction of war to pass bad laws without public scrutiny, they've got another thing coming."

The rally will be held on the Legislature steps starting at noon tomorrow, Thursday, March 20, 2003. Speakers will include:

• Judy Darcy, National President, Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)
• Heather Smith, President, United Nurses of Alberta (UNA)
• Elisabeth Ballermann, President, Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA)
• Yvonne Fast, President, CUPE Alberta Division
• Brian Mason, Deputy Leader, Alberta New Democrats

Bill 27 was introduced last week without any warning and without any consultation with health care workers. The Bill has been rushed through the Legislature, passing Second Reading on Monday and moving to committee debate today. It could be passed as soon as tomorrow afternoon.

The rally is being organized by CUPE, with support from the AFL, UNA, HSAA, the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers (CEP), the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), the United Steelworkers of America (USWA), and the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE).

For more information call:

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

Pam Beattie, CUPE Communications  @ (780) 288-1230 (cell)

EDMONTON - The Alberta Federation of Labour and seven unions representing health care workers in the province have decided to launch a formal challenge to Bill 27, a bill to amend the Alberta Labour Code, on the grounds that it violates the NAFTA side agreement on labour.

"One of the key features of Bill 27 is that it robs health care workers and their unions of the right to due process when it comes to basic labour relations," says AFL president Les Steel.

"This is a clear violation of the obligations outlined under the North American Agreement on Labour Cooperation (NAALC) - better known as the NAFTA side agreement on labour. The agreement was entered into in 1995 by then Labour Minister Stockwell Day on behalf of the Alberta government, and it's still in force today."

The union complaint - which will be filed later this month - argues that Bill 27 violates Part Two, Section Five of the NAALC which says that each party (Canada, the U.S. and Mexico) shall ensure that all labour relations proceedings "comply with due process of the law."

As it stands right now, the Alberta Labour Relations Board (ALRB) administers the rules governing collective bargaining in Alberta. They decide who unions can bargain for, when they can bargain, how they can bargain - and even sometimes what they can bargain.
But the ALRB is bound by law to exercise its authority in an even-handed manner. In particular, before making any decisions, the Board conducts formal hearings at which all parties have the right to state their case publicly. The Board then makes its decisions based on the law and the evidence.

It is exactly this impartial and balanced approach - a process that respects both sides in labour relations - that is being thrown out by Bill 27, says Steel.

"Basically, with Bill 27 the government is breaking its promises under NAFTA and completely short-circuiting the LRB process. Instead of decisions being made with input from all parties, the power is going to be transferred to the provincial cabinet. There will be no fair hearing for health care workers - and no due process. It will be a kangaroo court."

The unions' brief to the NAFTA Administrative Office is being prepared by Bob Blair, a prominent Edmonton labour lawyer, and former chair of the ALRB.

He says Bill 27 will give the cabinet power to determine appropriate bargaining units in health care; to determine which unions emerge as bargaining agents after regional health authorities have been amalgamated; and to determine which collective agreements are going to govern in those new bargaining units.

"This is a serious departure from past practice - and a clear violation of our commitment to due process under NAFTA," says Blair. "The LRB has traditionally maintained its impartiality by engaging in a very careful balancing act between the interests of the employer and the workers. But with Bill 27, the government is throwing out all pretense of impartiality."

Steel agrees, saying that the changes are clearly being made to advance the agendas of the employers - the regional health authorities."In this kind of setting, there is absolutely no way that workers will get a fair hearing."

The complaint is being filed jointly by:  the Alberta Federation of Labour, the United Nurses of Alberta, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the Health Sciences Association of Alberta, the Communications, Energy & Paperworkers Union of Canada, the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, the United Steelworkers of America, and the International Union of Operating Engineers.

For more information call:

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

Bob Blair, Lawyer, Blair Chahley & Seveny (780) 423-3433 (wk) / (780) 919-3357 (cell)

EDMONTON - The leaders of unions representing health care workers in Alberta will meet tomorrow morning to discuss a new piece of provincial legislation that will strip the right-to-strike from thousands of their members.

The local union leaders will be joined by Ken Georgetti, president of the Canadian Labour Congress, who has described the proposed strike-ban legislation as "draconian and uncalled for."

