ALF V1

After nearly eight weeks walking the line, strikers remain as strong as ever at McKesson Canada facilities in Edmonton. Now it's time to show them the strength of your support!

A picket line BBQ and rally will be held at the main warehouse at 10931 - 177 Street, starting at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, August 25. It's being organized by the Alberta Federation of Labour and the Edmonton and District Labour Council.

UFCW Local 401 - www.gounion.ca - members have been on strike since the final week of June to back up their demands for wage fairness, benefit improvements, as well as issues of dignity and respect. About 200 workers have been without a contract since the beginning of 2009.

McKesson Canada has warehouses across Canada. The Edmonton warehouse workers have by far the lowest wage rates compared with counterparts in Vancouver (Coquitlam), Calgary and Regina.

Join the AFL and EDLC in showing the strikers that we support their fight for fairness, dignity and respect. There's no better way to spend an August evening in Edmonton!

For latest bargaining updates, go to www.gounion.ca.

Members of General Teamsters Local 362 boosted picket line spirits at McKesson Canada in Edmonton last week, dropping by with a big rig to show their support for UFCW 401 strikers.

Striking workers have been picketing the McKesson facility in order to attempt to communicate with the drivers and to persuade them to refrain from doing business with McKesson and to urge scabs to reconsider the error of their ways.

UFCW Local 401 - www.gounion.ca - members have been on strike since the final week of June to back up their demands for wage fairness, benefit improvements, as well as issues of dignity and respect. About 200 workers have been without a contract since the beginning of 2009.

McKesson Canada has warehouses across Canada. The Edmonton warehouse workers have by far the lowest wage rates compared with counterparts in Vancouver (Coquitlam), Calgary and Regina.

The workers at McKesson Edmonton invite other union members and supporters to visit them on the picket lines, which are set up at both McKesson warehouse locations. The main warehouse is at 10931 - 177 Street, and the smaller warehouse is at 18503 - 107 Avenue.

General Teamsters, Local Union No. 362 represents more than 6,000 members and oversees more than 100 collective agreements throughout Alberta.

McKesson Canada workers hit the picket lines in Edmonton

• 213 members of UFCW 401 at McKesson Canada in Edmonton are on strike, with the issues including wage parity with employees in Calgary and increases to benefits that have not changed in five years and have been eroded by inflation. Instead, management is seeking concessions.  For more information ...

Alberta's jobs crisis continues

• While Canada has recently seen an increase in full-time employment, Alberta has bucked the trend and has been shedding full-time jobs - 9,600 of them between May and June 2010. Instead of acting to improve the situation, the Alberta government has cut job-training programs, mostly aimed at helping youth and aboriginal workers. Meanwhile, social assistance caseloads have soared by 50 per cent. Read more at ...

Alberta has a revenue problem, not a spending problem

• The Alberta government revenue system is broken, as witnessed by wildly fluctuating revenue predictions and the resulting intense pressure on public services including health care and education. It's time for a grown-up conversation about how to fix the system and ensure we have the funds to pay for vital public services. For "Which Way Will We Pay?" and more information ...

Minimum wage increases do not lead to job losses

• New Alberta Federation of Labour research shows employment in service industries actually grows after minimum wages increases, said AFL president Gil McGowan in his presentation to a government panel reviewing Alberta's minimum wage. For more, read ...

Urgent Action

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Join the rally to support workers at Calgary Stampede July 13!
Park Operations workers at the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede are seeking a first contract and need your help. Join them in a rally near the Stampede ground Tuesday, July 13. For details ...

Events

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July 13, 2010 - IAMAW Rally, Calgary
Time: 9:00 a.m. - gather to hand out flyer
11:00 a.m. - rally begins
Location: Calgary Stampede Exhibition grounds, Southern LRT exit ramp, Erlton Station, 25th Avenue and Macleod Trail South

July 31, 2010 - CUPW Edmonton Sandtrap Open ([email protected])

August 9 to 13, 2010 - AFL Kids' Camp

August 29, 2010 - Big Splash Open Golf Tournament

September 6, 2010 - Edmonton District & Labour Council Labour Day Barbeque

Did you know ...

 

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The Alberta government has cut funding to the following job-training programs:

• Youth Connections 26.59%
• Career Development Services 12.68%
• Basic Skills/Academic Upgrading 16.55%
• Summer Temporary Employment 22.48%
• Workforce Partnerships 34.36%
• Aboriginal Development Partnerships 7.39%

Issue:	McKesson Canada workers on the picket line in Edmonton; 213 members of UFCW 401 are now on strike
Action Requested:	Join the workers on two picket lines.
When:	Today and every day until the dispute is settled.

