ALF V1

EDMONTON-The Alberta Federation of Labour, Alberta's largest labour organization, released today a formal policy statement on the controversial issue of temporary foreign workers. The statement is jointly crafted by the 31 unions affiliated to the AFL, including some of Alberta's largest unions. (Read the Statement)

"The labour movement is saying three things today," says AFL President Gil McGowan. "First, employers are using temporary foreign workers as a way to suppress wages and working conditions and to avoid legitimate unions. Second, temporary foreign workers should be the last option for solving labour supply issues. We should be ensuring Canadians are properly trained first - so they can take advantage of existing job opportunities. "

"Third, the labour movement contends that the most fundamental rights of foreign workers are not protected in Canada- contrary to government and employer claims."

The entire temporary workers program has insufficient checks and balances according to McGowan. "Temporary foreign workers are particularly vulnerable to exploitation due to their fragile legal status in Canada, and the labour movement insists upon far better monitoring and enforcement in the program," says McGowan.

The central position of the labour movement is best articulated by the following passage from the policy statement:

"We believe both levels of government should allow employers to use temporary foreign workers as only as a last resort, and that, when they are in Canada, foreign workers should enjoy the same rights as Canadian workers."

"It is critical to note that the labour movement strongly supports immigration and believes that immigrant workers should be entitled to have access to the full rights and privileges of all other Canadian workers.  However, we oppose the importation of hundreds of workers just to complete a job and then sending them back home. That is exploitation.

The policy statement further discusses the motivations for the use of temporary foreign workers and explores policy options for addressing the tight labour market using Canadians currently underemployed or unemployed. The AFL says the primary motivation for CNRL and other companies to use temporary foreign workers is to avoid signing contracts with Canadian unions and to prevent wages and working conditions from naturally rising during periods of tight labour supply.

"The bottom line for the labour movement is to urge Albertans to not believe the hype," says McGowan. "We can find a way to meet our booming employment needs, ensure that Canadians have the skills and training they need, and protect the rights of immigrants and foreign workers."

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For more information call:

Gil McGowan, AFL President  @  (780) 915-4599 (cell)

When it comes to public debates, one of the oldest tricks in the book is to attack your opponent's character and question his motives. If you can paint the other guy as a villain, then people are less likely to hear his arguments -- let alone be swayed by them.

That, unfortunately, is what has been happening as more and more Albertans join the debate over the use of temporary foreign workers in our province's oilpatch.

Recently, former Calgary mayor Al Duerr weighed in with a guest column in which he accused union leaders of making comments with "racist overtones." He argued that one of the main reasons unions oppose a plan by Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. to employ hundreds of temporary foreign workers on its huge Horizon project near Fort McMurray is because those workers are Chinese.

Aside from being entirely offensive, Duerr's comments are simply wrong. Alberta unions are pro-immigration and vehemently opposed to racism. Like most other Canadians, we value diversity and actively promote tolerance in the workplace and the broader community.

We also support changes to our immigration system that would give a higher priority to immigrants with backgrounds in the construction trades.
As a labour leader, I am proud of the strong and well-documented leadership role that Canadian unions have taken in the fight against racism.

The real reason we oppose the use of temporary foreign workers on the Horizon site is because of the union-busting labour relations practices adopted by Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.

From the outset, CNRL has been trying to find ways to build the Horizon project without having to work with Alberta's traditional building trades unions.

This goal was clearly laid out in company documents filed with the provincial government and in at least one internal company memo that was leaked to our office. Of course, there is no law saying that a company has to work with unionized contractors. However, there are laws saying construction jobs must first be offered to Canadian workers before they are filled by temporary foreign workers.

CNRL may indeed have exhausted the pool of available non-union construction workers. But instead of biting the bullet and offering work to unionized contractors working under collective agreements, they have gone straight to the option of temporary foreign workers.

In essence, company managers are ignoring a viable and experienced pool of qualified workers -- union workers -- right in front them.