After a private breakfast meeting, the union leaders will gather for a news conference at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, March 11 in Salon C of the Crowne Plaza - Chateau Lacombe Hotel in downtown Edmonton (10111 Bellamy Hill).

At the news conference, the union leaders will summarize their concerns about the new legislation - and how they plan to respond to it.

"Alberta already has the most restrictive legislation in the country," says Les Steel, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour.

"These amendments are just going to make a bad situation worse. Basically, they're going to be stripping thousands of workers of the right to control their own labour and the right to choose one union over another. It's a huge step backward."

The news conference will be attended by representatives from the following unions and labour organizations: the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL); the United Nurses of Alberta (UNA); the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE); the Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA); the International Operating Engineers (IOE); the United Steelworkers of America (USWA); the Communication Energy Paperworkers union (CEP); and the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW).

The Alberta government is expected to introduce its package of labour law amendments into the Legislature tomorrow afternoon. Leaks from the government suggest that the legislation will strip the right-to-strike from paramedics and people working in long-term and community health care.

For more information, contact:

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

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

EDMONTON - There is still a lot of work to be done when it comes to guaranteeing real equality for women in the workplace and in their communities, says Kerry Barrett, Secretary Treasurer of the Alberta Federation of Labour.

"On the eve of International Women's Day, we have much to celebrate - but here in Alberta and across the country we still haven't reached the point where we can say that all barriers to equality have been dismantled."

As proof that the battle for more equitable treatment has yet to be won, Barrett points to information from Statistics Canada showing that the "gender wage gap" in Alberta is wider than anywhere else in Canada.

"On average, working women in Canada earn about 81 cents for every dollar earned by men. But here in Alberta, women earn only about 76 cents for each dollar earned by their male counterparts. That's the widest gap in the country - and it's a clear sign that more needs to be done to advance the interests of women in the workplace."

The statistics also show that outside of a few sectors like health care and education - where unions have won better deals for their members - working women are still much less likely to have access to pensions or other benefits than men.

At the same time, Barrett says our governments at both the federal and provincial level have failed to give more than lip service to many of the issues that matter most to women - like affordable child care, low-income housing, assistance for single mothers and funding for women's shelters.

"You don't want to be young, poor and a mother in Alberta," says Barrett. "Raising a young family has never been easy. But our governments have made it much more difficult than it has to be - especially in a wealthy province like ours."

Barrett also points to a report released yesterday by the United Nations showing that Canada has failed to live up to its obligations in areas such as the reduction of child poverty and promoting the number of women in elected positions.

"Here in Alberta, one in five of our children live in poverty - and only 16 of 73 of our MLAs are women. We think there is a direct link between these two figures. Without more women in positions of authority, we will continue to have governments that ignore the concerns of women and families."

Barrett says that the labour movement has and will continue to play a central role in improving conditions for women.

"In most of the sectors of the economy where women have pulled even to men in terms of wages, benefits and responsibility there is one common denominator - and that's the presence of unions," she says. "Our challenge now is to organize more women and use our collective strength to level the playing field more broadly."

For more information call:

Kerry Barrett,  AFL Secretary Treasurer  at 780-483-3021 or 1-800-661-3995
or 780-720-8945 (cell)

They blew it. In early February, our federal, provincial and territorial leaders had an historic opportunity to reform and reinvigorate Medicare. They had a chance to keep our health care system healthy by keeping it public.

But the Prime Minister and the Premiers choked under pressure - and they dropped the ball that had been passed to them by Roy Romanow, chair of the widely respected Royal Commission on the Future of Health Care.

Of course, being politicians, our leaders tried to dress up their failure as success.
For example, there was a lot of talk about the new money that will be spent on health care over the next few years.

Obviously, given the pressure on the system being caused by staff shortages and a growing population, any new funding is welcome.

In fact, the amounts pledged by the federal government are substantial - $17.3 billion over three years and nearly $35 billion over five.

But, as Roy Romanow said shortly after releasing his report last November: when it comes to Medicare, money means little without meaningful reform.

The really frustrating part of this whole situation is that, thanks to the Romanow commission, the First Ministers had a workable roadmap.

They also had the political momentum to do big things: Canadians overwhelming supported the Romanow vision and were willing to get behind major reforms.