Background:

The Edmonton workers are seeking wage parity with employees doing similar work in Calgary, but the employer has responded by seeking concessions. The strike began June 28.

AFL's Position:

These workers deserve to be treated with respect in the workplace, but to get it they need our help. Let's join them on the lines.

Action:

The picket lines are up 24/7 at two locations in Edmonton.

• 10931 - 177 Street
• 18503 - 107 Avenue

For more information, contact:

• Don Crisall  at [email protected]; or
• Theresa McLaren at [email protected]

Issue:	First Collective Agreement for Park Operations Workers at the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede.
Actions Requested:	Volunteers needed immediately to help with leafletting; also get your members to attend rally on July 13, 2010
When:	Inform your members immediately - attend the rally on July 13th!

Background:

Would you work 40 hours a week part time at half-time pay? More than half the Park Operations workers at the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede do - and some have been doing it for 15 years. Unlike most Canadians, they never get two consecutive days off. IAM Local 99 is trying to fix these and other workplace issues with a first collective agreement.

AFL's Position:

The rights of workers are being stampeded. It's time to ride to their rescue and help them get a first collective agreement.

Action:

You can help by attending a rally at the Calgary Stampede Exhibition grounds in support of the workers - during the Calgary Stampede.

Time: 9:00 a.m., Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Location: Calgary Stampede Exhibition grounds

Southern LRT exit ramp, Erlton Station, 25th Ave. and Macleod Trail South.

For more information, contact:

• Jason Rockwell at 780-709-2204 or [email protected]; or
• Kevin Clark at 780-235-5019 or [email protected].

 

Join Together Alberta - a coalition campaign to save Alberta's public services.

• The Join Together Alberta campaign was conceived and launched jointly by a number of Alberta unions and union groups in cooperation with various community and advocacy groups. All of the participating organizations share deep concerns about the impacts that deep cuts to public services will have on individuals, families and communities within Alberta. They also share a belief that best way forward for Alberta is to embrace a high-road approach to our future - one that focuses on smart investments in people, communities and the economy - as opposed to a low-road approach -one that focuses on cutting spending and leaving individuals, families and communities to increasingly fend for themselves. For more information -  http://www.jointogetheralberta.ca

Old Dutch Lockout Ends Following Landmark Labour Board Ruling

• In a landmark ruling, the Alberta Labour Relations Board (ALRB) has determined that Alberta labour legislation interferes with the constitutional rights of workers and has suspended the months-long lockout of UFCW Canada Local 401 members by Old Dutch Foods.  Click here for the full text of the decision.

Year-end labour force numbers show Albertans are still hurting even as province starts to emerge from recession

• Year-end employment figures released by Statistics Canada paint a picture of an Alberta labour force that is still hurting even as the provincial economy begins to show signs of emerging from the recession. "The recovery seems to be coming, but Albertans are still hurting and the provincial labour market is still very fragile," says Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour.  For more information ...

Next Up Alberta - Youth Leadership Program 2010

• Next Up was created by a group of young people between 18 and 32 years old who wanted to help emerging leaders develop new and better skills, smarts and ideas. The program is intense. Over five months, we'll dive into a number of topics and disciplines, combining theory, practice, deep thinking, and hard skills. We'll look at some of the most pressing Canadian foreign and domestic policy issues, and where "progressive" thinking is at on how to solve them. We'll look at how change is made in society. And we'll meet some of the most innovative change-makers in Alberta - from the non-profit, business and public sectors - who are working for a better world. For more details ...

Urgent Action

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Join Together Alberta

• Register for one of the 22 town halls nearest you!

• Albertans from communities are coming together over the next several weeks to send Premier Stelmach the message that our public services are the fabric that keeps our local communities together.

• Click here to find the complete schedule of town hall meetings and to register (http://www.jointogetheralberta.org/events) and then sent the link along to your coworkers, friends and family.

• Click here to sign the petition (http://www.jointogetheralberta.org/content/sign-petition) to save our public services.

• Go here to write a letter to Premier Stelmach and your MLA (http://www.jointogetheralberta.org/write-letter).

• Join our Facebook group (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?v=app_2373072738&gid=247817444550#/group.php?gid=247817444550) or follow us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/JoinTogetherAB).