Our provincial and federal governments seem to have bought into CNRL's approach. By granting permits to CNRL and its contractors under the Foreign Temporary Worker program, they are actively helping CNRL bypass unionized Alberta contractors. In a sense, they are aiding and abetting in a campaign to bust unions.

The obvious question is why the company is going to such lengths to avoid working under existing collective agreements.

Other oilsands developers -- most notably the OPTI-Nexen consortium that is developing the Long Lake project near Fort McMurray -- had originally joined CNRL in trying to build their project non-union. But when they ran into a shortage of labour, they turned to the traditional unionized building trades. And the project is on time and on budget.

Instead of trying to paint hard-working Alberta tradespeople as intolerant rednecks, we should be asking if it's appropriate for our governments to be in the business of helping companies to bust unions.

The bottom line is that there is more than enough work to go around in Alberta's booming energy sector -- and there is no good reason to exclude unionized tradespeople and the contractors they work with. So let's put all these anti-union, Rambo-style management games aside -- and get on with the business of building Alberta's future prosperity.

Calgary Herald, Sun May 7 2006
Byline: Gil McGowan

When it comes to public debates, one of the oldest tricks in the book is to attack your opponent's character and question his motives.

If you can successfully paint the other guy as a villain, then people are less likely to hear his arguments - let alone be swayed by them.

That, unfortunately, is what has been happening as more and more Albertans join the debate over the use of temporary foreign workers in our province's oil patch.

Last week, for example, former Calgary Mayor Al Duerr weighed in with a guest column in which he accused union leaders of making comments with "racist overtones."

In particular, he argued that one of the main reasons unions oppose a plan by Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. to employ hundreds of temporary foreign workers on it's huge Horizon project near Fort McMurray is because those workers are Chinese.

Aside from being entirely offensive, Duerr's comments - and the comments made by other observers who have attempted to paint Alberta unions with a racist brush - are simply wrong.

Alberta unions are pro-immigration and vehemently opposed to racism. Like most other Canadians, we value diversity and actively promote tolerance in the workplace and the broader community.

We also recognize that Canada is a country built by immigrants. We even support changes to our immigration system that would give a higher priority to immigrants with backgrounds in the construction trades.

As a labour leader, I am proud of the strong and well-documented leadership role that Canadian unions have taken in the fight against racism.

So why, if unions are so supportive of immigration, are we opposed to the use of temporary foreign workers on CNRL's Horizon site?

The short answer is that our beef is not with individual temporary foreign worker, no matter where they come from.

What we're really opposed to are the union-busting labour relations practices adopted by one company - Canadian Natural Resources Limited.

From our perspective, ever since it was granted approval to develop the Horizon site, CNRL has been trying to find ways to build its project without having to work with Alberta's traditional building trades unions.

This goal was clearly laid out in company documents filed with the provincial government and in at least one internal company memo that was leaked to our office.

Of course, there is no law saying that a company has to work with unionized contractors. However, there are laws saying that construction jobs must first be offered to Canadian workers - including unionized Canadian workers - before they are filled by temporary foreign workers.

That's the problem. CNRL may indeed have exhausted the pool of available non-union construction workers. But instead of biting the bullet and offering work to unionized contractors working under existing collective agreements, they have gone straight to the option of temporary foreign workers.

In essence, company managers are crying "labour shortage" while intentionally ignoring a viable and experienced pool of qualified workers - union workers - right in front them.

One of the most frustrating aspects of this whole situation is that our provincial and federal governments seem to have bought into CNRL's approach.

By granting permits to CNRL and its contractors under the Foreign Temporary Worker program, they are actively helping CNRL bypass unionized Alberta contractors. In an important sense, they are aiding and abetting in a campaign to bust unions.

The obvious question that needs to be asked - and one which I think CNRL investors should be asking - is why the company is going to such lengths to avoid working under existing collective agreements.

Other oilsands developers - most notably the OPTI-Nexen consortium that is developing the Long Lake project near Fort McMurray - had originally joined CNRL in trying to build their project non-union.