But instead of being bold - instead of grabbing the opportunity and the ideas handed to them by Romanow - our leaders decided to do the bare minimum.

The premiers and the federal government failed to measure up in many areas - but there were two, in particular, that stand out.

First, in his report, Romanow said clearly that Medicare needs to be expanded to cover a broader range of services and treatments.

He pointed out that the practice of medicine in Canada has evolved dramatically from the time Medicare was first introduced.

Back then, Canadians received most of their health services either in their doctors' office or in hospitals - and that's what Medicare was designed to cover.

But today - with changes in technology and approaches to health care management - more and more people are accessing services outside of these traditional settings.
Homecare. Diagnostic imaging. Prescription drug therapies administered on an outpatient basis.

These things all represent the new face of medicine - but all of them fall outside of the traditional Medicare umbrella.

Roy Romanow rightly identified these new approaches to medicine as key to keeping Canadian healthy - and he said Medicare should be expanded to cover them.

For Romanow, covering things like home care, diagnostic services and prescription drugs was not only consistent with Canadian values - it was also the economical thing to do.

But instead of seizing on these suggestions, the First Minister did nothing. There was no pledge to amend the Canada Health Act to cover homecare or diagnostics. And there was no agreement on a new national Pharmacare plan.

The First Ministers were similarly silent on a second issue that was central to Romanow and to the thousands of Canadians who made personal submissions to his commission. And that's the issue of privatization.

In his report, Romanow said the evidence on American-style two-tier health care was clear: it is a disaster, both is terms of access and economics. He also expressed grave doubts about farming public health services out to for-profit providers - similar to the Bill-11 style approach to health care being advocated by the Klein Tories here in Alberta.

But on this issue, the First Ministers - once again - failed to step up to the plate.
The federal government could have attached strings to the new money for health care. They could have said "no cash if it's going to be spent on private delivery."

But they didn't do that. Instead - contrary to the strictly targeted spending proposed by Romanow - the federal government will be writing blank cheques to the provinces.

Here in Alberta, that means the money we've all been calling for - the money that Romanow proposed - will be not all be going to the publicly administered and delivered services Canadians cherish.

Instead it will be used to further our province's on-going experiment in market medicine.
In the end, the only people who got what they wanted out of this round of negotiations on Medicare are people like Ralph Klein and others who want to dismantle the system.

By not seizing the moment the federal government and the more progressive premiers have basically given the Klein's, Harris' and Campbell's of the world a green light to proceed.

By doing nothing, they've have betrayed all those who believed in the promise offered by the Romanow Commission. And, in many ways, they have left Medicare more vulnerable than ever.

Gil McGowan, AFL Executive Staff
March 2003

EDMONTON - Despite a booming economy and an expected multi-billion-dollar budget surplus, the Alberta government will not likely use the upcoming session of the Legislature to make life any easier for working people, says the president of the Alberta Federation of Labour.

"Thanks to our abundant natural resources and our strong provincial economy, we are in a better position than any other province in the country to shore up the programs and services that really matter to people," says Les Steel.

"Yet our government is showing no interest in addressing the social deficit it created through years of short-sighted and mean-spirited fiscal policy. In fact, most senior members of the government have their heads firmly in the sand when it comes to acknowledging the problems their own policies have created."

Steel says the government's attitude towards needed social spending was summed up recently when the Education minister denied that parents were being forced to fund-raise for classroom essentials and when a government backbencher accused the Edmonton Public School Board of "grandstanding" when they announced a huge budget shortfall.

"Where have these people been?" asks Steel. "Despite our vast wealth, this government has consistently under-funded the services that matter most to Albertans. But instead of acknowledging the role their own policies have played in the erosion of quality services, they blame the victims. They say it's the teachers fault or the school boards fault - anyone but their own. It's incredible."

As a result of the government on-going ideological aversion to social spending - and their continuing refusal to shed their right-wing, rose-coloured glasses when looking at the consequences - Steel says the next session of the Legislature may be more memorable for the problems it doesn't deal with than for those it does.

"What about the minimum wage?" asks Steel. "We've slipped to the bottom of the pack in the country - again. And what about labour law reform? Last year we saw just how uneven the playing field is for workers during the Shaw Conference Centre strike in Edmonton. And the Minister struck a committee to consider changes. But where are the reforms? Where are the new protections for workers?"