Events

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Re-making Alberta: Recession alternatives for an Alberta that works

February 12th and 13th, 2010
Lister Conference Centre, 86 Avenue and 116 Street
University of Alberta, Edmonton
Registration fee: $50

Alberta is taking the low road in this recession with budget cuts and public service cuts. The AFL and the Parkland Institute are presenting this conference that will explore questions such as: Is there a high road out of this recession? What can we learn from other countries and provinces? What will the impacts of the cuts be? What does the high road look like for Alberta? For the brochure ...

Did you know...

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That if Alberta replaced its regressive flat tax (10% across the board) with the progressive taxation system that was in place before 2001, that the province would have taken in $5.5 billion more in 2006 alone.

The provincial government's most recent deficit projections are for a $4.3-billion deficit this year leading the Premier to warn that severe cuts are once again on their way.

Gil McGowan, President of the Alberta Federation of Labour

Good evening and thank you all for coming.

We've organized this rally tonight to send a message to Telus. And based on the size of the crowd tonight & it's a very strong message.

As many of you know, our rally here in Edmonton is just one of three big rallies being held tonight in support of locked-out Telus workers.

Right at this moment, union members and union supporters are also gathering outside the Telus tower in Calgary and the Telus' headquarters in Burnaby in B.C.

These rallies are the culmination of a week of hard work by the TWU, the Alberta Federation of Labour and the B.C. Federation of Labour.

Over the past few days, our two federations have convened meetings of almost all the major unions in Alberta and British Columbia.

Yesterday afternoon, for example, leaders from dozens of unions gathered at the AFL office.

We had leaders from the United Nurses of Alberta. The Canadian Union of Public Employees. The Communication Energy Paperworkers. The Health Sciences Association of Alberta. The United Food and Commercial Workers.

We were also joined by construction trades unions like the Carpenters, the Plumbers and Pipefitters, and the Electrical workers and by independent unions like CSU 52 and NASA from the University of Alberta.

Similar meetings have been held in Vancouver and Victoria.

The result of all these meetings is that, starting today, under the banners of the AFL and BCFL, we'll be launching a two-province, multi-union campaign of support for locked-out Telus workers.

Our campaign will be coordinated. It will be sustained. And it will be escalating.

The key to our campaign will be our members.

Here in Alberta, we have 120,000 union members from 29 unions affiliated to the AFL.

We also have support from building trades unions representing 40,000 workers and from various independent unions representing nearly 100,000 workers.

All tolled, here in Alberta, we have enlisted the support of unions representing about 250,000 workers.

And it's not just us. In B.C. Federation of Labour has signed up unions representing nearly 500,000 workers.

Telus may think they're taking on one union representing 13,000 workers. But they've miscalculated.

Starting today, they're going to up against the full weight of the entire labour movement in two provinces.

Together, we represent hundreds of thousands of working people and their families - and that means hundreds of thousands of Telus customers or potential customers.

We're going to show them that the flip side of union power is consumer power.

The first component of our campaign will be the leaflet that is being circulated through the crowd tonight.

It's just one piece of paper & but it carries a powerful message.

Our members have been asking what they can do to support you. Now were giving them the information they need.

At this point, we are NOT asking people to boycott Telus services.

Instead, we will be asking our members to do three things.

First, we're asking people to discontinue some of their Telus land line services. And the leaflet tells people how to do that.

Second, we're asking people to discontinue some of the cell phone services. And the leaflet tells people how to do that.

Finally, we're asking people to report service complaints to the CRTC so we can demonstrate that Telus managers are lying when they service has not been disrupted.

The unions who have signed up for our campaign are not just giving passive support. They have committed to get these leaflets out into the hands of their members.

Your message will be mailed, faxed, and e-mailed to hundreds of thousands of people.

And this is just a start. We've got more ideas up our sleeves. This is just the first shot across Telus' bow - it won't be the last.

At this point, I'd just like to say a few words about our friend Darren Entwhistle.

In the days before this lock-out began, he was talking tough.

He told the media and he told investors that he was going to bust the union. And he said the first place he was going to break you was here in Alberta.

Well, we're here tonight to say show the world that Entwhistle was wrong.

This line is solid. Telus workers are solid. TWU is solid. The Alberta labour movement is solid.

And you know what? It's not just union members who Entwhistle has misjudged. He also misjudged other Albertans.

We don't take kindly to what this man, this Rambo CEO, has done.

