ALF V1

Entrenching Exploitation: Canada's Shameful Record on TFWs

• In its latest report on the working and living conditions of Temporary Foreign Workers, the AFL's Foreign Worker Advocate reports that things are getting worse, not better. Called "Entrenching Exploitation" the report recounts how, without public debate, the Canadian and Alberta governments are quietly creating a European-style guest worker program, which threatens to create a permanent exploited underclass of foreign workers who work in Canada for years without receiving the rights that come with citizenship. Read Entrenching Exploitation...

LEM: The Recession Edition

• What do a "dead cat bounce" and sheep on drugs have in common? Both are part of the insightful economic analysis to be found in the Spring 2009 issue of "Labour Economic Monitor." The latest issue looks at the recent Alberta budget and the effects of the recession on wages and earnings. All explained with entertaining prose and colourful graphs. Check out the latest economic data ...

New Safety Rules Coming

• On July 1, an extensive series of amendments to the Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Code come into force. The changes will likely affect every workplace in one way or another. Some of the major changes include: revamping fall protection standards, updating chemical hazard exposure limits, tougher working alone rules, and new section related to health care workers. To help workers become acquainted with the new provisions, the AFL has produced a document summarizing the changes.  Find out about the OHS Code Amendments ...

Solidarity in Hard Times

• The latest issue of Union Magazine is out and it takes a good look at the challenges to maintaining solidarity in this era of globalization and aggressive union tactics. It explores new forms of solidarity and examines ways workers can stick together in tough times. And remember, if you want Union sent directly to your mailbox or email inbox, be sure to sign up for a free subscription. Read the latest issue of Union ...

Urgent Action

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Keep Jobs in Canada Petition

• The Telecommunications Workers Union (TWU) has launched a cross-Canada campaign to raise awareness about the growing problem of unemployment in Canada and to demand governments do something to keep jobs in Canada. They are touring a National Unemployment Clock across Canada, which will be in Alberta May 24-26. They have also set up an online petition where Canadians can add their voices to the growing numbers demanding action to save Canadian jobs. Do your part to save Canadian jobs ...

Events

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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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Top Six Source Countries for temporary foreign workers in Alberta (2007):

1. Philippines
2. United States
3. United Kingdom
4. Mexico
5. Australia
6. India

In the face of steep job losses and a battering recession, Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Friday his government won't ease eligibility rules for unemployment benefits.

Harper, who was in Calgary to announce $100 million in funding for the southeast ring road project, called demands from opposition parties to reduce the work period required for employment insurance(EI) aid to 360 hours absurd.

The Alberta government is also seeking reduced qualifying hours for the province's growing pool of laid-off workers. Alberta's jobless rate rose to six per cent last month, its highest level in seven years.

Harper, however, suggested he's not willing to make further changes to the federal program, noting benefits have been extended by five weeks and Ottawa has invested significant dollars in training.

"They(opposition parties) are suggesting that what we should do is bring in an EI system where any Canadian in anywhere in the country in perpetuity could work 45 days and collect EI benefits for a period up to a year.This is an absurdity. It is not responsible," the prime minister said.

"This has nothing to do with the real problems of this recession. This is just a recipe to raise payroll taxes."

The number of work hours needed to qualify for EI varies across the country, from 420 hours to 700 hours, depending on the health of a region's employment.

Albertans require the most hours to qualify, based in part on a jobless rate that was once the lowest in the country.

The Stelmach government has been lobbying Ottawa for equity in EI rules. Along with easing eligibility rules, it wants the Harper government to further extend how long Canadians can collect unemployment benefits.

"We're just saying that as conditions may change . . . we (should) get equal or close to equal recognition of some of the EI program," Stelmach said.

Federal opposition parties have threatened to force an election over the EI issue.

In an opinion piece written for publication in newspapers, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff contends Canada's employment insurance system "wasn't built for a national crisis of this scope."

"More than 40 per cent of the unemployed in this country aren't eligible for EI, even though they have paid into the system. As a result, Canadians aren't getting the help they need when they need it," he wrote.

The Liberals want the Harper minority government to introduce a national 360-hour standard for EI eligibility during the recession. The party proposes to cover the added cost of benefits through general revenues and keep payroll taxes frozen.

"The distortions produced by the current EI rules are striking," Ignatieff added in his open letter.

"Unemployment is up 83 per cent in Alberta and 68 per cent in British Columbia --but it's still twice as hard to qualify for EI in Western Canada as it is elsewhere in the country."

Pressure to change the insurance program is also coming from union groups.

Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan accused Harper of using EI as a wedge issue in the run-up to a possible federal election.

"What's being lost in this approach is the fact that the unemployment insurance system is simply not up to the task of helping Canadians through this recession," McGowan said.

"The employment insurance system should be there for workers when they lose their jobs no matter where they live, whether it's Calgary or Cape Breton."