Aside from all the pressing issues that haven't been put on the table, Steel worries that the government may use the next session of the Legislature to push ahead with dangerous privatization schemes (P-3s in particular) and to "get even" with public-sector workers - particularly nurses and teachers - who recently managed to win long-overdue wage increases.

"The Tories talk a good game when it comes to education and health care," says Steel. "They say our nurses and teachers are valuable and that more needs to be done to attract and retain them. But inside, members of the government caucus are seething. They're not used to anyone standing up to them - and that's exactly what both the teachers and nurses did. So what we're concerned about is retaliation. We're worried the government will continue its lip-service on health and education, while at the same time moving to knife the nurses and teachers in the back."

Steel predicts that revenge against the teachers will come in the form of inadequate funding for education - so that deteriorating standards can be blamed on "greedy" teachers and their recent wage settlement. When it comes to the nurses - who are currently at the bargaining table - Steel worries that the government will emulate B.C. and use legislative power to reach into contracts and nullify provisions that have been on the books for years.

"At the bargaining table, the government has repeatedly brought up the B.C. example," says Steel. "It may be just a tactic to scare the nurses. But on the other hand, it may be more than a threat. Only time will tell."

If the government uses legislation to tear up existing contracts or goes ahead with plans to implement P-3s, they will face a battle with the labour movement, says Steel.

"Both issues are red flags for us," he says. "When it comes to contracts, we believe firmly that a deal is a deal - and we'll fight to save our collective agreements. On the subject of privatization, we're also drawing a line in the sand. We don't think P-3s or any other kind of privatization of core services is in the public interest. We'll fight for a moratorium on these schemes until the government provides proof that they save money or improve service."

For more information, contact:

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

Gil McGowan, AFL Communications  at (780) 483-3021 (wk)

EDMONTON - The federal government's decision to name Don Mazankowski as chair of a new national agency dealing with health care issues would be comical if it wasn't so dangerous, says Les Steel President of the Alberta Federation of Labour.

"Don Mazankowski is a privatizer, plain and simple, so he can't be trusted to defend our public health care system," says Steel. "It's like putting the fox in charge of the hen house or giving a bank robber the keys to the vault."

Steel's comments came after news leaked from Ottawa earlier today that Mazankowski will be appointed chair of a new watchdog group called the National Health Council.

Creating the council was one of the key recommendations outlined in Roy Romanow's influential report on health care reform. But Steel says the government is making a mockery of Romanow's intent by placing Mazankowski in charge.

"Romanow called for a council that would be objective and committed to protecting our public health care system," says Steel.

"But Mazankowski is neither objective, nor is he an advocate of the kind of publicly-funded and publicly-delivered health care system that most Canadians believe in.  As author of the Klein government's blueprint for health reform, he has demonstrated a clear - and I would argue, blindly ideological - preference for dangerous for-profit experiments over more sensible not-for-profit reforms."

If the federal government is using Mazankowski's appointment as a bargaining chip to win support from Alberta for a new national health accord, Steel says they are being short-sighted and unhelpful to the cause of preserving Medicare.

"Some things are just too important to be bargained away," says Steel. "It's like a union negotiator giving away pension rights or health and safety guarantees to win a few more cents in wages. It doesn't make sense in the long run."

Steel says the best case scenario now is that Mazankowski will simply neutralize the Council as an effective player on health issues. The worst case scenario is that he will use it as a forum to promote the spread of Alberta-style market-oriented reforms to other provinces.

"Roy Romanow gave us a vision for reform that embraces Canadians values and focuses on public and not-for-profit solutions. But Mazankowski has a vision that goes in entirely the opposite direction. So in the short term his appointment may be a victory for the backroom boys who wanted a deal on health care. But, looking at the longer term, it's a betrayal of the Romanow commission - and the millions of Canadians who saw it as the best hope for the future of Medicare."

For more information, contact:

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

Gil McGowan, AFL Communications at (780) 483-3021 (wk)

Les Steel, President of the Alberta Federation of Labour, February 2003

We need to change - to take advantage of new opportunities and meet new challenges

As trade unionists we are currently living through a period that can best be described as schizophrenic.

It's a time of big challenges - some of the most serious we've ever faced. But, on the other hand, it's also a time of new hope and new opportunities.