In five or six short years, he's taken a company that was built largely with taxpayers dollars, a company that had a proud history of service, a company that had a long record of positive labour relations and he's poisoned it.

He's poisoned customer service and he's poisoned the work environment.

So tonight, we're here to say that we want a fair contract for telus workers. But we're also here to say, "we want our company back!"

For me, this is all kind of personal.

My Dad worked in this tower for nearly 25 years. I was an AGT kid.

Unlike Mr. Entwhistle, my dad was never a millionaire. But he was proud of the work he did.

He had a good union job. And, as a result, he was able to pay the mortgage and raise a family. He was able to plan for his retirement and even have a little left over to take me and my brothers on a few vacations.

That's what this dispute is really about. It's about defending family sustaining jobs, community sustaining jobs.

Telus makes its money here, in our towns, in our cities, from our citizens.

As a result, it has an obligation to give something back by investing here and maintaining good jobs here.

But Mr. Entwhistle's contract - the one he's tried to ram down you throats - would allow him to contract out jobs, to strip benefits, to send work down to the southern United States or to the Phillipines.

Tonight we're here to say "no" to this kind of corporate irresponsibility. We're here to say "no way" to the Entwistle way.

I'd like to conclude tonight with two promises and a predication.

On behalf of the Alberta Federation of Labour, our Executive, our members and affiliates, I promise that you will not stand alone.

We will be with you for however long it takes to get the kind of fair agreement you deserve.

We also promise that we will use our people power to make Telus feel the heat.

As far as my predication goes, let me say this.

The problem with this company has never been the workers. And the problem is not your old contract. The real problem is Darren Entwhistle and his Rambo-style management.

Through our collective efforts, and by keeping your picket line strong, we're going to help Telus investors see the light.

And six months from now, I predict that you'll be back at work with a negotiated contract. And Darren will where he should have been three years ago - out of work!

Together we can make it happen. Thanks for coming. Solidarity!

 

Numerous trucks and employee vehicles were kept out of the Safeway distribution centre by striking workers on Labour Day, an act the Alberta Labour Relations Board deemed "unlawful" late Monday night.

The board ordered the picketers to only detain those who approach the picket line for as long as they need to explain the nature of the dispute.

They also directed the union to keep watch on the traffic buildup outside the north Edmonton centre and adjust their delaying of traffic to quell any potential snarls like the one experienced on Monday.

Members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 401 started picketing Monday at 6 a. m., after they served strike notice and the company locked them out.

The 350 workers planned to picket in three shifts over each 24-hour period to keep traffic from getting to the distribution centre and Lucerne ice-cream plant at 14040 Yellowhead Trail.

Work at the company's frozen food warehouse, at 11528 160 St., was also affected. Picketers stood, and at times sat in lawn chairs, in front of arriving trucks.

Bob Behrens, Safeway's director of distribution for Alberta, said the company initially fenced off all but the main truck entrance to the facility.

But as vehicles started to line up, and threatened to stick out onto the Yellowhead, Safeway reopened the other entrances. The picketers then spread out to block all entrances. One truck was let through, as well as some employees, but most were kept out.

Safeway told the board that dozens of trucks come into the centre daily with produce that has limited shelf life.

The board was still hearing the arguments of Safeway management and the union's lawyers at press time Monday.

Employees have been without a contract since December 2008, but a deal seemed imminent after company and union negotiators reached a settlement Aug. 26.

However, more than 70 per cent of union members rejected the settlement their union leaders supported.

Several picketing workers who voted against the deal said Monday that benefits for workers in the physically demanding jobs are still in dispute. As well, full-time workers do not want to add three hours to their current 37-hour work week because they suspect the company plans to announce layoffs.

"I don't want to see guys lose their jobs," said Travis Ozechowski, who has worked full-time for three years in the produce section of the distribution warehouse. "I'm a shop steward, so I've got to look out for everybody."

Workers knew going into the vote that this could be a long strike, he added.

Safeway has started hiring temporary workers to keep operations going during the strike and lockout. The company has advertised the temporary warehouse jobs at $18.41 an hour.

Noor Afridi, 36, applied for one of those temporary jobs Monday. He has a job with a security company, but he hasn't been getting enough shifts to pay his bills.

Afridi said he does have concerns about crossing the picket line during a strike, "but when you have financial pressure, that can take you anywhere."