Calgary Herald, Sat May 23 2009
Byline: Renata d'Aliesio

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

Labour Economic Monitor (May 2009)

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

 

A New Direction for Alberta's Energy Economy (April 2009)

Policy paper adopted at AFL 46th Constitutional Convention, April 23-26, 2009

Green Jobs: It's time to build Alberta's future

The emerging cooperation between labour and environmental groups is flipping the traditional story, and creating a new way to see the environment and the economy. People get it. They understand that you can have a clean environment and a strong economy, and they like the idea of governments pursuing policies that will lead to the creation of green jobs.

In December 2007, just as the worst recession in decades got underway, 54 leading U.S. economists were asked by Business Week magazine to share their economic outlook for 2008.

More than 96 per cent saw another year of modest growth. Only two predicted a recession -- even though it had already started.

In July 2008, when oil prices hit $147 US a barrel, some of the biggest brains on Wall Street -- along with famed energy tycoon T. Boone Pickens -- predicted crude would soon hit $200.

Wrong again. With oil now hovering around $50, the experts overshot the mark by $150.

As these gigantic goofs illustrate, forecasting anything -- from next year's economic growth, to the outcome of the Stanley Cup playoffs, to this weekend's weather, to the growth of man-made carbon emissions by 2050 -- is a fool's game.

Most forecasts turn out to be dead wrong. Why?

They're often based on faulty assumptions, an inability to anticipate the impact of complex future technological or societal changes, incomplete or inaccurate data, and last but not least, built-in biases.

Even the most fair-minded forecasters often see what they want to see -- depending on their particular vested interest -- and then do their best to rationalize the preordained conclusions their "research" inevitably produces.

All of which brings me to the current topic du jour: the glorious dream, perpetuated by the green lobby and its allies that the world can end its reliance on evil fossil fuels, slash carbon emissions, save the planet, and create millions of well-paid new green jobs, with little or no pain.

Along the way, we're told, we could also end the recession, replace the millions of North American jobs that have disappeared since the downturn began, and set the world on course for a bright, sustainable, shiny future.

This is pure fantasy, of course, and it's even more delusional in light of the current global economic crisis.

Entire countries are now flirting with bankruptcy, global bank losses are expected to top $4 trillion US, according to the International Monetary Fund, and the U.S. has already lost more jobs -- 5.1 million -- than Barack Obama's celebrated green-jobs plan promises to create over the next 10 years.

Yet, if anything, the fantastical dream of economic salvation through green jobs grows stronger by the day. But that doesn't change a simple fact. The world depends on fossil fuels for an obvious reason. They're cheap, plentiful, efficient and flexible.

The preferred green alternatives -- solar power, wind power, biofuels, geothermal, tidal power, fuel cells -- are far more costly, less reliable and largely unproven, on a mass commercial basis.

All rely heavily on massive public subsidies -- from cash-strapped governments that are already straining under the weight of huge deficits -- and in the case of corn-based ethanol, are arguably more damaging to the planet than fossil fuels.

Most thoughtful people know this. But that doesn't stop the greens from pushing their sanitized version of the future.

Witness the 70-page report issued Wednesday by Greenpeace, the Sierra Club Prairie Chapter, and the Alberta Federation of Labour, titled It's Time to Build Alberta's Future.

At a time when Alberta -- and the rest of the country -- is shedding thousands of jobs every month, the report suggests the province could create more than 200,000 green jobs in areas such as mass transit, renewable energy and publicly funded home retrofits.

Predictably, the report slams "false solutions" such as Alberta's $2-billion commitment to carbon capture and storage technology, which doesn't align with the green movement's selective enthusiasm for new technology.

I hope you read the report. It's thought-provoking. But after you do, I'd suggest you read another report, produced last month by a group of economists and legal experts from four U.S. universities, titled Green Jobs Myths.

The report can be downloaded, free of charge, from the U.S.-based Social Science Research Network.

Be forewarned: the painstakingly researched 97-page document doesn't make for easy reading. It's a scholarly study, full of footnotes, detailed tables, and comprehensive economic and energy data. It's not a polemic.

But in the end, it paints a damning, highly critical picture of the lofty job creation claims that are so casually tossed around by people like Al Gore, and pressure groups such as Greenpeace.

It's impossible to do the report justice in this column. It covers far too much ground, and the details are exhaustive. But it concludes that there are seven myths behind the current ideological push to create so-called green jobs:

Myth One: There is no coherent, standardized definition of a green job, thus creating a smokescreen behind which political coalitions, labour unions and lobby groups can hide in pursuit of other goals.

Myth Two: Creating green jobs will boost productive employment. In fact, green jobs estimates include huge numbers of clerical, bureaucratic and administrative positions that do not produce goods or services.

Myth Three: Green jobs forecasts are reliable. Not so, say the report's authors. In fact, estimates vary enormously, and are often based on faulty logic, questionable assumptions, and reflect inherent bias.

Myth Four: Green jobs promote employment growth. Untrue, the authors conclude. Economic growth can't be mandated through central planning or regulation.

Myth Five: The world economy can be remade based on local production, and reduced consumption, without dramatically decreasing human welfare. "This is a recipe for economic disaster, not ecotopia," the report finds.