On the positive side - I'm convinced that we're starting to see the first tell-tale signs that the long winter of knee-jerk, business-first thinking that has dominated our country since the days of Brian Mulroney may finally be coming to an end.

This may seem like a surprising claim to make - especially here in B.C., right in the middle of Gordon Campbell's first term.

But on the ground - in communities, in homes, in coffee shops - attitudes are changing.

After Enron and Worldcom and all the other corporate scandals that have come to light over the past year, people are no longer so willing to put blind faith in the business community.

Ordinary Canadians are also becoming more and more skeptical of the corporate agenda that our governments have been pursuing for the past fifteen years or more years.

Yes, our leaders are still talking about budget cuts. And, yes, they're still pushing for privatization, wage roll-backs, down-sizing, more international trade deals and tax cuts for the well-off.

But poll after poll tells us that ordinary Canadians are on a different page.

Joe and Jane Canadian no longer agree with the National Post and the Fraser Institute that cutting the debt and cutting taxes are the big issues.

What they're really concerned about are things that effect their pocketbook, their communities and their families.

In fact, Canadians are now starting to focus on many of the things that we in the labour movement have been talking about for years: things like health care; education; jobs and job security; the environment.

Recent polls have also shown some interesting shifts in the political landscape.

A few years ago the Reform party and then the Canadian Alliance were driving the agenda in this country. They weren't in government, but for most of the 90s they succeeded in moving the political centre of gravity in this country far to the right.

But today, according to the latest EKOS poll, the Alliance has slipped to 10 percent of popular support - down from more than 25 percent less than a year ago.

At the same time, the NDP has jumped to nearly 18 percent - from just nine percent during the last election.

Even in Alberta - home of rock steady, one-party rule - support for the Conservative party has notched down slightly.

By themselves, none of these signs can be described as a revolution. And I certainly don't think that Canadians are going to be flocking to the NDP any time soon.

But taken together, the signs suggest that something is going on, something is changing under the surface.

It's like the first warm day after a long winter. The snow still covers everything - but there is a steady 'drip, drip, drip' that tells us that things are going to change - that the snow will be gone soon - and that the cold winds will soon be replaced by something more hospitable.

For those of us in the labour movement who have endured nearly twenty years of anti-union, neo-conservative winter - a spring thaw would certainly be welcome.

And that's exactly what seems to be happening. The pendulum is swinging. And this time it looks like it's swinging with us - not into us.

That's the good news. But as I said off the top, the world we in live today is not all roses.

On the negative side of the ledger, we face a number of serious challenges - some more daunting and potentially dangerous for our members than anything we've ever faced before.

How bad is it? To be honest, there's a whole shopping list of concerns.

Starting at the level of individual unions, we all have battles with employers.

Your union, for example, is currently dealing with major layoffs at Telus. The CEO and his managers made bad business decisions and they want to make your members pay the price.

It's the same story in hundreds of other workplaces.

Managers talk about bad investments; a declining market; weak demand - and they deal with the problem by discarding workers like post-it notes or by going after things like our pensions and other benefits.

But, unfortunately, the bad news doesn't stop at the plant gate.

At the provincial level here in B.C., you've got a government that has declared open season on public services and public sector workers.

It's a familiar song to all of us in Alberta. We went through the same meat grinder eight years ago.

The big irony is that, just as the public seems to be getting tired of the right-wing crowd, they seem to be getting bolder and meaner.

Maybe Ralph can blame it on not getting enough to drink these days - and maybe Campbell is cranky because he gets too much. But either way the result is the same - they're both in a nasty mood and they both seem to really love taking it out on working people and the unions that represent them.

I wish I could say that we're just dealing with two bad apples. But the truth is that our challenges don't stop at the provincial border either - or even at the Canadian border.

At the national level, we've got a government that tries to portray itself as socially responsible - but has slashed spending on core services to levels we haven't seen since the 50s.

And at the international level, we've got a looming war in the Middle East - a war that almost no one supports - and which is already wreaking havoc on energy prices and the economy in general.

That's the list of challenges we're facing. And I could add more: like the threat posed to working people by poorly thought out international trade agreements. Or the looming crisis as employers water down our pension funds. Or the long-term implications of low unionization rates among young workers.