The wage the company is offering to temporary workers is a sore point for Laura, a union member on the picket line who does not want her last name printed. She was hired a week and a half ago.

"I was hired at$14.86 an hour," she said. "They're going to get$18.41 an hour to take my job."

Hourly wages for the 350 workers range from about $14 an hour for a part-time employee up to $20 an hour for full-time workers, the union has said.

While the first day of picketing shut down work inside Safeway's distribution centre, the effects of the strike and lockout were felt about eight kilometres down the road.

Organizers of an annual Labour Day barbecue were scrambling to buy enough oranges Monday morning to feed the city's unemployed, who lined up across Giovanni Caboto Park, near 95th Street and 109th Avenue.

"We're a little short on oranges because of the strike at the Safeway," said Tom Olenuk, president of the Edmonton and District Labour Council, which organized the barbecue for Edmonton's jobless.

"Usually we get about 4,000 oranges, but because of the strike we only got about 1,000."

Thousands of people were expected to visit the park for the barbecue that has been feeding unemployed people on Labour Day for 20 years now, Olenuk said. It's an event organizers hoped would fade away eventually, he noted.

"Instead of getting smaller, it's gotten bigger."

The situation for unemployed people in this province is particularly dire because of poor coverage from Canada's employment insurance program, according to a newly released analysis from the labour council and the Alberta Federation of Labour.

That analysis shows the number of unemployed people in Alberta has doubled since October 2008, to almost 154,000, the labour groups said in a news release.

Edmonton Journal, Tues Sept 8 2009
Byline: Andrea Sands and Ben Gelinas

EDMONTON - While the first day of picketing shut down work inside a major Canada Safeway distribution centre and ice-cream plant in west Edmonton, the effects of the strike and lockout were felt just a few kilometres away.

Organizers of an annual Labour Day barbecue were scrambling to buy enough oranges Monday morning to feed the city's unemployed, who lined up across Giovanni Caboto Park, near 95th Street and 109th Avenue.

"We're a little short on oranges because of the strike at the Safeway," said Tom Olenuk, president of the Edmonton and District Labour Council, which organized the barbecue for Edmonton's jobless.

"Usually we get about 4,000 oranges, but because of the strike we only got about 1,000."

Thousands of people were expected to visit the park for free hotdogs, hamburgers, drinks, bananas and a limited supply of oranges during the barbecue that has been feeding unemployed people on Labour Day for 20 years now, Olenuk said. It's an event organizers hoped would fade away eventually, he noted.

"Instead of getting smaller, it's gotten bigger."

The situation for unemployed people in this province is particularly dire because of poor coverage from Canada's employment insurance program, according to a newly released analysis from the labour council and the Alberta Federation of Labour. That analysis shows the number of unemployed people in Alberta has doubled since October 2008, to almost 154,000, the labour groups said in a news release.

The employment insurance system that should be helping unemployed workers during the recession only pays them $1,591 a month in benefits, on average, the labour groups said.

Compared with workers in the rest of Canada, Albertans have to work the longest number of hours to be eligible for the shortest periods of benefits coverage, the analysis said.

"Clearly, we need to increase the benefits," Olenuk said.

About eight kilometres up the road from the Labour Day barbecue, members of the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 401 spent their Labour Day blocking traffic into and out of the Safeway distribution centre and Lucerne ice-cream plant at 14040 Yellowhead Trail. Work at the company's frozen food warehouse, at 11528 160th St., was also affected.

"They're just shunting trailers around in there," said Local 401 president, Doug O'Halloran, who joined workers on the picket line. "There's nothing going in or out of there today."

Union members also blocked several vehicles they said were carrying Canada Safeway managers trying to enter the warehouse and plant. People inside those vehicles did not want to speak to media.

Safeway workers started picketing Monday at 6 a.m., after they served strike notice and the company locked them out. The 350 workers are picketing in three shifts over each 24-hour period to keep traffic from getting to the Safeway buildings.

The workers have been without a contract since December 2008, but a deal seemed imminent after company and union negotiators reached a settlement Aug. 26.

However, more than 70 per cent of union members rejected the settlement supported by union leaders.

Several picketing workers who voted against the deal said from the picket line Monday that benefits for workers in the physically demanding jobs are still in dispute. As well, full-time workers do not want to add three hours to their current 37-hour work week, several workers said.

That's because workers suspect the company's goal in adding the hours is to announce layoffs, said Travis Ozechowski, who has worked full-time for three years in the produce section at the grocery retailer's distribution warehouse.