But when they ran into a shortage of non-union labour that caused huge delays, they turned to the traditional unionized building trades. As a result, that project is now on time and on budget.

That's why all these arguments about "racist overtones" are so frustrating - they obscure the real debate.

Instead of trying to paint hard-working Alberta trades people as intolerant red necks, we should be asking if it's appropriate for our governments to be in the business of helping companies to bust unions.

The bottom line is that there is more than enough work to go around in Alberta's booming energy sector - and there is no good reason to exclude unionized tradespeople and the contractors they work with.

So let's put all these anti-union, Rambo-style management games aside - and get on with the business of building Alberta's future prosperity!

Calgary Herald, Sat July 8 2006, Page A20
By Gil McGowan, AFL President

EDMONTON-Documents released by the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) and Alberta Building Trades Council (ABTC) show that Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNRL), the lead partner in the Horizon oil sands development, is planning to use temporary foreign workers from China for part of its project. CNRL is also pressuring the workers to join the Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC), a union at odds with the rest of the labour movement for its employer-friendly tactics.

CNRL is tendering its "tank farm" work, and there remain only two competitors - both Chinese contractors who intend to use primarily Chinese workers. Importing foreign workers for general construction work is normally not allowed under Canadian rules. CNRL is attempting to get around the prohibition by using a rarely used, specialized exclusion for "warranty work". In addition, CNRL, in minutes of a clarification meeting with one of the bidders, indicated "CNRL highly recommend HQCEC [the Chinese company] join the CLAC labour group."

"CNRL continues its efforts to intentionally undermine the wages and working conditions of workers in the oil sands," says Alberta Federation of Labour President Gil McGowan. "Their attempt to bend rules to allow heavy use of temporary foreign workers from China, and then try to force them to join CLAC, is just the latest in their provocative moves."

McGowan notes that CNRL is the company behind the controversial decision by the Alberta government to invoke Division 8 - which excludes the project from most of the labour relations rules in construction and allows the company to work with only one union. CNRL set up the project with CLAC, widely seen as an employer-friendly union.

"There are Canadian workers available to do the work that CNRL wants done," says Paul Walzack, Executive Director of the Alberta Building Trades Council. "We can provide the workers CNRL needs, but CNRL has decided that they want to push down wages and working conditions on this project by taking advantage of Chinese workers."

"We fail to see the necessity of this move, other than an attempt to prevent workers from receiving their fair share, and their right to choose their own union," says Walzack.

"Suggesting to a contractor which union their workers should join is bordering on illegal," says McGowan. "Employers are supposed to stay neutral on workers� decision whether to join a union, or which union they join."

Both McGowan and Walzak are calling on the provincial and federal governments to prohibit CNRL from importing Chinese workers for this project. Both also suggest that there are enough unionized boilermakes and pipefitters to complete this job with Canadian workers.

"CNRL is demonstrating its blatant lack of regard for its workers, and for the province of Alberta. All in the name of greed." McGowan concludes.

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For more information contact:

Gil McGowan, AFL President     at 780.483-3021 or 780.915-4599 (cell)
or
Paul Walzack, ABTC Executive Director   at 780.421-9400 or 780.405-6147 (cell)

Three Issues Intertwine to Create Powderkeg in Fort McMurray

In recent weeks, Albertans' TV screens and newspapers have flickered with trades workers rallying, marching and protesting against "foreign workers" in the oilsands. One woman walked from Fort McMurray to Edmonton to highlight the problem. The stories never garner the front page, but the issue doesn't seem to be fading away either.

Quite understandably, most Albertans are probably scratching their heads wondering what all the fuss is about? Is this just a group of privileged unionists using xenophobia to keep out newcomers? Or is this a case of employers finding new ways to undercut their wage costs? How is a citizen to make sense of it all?

This is a complex issue that has become oversimplified. As a result, the real issues are being drowned out by a cacophony of charged rhetoric. It is time to take a step back and look at what is really involved.

It is really three issues that intertwine to create a labour relations powderkeg in Fort McMurray.

By Jason Foster
AFL Staff
June 2006