The list goes on - but the point is: we have our work cut out for us.

The big question now is how do we respond to the challenges I've just talked about - and how do we capitalize on the opportunities that come with a more progressive shift in public opinion?

One option would be to do nothing - or to do the same things we've always done.

Maybe if we simply sit tight and wait, the pendulum will swing back our way.

But then again - if all we do is wait, the pendulum may not swing at all; or it might not swing as far as we'd like it to; or might swing right past us.

As you might have guessed, we at the Alberta Fed have come to the conclusion that the labour movement has to take a more active approach.

That's one of the reasons I'm so pleased to speak at conventions like this one. We want to spread the gospel of activism - and we want to share our ideas and experiences about what we think will work to make the labour movement stronger.

For us, it all starts with a clear vision of the role of unions.

We firmly believe that the labour movement is more than a collection of service groups. We are one of the few institutions in society that is big enough and strong enough to stand up to the corporate and political powers-that-be.

We also believe that the labour movement has an obligation to use its size, its power and its resources to not only help our own members - but also to go to bat for families, for the unorganized and for the broader communities in which we all live.

When it comes specific solutions and strategies, we don't pretend to have all the answers. But over the past seven or eight years we've been kicked around a lot. In the process, we've suffered a few defeats; we've enjoyed a few victories - and we've learned quite a few lessons.

This morning, I just want to touch on the three of the most important lessons we've learned - lessons that we think all unions can benefit from.

First - we've learned that we can't do it alone.

Whether we're talking about an individual strike or a province-wide campaign against cutbacks, we've learned that we get better results when we have partners - especially partners from outside the labour movement.

About a year ago, Ipso-Reid releases a poll that helped illustrate why building coalitions is so important.

Basically, the survey asked Canadians to rate different groups in terms of trust. Not surprisingly, politicians were at the bottom of the barrel. But union spokespeople and union leaders weren't far behind.

We may not like to admit it - but unions have a serious image problem - and a serious credibility problem. Too often we're dismissed as self-interested and out to feather our own nests.

That's why, in Alberta, we've made a point of partnering with organizations outside the labour movement that share our priorities.

Community groups, seniors groups, student groups, religious groups, women's groups, environmental groups, health care advocacy groups, immigrant groups, anti-poverty advocates, progressive academics.

You name it - we need to forge ties and build bridge with all these groups.

And it's not just a crass attempt to steal their credibility. It's about sharing resources, sharing people power, sharing networks, sharing ideas - and working together for change.

The strength of coalitions was really brought home for us in the battle against Bill 11, the Klein government's private health care law.

The protests against that law were historic in their size and scope. Literally thousands and thousands of people who had never protested before came out and joined us.

Another example of the strength of coalitions was our experience organizing protests against the G-8 last summer in Calgary. Thanks to the work of a very broad coalition of groups, we were able to organize a major counter summit and sustain major protests for nearly a week - all in Canada's most conservative city.

But, as was the case with Bill 11, the coalition was what made the difference.

So, for us, in many ways it's the oldest lesson of the labour movement: that we're stronger if we stand together. And we're stronger yet if we reach beyond our own unions and our own labour circles into the broader community.

The second lesson we've learned is that we have to do a better job of cooperating within the labour movement itself. Too often, we get trapped in silos. We keep our heads down and do our work with our own members. But the result is that we end up not seeing the forest for the trees. We also often end up recreating the wheel.

Once again, our experience with Bill 11 proved this point. The Fed could have gone off and organized it's own campaign. The nurses' and CUPE and the health sciences association could each have gone off in their own directions. But instead, we worked together as part of a broader coalition.

The result was that, by pooling our money and our people, we were able to run a bigger, smarter and more effective campaign than we ever would have been able to pull off individually.

Over the past year, we've even started to apply this logic to organizing the unorganized. In partnership with the two other prairie provinces, we're talking about establishing a central organizing school similar to the one set-up by the Fed here in B.C. We're even talking about joint organizing drives. So instead of competing with each other, instead of working against each other - we're working together.

That's what we mean when we talk about cooperation between unions. We think solidarity should be more than a word we sing in a song every few years at conventions.

The third and final lesson that I'd like to highlight today is that we need to get over the fear of trying new things.