Myth Six: Mandates are a substitute for markets. History shows that markets are far more efficient at accomplishing the very goals greens purport to seek, the authors say.

Myth Seven: Wishing for technological progress is sufficient. Not so, say the authors, who decry the green lobby's "selective technological optimism/pessimism," and unrealistic expectations.

Edmonton Journal, Mon Apr 23 2009
Byline: Gary Lamphier

Creating a more environmentally sustainable economy could create tens of thousands of jobs in Alberta, according a report released Wednesday by the Alberta Federation of Labour, Greenpeace and the Sierra Club of Canada.

"There are many people who argue you can't have a strong economy and a healthy environment - that somehow we have to make a choice between the two," said Gil McGowan, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour.

'Green jobs include familiar jobs with a new twist ...'-Green Jobs report

"We're starting to realize that in the long run, a healthy environment is essential for a healthy economy and that the economy can be put to work to improve the health of the environment."

A move toward creating more environmentally sustainable energy sources could provide jobs for electricians, computer and electrical engineers, iron and steel workers, welders, construction workers and sheet metal workers, the report says.

"Green jobs include familiar jobs with a new twist, like construction workers retrofitting homes to make them more energy efficient," the report says.

It calls on the Alberta government to shift its focus from oil and gas extraction to initiatives to improve energy efficiency, the expansion of light rail and transit and the expansion of the province's renewable energy sector.

By retrofitting every home, the province could put 6,500 to 14,000 people back to work over the next two years, while reducing energy consumption and emissions, the report says, adding that this would cost less and have a greater long-term effect than the $2 billion the province spent over six years on the recently cancelled natural gas rebate program.

Transit, rail projects could employ thousands

Spending $10 billion to build better transit systems and construct a high-speed rail link between Calgary and Edmonton could create 19,000 to 28,000 jobs over seven years.

Establishing renewable energy tariffs, mandatory renewable energy targets for utilities and bans on new carbon-emitting projects would encourage development of more wind, solar and geothermal technology.

Other jobs could be created to provide water treatment for First Nations communities, reforestation, and cleaning up contaminated sites, the report adds.

The Alberta government needs to step in and make the policy changes for this shift to occur.

"This is a task that government will need to undertake. The private sector on its own hasn't been able to do this," the report says, adding the province has "tens of billions of dollars" available to move toward a greener economy

 CBC News, Wed Apr 22 2009

Stephani Carter earned a reputation early in her career as "the Green Girl who asks tough questions," constantly pushing the envelope of her Earth-first sensibilities about architecture and design.

Today, she heads her own company -- EcoAmmo -- researching materials, teaching commercial builders how to go green, and generally spreading the word about sustainable design.

In the past, Carter has observed Earth Day by challenging her staff to a spirited round of Eco Bingo, a game she invented years ago, where the spaces on the card are filled with eco-friendly initiatives instead of numbers, and prizes are organically prepared dinners for two rather than cold, hard cash.

Carter and a growing number of others with so-called green jobs believe a healthy environment and a healthy economy are intertwined.

That belief is at the heart of a report to be released today that calls on the provincial government to invest in creating more green jobs to strengthen Alberta's sagging economy.

The report says "tens of thousands" of such jobs can be made available "right away," not only shrinking the province's oily footprint, but developing "a new green economy" at the same time.

The report is the result of an unlikely alliance between organized labour and environmentalists.

Recent job losses in Alberta -- 44,000 full-time jobs in the past three months alone, according to government statistics -- have prompted the Alberta Federation of Labour, Greenpeace Canada and the Sierra Club's Prairie chapter to join forces in calling for a shift toward greater sustainability.

The report suggests the government stop pouring money into oil and gas and start investing in other green-job industries, such as transit.

The province can dramatically reduce automobile dependency by refurbishing buses and light-rail transit cars now in use, building rapid-bus systems, expanding LRT systems and creating a new high-speed rail system on the Edmonton-Red Deer-Calgary corridor.

The report also calls for the creation of a new provincial Crown corporation to focus on renewable energy resources, such as wind, solar and geothermal.

Energy efficiency should be another major focus for green-job investment, the report suggests.

By retrofitting homes -- insulating, weather-stripping and installing high efficiency windows and furnaces -- up to 14,000 Albertans could be put to work in the next two years, while energy consumption, emissions and heating costs would be reduced.

For Carter and her fellow advocates, the recommendations in the report are timely, if not overdue.

"I'm 29, and a lot of us from the Earth Day generation of the '90s have really embraced environmentalism," she said.

"We're actually out in the job market now, looking to change jobs to be green, or starting green companies ourselves.

"We want to be part of a green workforce."

Edmonton Journal, Wed Apr 22 2009
Byline: Jamie Hall

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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For more information, please contact:

Gil McGowan, President, AFL, office - 780-483-3021; cell � 780-218-9888

Jeh Custer, Sierra Club Prairie Chapter, 780-660-5483

Mike Hudema, Greenpeace Tar Sands Campaigner, 780-504-5601

Jessica Wilson, Greenpeace Media and Public Relations Officer, 778-228-5404