"I don't want to see guys lose their jobs," Ozechowski said. "I'm a shop steward, so I've got to look out for everybody."

Workers knew going into the vote that this could be a long strike, he added.

Safeway has started hiring temporary workers to keep operations going during the strike and lockout. The company has advertised the temporary warehouse jobs at $18.41 an hour.

Noor Afridi, 36, applied for one of those temporary jobs Monday. He has a job with a security company, but he hasn't been getting enough shifts to pay his bills.

Afridi said he does have concerns about crossing the picket line during a strike, "but when you have financial pressure, that can take you anywhere."

The wage the company is offering to temporary workers is a sore point for Laura, a union member on the picket line who does not want her last name printed. She was hired a week and a half ago.

"I was hired at $14.86 an hour," she said. "They're going to get $18.41 an hour to take my job."

Hourly wages for the 350 workers range from about $14 an hour for a part-time employee up to $20 an hour for full-time workers, the union has said.

Edmonton Journal, Mon Sept 7 2009
Byline: Andrea Sands

Say No to Old Dutch Chips

• Rather than bargain fairly, Old Dutch Chips on March 30 locked out 170 workers at its Calgary plant. The workers are simply looking for provisions that most workers take for granted: sick pay, minimum hour guarantees, stronger food safety standards and a requirement that all workers pay union dues. The workers, members of UFCW 401, are asking Albertans to not purchase Old Dutch products until the company agrees to a fair deal. Old Dutch chips include the generic brands made for Safeway and Superstore. Take a bite out of Old Dutch profits ...

How To Keep Energy Jobs in Alberta

• Alberta's boom has started to bust with the global economic recession, and thanks to the Alberta government's insistence on a "hands off" policy in the oil sands, thousands of future jobs in upgrading and refining will be located in the U.S. instead of Alberta. The AFL has released a new report, "Lost Down the Pipeline," examining the problem and offering solutions on how we can retain these high quality jobs in Alberta when the downturn ends. Read Lost Down the Pipeline ...

Getting Some Green...Jobs That Is

• The old claim that we have to choose between jobs and the environment is a myth. It is possible to take action to protect the environment AND create good jobs at the same time. To prove it, the AFL has partnered with the Sierra Club and Greenpeace to craft a groundbreaking report on the potential for green jobs in Alberta. Called "Green Jobs: It's time to Build Alberta's Future," it defines a "green job" and looks at concrete ways we can put Albertans to work improving the environment and strengthening our economy at the same time. Read the Green Jobs Report ...

See It On YouTube

• You read our reports. You surf our website. You check out Labourbytes. Now you can see the video version of AFL activities. The AFL has begun producing short videos of our report releases and other events and posting them on YouTube, just like all the cool kids do. Also, for ease of reference, we are linking them to a single page in our website. So, next time you are looking for the AFL's position on an issue, try checking out our YouTube video. http://www.afl.org/pressroom/youtube.cfm?pageId=434&action=preview

AFL Officers Re-elected

• At the AFL Biennial Convention at the end of April, both AFL President Gil McGowan and Secretary-Treasurer Nancy Furlong were re-elected . The Convention also selected a new Executive Council to guide AFL activities for the next two years.

Urgent Action

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Stand Up for Public Healthcare!
Friends of Medicare Rally

Saturday May 9, 2009 @ 1:30pm
Alberta Legislature, Edmonton

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!

We are organizing buses and car pools from around the province!
If you are wanting to get on one of these buses, call the Friends of Medicare: (780)423-4581. Stand up for Medicare ...

Public Interest Alberta's 5th Anniversary Celebration
Friday, June 5, 2009

Grand Ballroom
Chateau Louis Conference Centre
11727 Kingsway, Edmonton

This evening will give us an opportunity to come together to socialize and reflect on the important work we have undertaken over the past five years. We will also be presenting our annual Public Interest Award to this year's recipients.

Tickets - Individual $65.00 / Table of 8 - $500.00

6:00 pm - Cocktails
7:00 pm - Dinner
8:00 pm - Celebration & Entertainment

http://www.pialberta.org/events

Did you know ...

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Green Job Creation in Alberta

Short Term: 53,000 to 65,000
Medium Term: 85,000 to 140,000

Possible Green Jobs:

• Retrofitting buildings
• Building and operating public transit
• Manufacturing Green Products
• Building High Speed Rail
• Creating Green Energy Infrastructure