When the Alberta government first started slashing in 1993, we did all the usual things. We wrote a leaflet that almost no one read. We organized rallies that only a few hundred people attended. We sent out a few harshly worded press releases. We even circulated a petition and started a postcard campaign.

The problem was that we did exactly what Ralph Klein expected us to do - and he didn't give a crap. As long it was just the usual suspects on the Legislature steps he knew he could get away with ignoring us.

For two years, we were like Bart Simpson in that episode where he keeps touching the hot burner and saying 'ow'. We didn't learn. We kept doing the same things over and over again even though they didn't work.

The good news is that we finally snapped out of it thanks to a wildcat health care strike in Calgary. Several thousand people walked off the job spontaneously to protest cuts and contracting out. We mobilized the community. We mobilized the churches. People started honking their horns. They started bringing coffee and donuts to the picket lines. Right in Ralph Klein's home base.

And you know what? As a result of that strike - and all the support we mobilized in the community - the Klein government stopped cutting: at least in health care. They said they would never blink - but they canceled more than half a billion dollars in planned cuts.

Since then, we've done other things that have helped us win victories.

We borrowed from the corporate world by using TV ads, polling and direct mail campaigns. We borrowed from Hollywood by rounding up real life stories of people whose health had been compromised because they couldn't afford private MRIs. And just last month, we went back to old-style person-to-person organizing.

Through the Friends of Medicare coalition, we canvassed more than 20,000 people in Federal Health Minister Anne McLellan's Edmonton riding - and we got more than five thousand of them to sign a card saying they might not vote for her in the next election if she doesn't do something to stop for-profit delivery of health services.

The point of all this is not to illustrate how brilliant we are in Alberta. If we were really that brilliant, we wouldn't still be dealing with Ralph as Premier three elections later.

What I am trying to say is that unions can make change - even in the most inhospitable climates. We can make gains for our members and we can defend and even advance our broader social agenda. We can do it by building bridges to other groups. We can do it by working together within the labour movement. And we can do it by trying new things, by working better and working smarter.

In the end, I'm convinced that we can benefit from the spring thaw that is driving Canadians away from the business-first crowd. I'm convinced that unions like yours can make Gordon Campbell blink here in B.C. just like we made Ralph blink in Alberta. And I'm convinced that you can take Telus on and win a better deal for your members.

The pendulum is swinging our way. If we're prepared, if we're smart, if we're creative I know we can grab on make some real headway on the issues that matter most to all of us.

Thank you.

 

The Alberta Federation of Labour expects 2003 to be a year of intense activity on the labour relations front. AFL President Les Steel points to high inflation and slow wage growth in the province fuelling higher wage demands as workers struggle to maintain their standard of living.

"November's inflation figure of 9.7% was a shock to most Albertans. We know that this figure was, to some extent, a statistical anomaly, but we also know that the province has the highest inflation rate in Canada, and that the deregulation of utilities has helped to push up the cost of living. Wages in the province aren't keeping up to increases in the cost of living, and if war in the Middle East causes oil prices to skyrocket, the increased energy revenues may be good for government finances, but the resulting inflation will be a disaster for ordinary working Albertans."

Figures released by the government show that average weekly earnings for Albertans are growing by about 2% per year. "We believe that when the final figures are in, the inflation rate in Alberta in 2002 will be more than twice that figure," said Steel. "There is no reason why, in an economy as strong as Alberta's, workers should continue to see their real earnings fall."

Steel says the AFL also expects more Albertans to seek union membership in the coming year. "A recent Statistics Canada study shows that union representation brings higher wages - over seven percent on average. It also tends to provide better benefit and pension coverage. Most importantly, perhaps, it gives workers the right to be treated with respect and dignity in the workplace."

"That's why union membership has been growing in Alberta, supposedly the most anti-union province in Canada; and that's why it will continue to grow.

Shaw Strike Exposes Flaws in Labour Law

Workers at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton won a victory in November by negotiating their first collective agreement after a bitter seven month struggle against bad-faith bargaining and anti-union tactics.

The actions of Economic Development Edmonton, and the senseless prolonging of the strike is clear evidence of the need for improvements to the unfriendly labour laws in Alberta.

"Labour laws in this province fail to recognize that workers have the right to organize and bargain collectively. When workers freely choose to be represented by a union, as was the case with the Shaw workers, labour laws should facilitate the process, not act as a barrier to be overcome" said Steel.

Kyoto Ratification

The December 10, 2002 ratification of the Kyoto Protocol is an historic first step in addressing the issue of climate change. Throughout the debate on ratification, the AFL has supported Kyoto, and looks forward to continuing to work with all levels of government to ensure that workers and communities affected by necessary job shifts are protected by an effective just transition plan.

Kyoto will mean new jobs in new industries and is an ideal opportunity to diversify the Alberta economy away from its dependence on rapidly-depleting fossil fuels to ensure sustainable jobs for future generations of Albertan workers.

"Kyoto should be seen as a chance for Albertans to become leaders in the emerging industries which will drive the economy of the future" said Steel. "Countries around the world are making the shift already, and Alberta will be left behind unless this government starts seeing Kyoto as an opportunity rather than a threat."

Time for Romanow

With the release of the long-anticipated Romanow Report, Canadians have been given a clear choice about the future of Medicare. The AFL is calling for the quick and full implementation of the recommendations of Romanow by the Federal government.

Medicare is not only the right system, it is the smart system. Study after study proves that public healthcare has better results and is cheaper than for-profit delivery. Public healthcare protects families and is also a competitive advantage which makes Canada an attractive place to do business.

"Companies in Canada must recognize that if we go down the road of for-profit healthcare, they will be joining their American counterparts in paying more for coverage" warns Steel. "What working people lose from the public system, they will be demanding at the bargaining table."

Democratic Deficit

The year 2002 was characterized by an increasing erosion of democratic rights. Effective protest and meaningful participation in government became more difficult than ever.

The G8 Summit held in Kananaskis was the largest, most expensive peace time security operation in Canadian history. All three levels of government actively interfered with the rights of citizens to assemble and protest, and Calgarians were subjected to months of fear-mongering.

Despite broad support for ratification, Albertans were subjected to a multi-million dollar anti-Kyoto propaganda campaign while the Klein government chastised the Federal government for "consulting but not listening." At the same time, the Alberta government has hypocritically pushed ahead with privatization and for-profit healthcare despite strong opposition by Albertans.

"What we are seeing is an increasing disconnect between the wants of ordinary Albertans and the policy coming from government. At the same time government is clamping down on the right to protest" said Steel. "That's why labour, students, activists and community groups will continue to work together in the coming year."

For more information, contact:

Les Steel, AFL President at (780) 499-4135 (cell) or (780) 475-4668 (hm)

EDMONTON - The Alberta Federation of Labour applauds today's ratification of the Kyoto Protocol in the House of Commons, and says its time for all levels of government to walk the talk on helping workers who may be affected by climate change policies.

"Workers in Alberta and across Canada know that action on climate change is critical for future generations" says AFL President Les Steel. "We believe that Kyoto is an important first step in addressing the problem, but we have to do it right."

"For months we've been hearing the Alberta government say how concerned it is about the potential impact of Kyoto on jobs," says Steel. "With today's ratification vote, it's time for Klein to stop the fear-mongering and work with the labour movement and the federal government to ensure no workers are made to bear an unfair burden of implementation."

Steel says that while millions of new jobs will be created in Canada even with Kyoto in place, there will be job shifts from some sectors to others. He says the AFL has always supported Kyoto, but with a just transition plan in place to help workers adapt and train for the new jobs that will be created.

"We know that Kyoto can be implemented in a way that is good for workers and communities as well as good for the environment. The best thing that the Alberta government can do now is get on board to make sure it happens."

Don MacNeil, western administrative vice president for the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union, agrees.

"Our members, including 35,000 who have jobs in the energy sector, support Kyoto and know that it's the right thing to do," he says. "We have a workable just transition plan that will ensure that workers and their families and their communities can benefit from new opportunities, but it will take political will. The actions of the Alberta government in the coming months will show if their new-found concern about jobs is rhetoric or reality."
"Nobody is more concerned with jobs than the labour movement," adds Steel. "But our members know that healthy jobs and a healthy environment go hand in hand."

For more information call:

Les Steel, AFL President @ (780) 499-4135

Don MacNeil, CEP Western Regional Administrative VP @ (780) 984-5289