ALF V1

Urgent Action

Parkland Institute Annual Conference

The Parkland Institute is putting Facts, Fictions, and the Politics of Truth under the microscope at their 17^th Annual Conference, Nov. 22-24 at the University of Alberta.

The conference will examine how governments have been increasingly limiting the ability of scientists to speak about their research, and how important research has been defunded.

Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Chris Hedges will be presenting a keynote speech on his latest book Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt. Other speakers will include Arno Kepecky, Katie Gibbs, and internationally syndicated columnist Michael Geist.

For more information, please visit the convention page at http://parklandinstitute.ca/fallconf2013  

News 

Superstore Workers Win Vastly Improved Offer After Three-Day Strike

UFCW 401 celebrated a victory in the fight for fair wages after signing a new contract with Loblaws.

More than 8,500 workers returned to work after a three-day strike was resolved with a new collective agreement.

“The new contract is one that the employees can be proud of, and now includes none of the most troubling concessions that were there when they went on strike,” UFCW president Douglas O’Halloran said.

The improvements in the newly ratified deal include wage increases in every year of the Collective Agreement, along with retroactive pay, as well as money for a brand new sick pay plan for part-time workers and significant improvements to the full-time benefits. 

“We’re proud of our brothers and sisters at UFCW who stood up to unreasonable employer demands, and won a major victory,” Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan said. “Many AFL members from a broad cross section of the labour movement are glad to have stood in solidarity with UFCW. The number of our members – and the number of Albertans – who refused to cross the picket line was inspiring.”

Help Defend Alberta Pensions

On Sept. 16, most Alberta public sector unions received word from the Redford Government that it intends to implement major change to public sector pension plans, including the Local Authorities Pension Plan (LAPP), which includes many of our members.

For now, affected unions are working together to change the government’s mind. The coalition includes the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, Alberta Colleges and Institutes Faculties Association, Canadian Union of Public Employees, Health Sciences Association of Alberta, United Nurses of Alberta and the Alberta Federation of Labour.

Hardworking Alberta workers deserve a decent, predictable and secure retirement income after years of working and contributing to their pension plan. This real retirement security is best and most efficiently provided by a jointly governed defined benefit pension plan. For public-sector workers, the Local Authorities Pension Plan has worked for 50 years and it can continue working into the future without drastic changes so long as workers and employers are given the ability to manage the plan.

The Alberta Federation of Labour urges you to let the government know that you oppose the undermining of Alberta’s public-sector pension plans. Visit the website www.defendalbertapensions.ca to send a letter to Finance Minister Doug Horner.

AFL Makes Final Argument in Favour of Enbridge Line 9 Pipeline

The Alberta Federation of Labour president submitted final arguments to the National Energy Board in favour of the Enbridge Line 9 Project today.

AFL president Gil McGowan said he supports Line 9 because it keeps value-added jobs in Canada, and is good for the people of Alberta and the people of Quebec. Line 9 will expand and reverse the flow of Line 9 and 9B, connecting the Synthetic Crude Oil coming from Alberta's upgraders to refineries in Quebec.

"Line 9 connects Alberta's upgraders, and all the good-paying jobs that go with them, to refineries in Quebec, where thousands of good jobs are also at stake. It provides a market for synthetic crude, and keeps value-added jobs in both our provinces," McGowan said. "Line 9 allows Quebec refineries to stop importing higher-cost crude from Angola, Nigeria, and Algeria, and instead allows them to buy Alberta's upgraded products, which enhances Canadian energy security."

The AFL is a frequent intervener in National Energy Board pipeline proceedings. The Federation has intervened against Keystone, Keystone XL, Southern Lights, Alberta Clipper, and Northern Gateway, on the grounds that these pipelines ship raw bitumen, and therefore value-added jobs, down the pipeline to the United States or China. This is the first time the Federation has intervened in favour of a pipeline project at the National Energy Board.

Download the AFL press release issued Oct 3:“AFL Makes Final Argument in Favour of Enbridge Line 9 Pipeline”: http://www.afl.org/index.php/Press-Release/afl-makes-final-argument-in-favour-of-enbridge-line-9-pipeline.html

Did you know…

•  The average LAPP pension is just under $14,958 per year – and only after years of work and pension contributions.

• The LAPP Pension Fund fluctuates in value because of the stock market. It is currently on track to be in surplus within 10 years.

• Almost one in every 10 Albertans has a stake in either the LAPP or the PSPP.

Events

November 1: Alberta NDP Convention in Lethbridge
November 22-24: Parkland Institute Conference in Edmonton
December 10: AFL Open House…in the new Office!

Call it a digital warning shot.

Two Alberta unions have quietly launched a website, EthicalSpoon.com, which targets one of Canada's largest restaurant franchisers, Cara, over alleged "ethical concerns".

The barebones site, created by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Union Local 401 and the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) only states, "There are serious ethical concerns relating to Swiss Chalet, Milestones, Harvey's and Kelsey's" and to "Stand by for more information".

"Your definition of ethics and my definition of ethics may vary," says Tom Hesse, UFCW 401 union negotiator. "But most people would agree that they'd like a restaurant in their community that treats their people fairly, or at least reasonably."

"People will obviously think, 'What is going on? What are the ethical concerns?' when they go by these places. It's a very good strategy on their part." — Marjorie Griffin, Simon Fraser UniversityHesse says the ethical concerns with Cara, hinted at on the new website, were uncovered during the union's interviews with Cara's employees. The UFCW currently represents the workers of two Swiss Chalet restaurants in Edmonton.

The two parties are scheduled to meet next week, to begin collective bargaining for the Swiss Chalets UFCW 401 represents.

Hesse says the restaurants exploit immigrant workers, pays its employees poorly, ignores health and safety concerns, and is using Alberta's two-tiered minimum wage system to its advantage.

Alberta's minimum wage is set to increase from $9.40 to $9.75 per hour this September. However, the minimum wage for liquor servers, $9.05 per hour, will remain unchanged.

And because the restaurants serve alcohol, Hesse says Swiss Chalets typically pay their workers the lower rate. "They don't serve alcohol there in any meaningful way," he says. "One of the owners told me it's less than five percent of their overall sales."

Cara is a privately held restaurant conglomerate that's been operating in Canada since 1883. Its 673 restaurants in Canada reported $1.3 billion in sales in 2011.

The company declined interview requests to respond to the website or to Hesse's accusations, issuing a prepared statement:

"As discussions are still ongoing between our Edmonton franchisee and the UFCW union local representatives, it would be inappropriate for Cara to provide comment at this time."

EthicalSpoon.com will function much like EthicalShoppingAlberta.com, another website launched by the UFCW 401 and the AFL. That site, says Hesse, aims to inform diners and shoppers of the most ethically sound places to spend their money.

"You can go look at UrbanSpoon (.com) for a rating of where to eat... based on whether or not people like it," says Hesse. "But our constituency of people are saying they want to eat somewhere that treats their people fairly, that has good food safety practices, that isn't overpriced, and that buys locally."

Cara's franchises will likely be the first restaurants to be on the receiving end of an EthicalSpoon information campaign, if working conditions are not addressed soon, Hesse says.

It may turn out to be an effective strategy, but is it fair to sling mud anonymously?

"I think it's a good tactic, they've got nothing to lose by this," says Marjorie Griffin Cohen, professor of political economy at Simon Fraser University's Morgan Centre for Labour Studies.

Griffin Cohen says unions in Canada are increasingly taking to Twitter and Facebook to promote their agendas, and keeping the site's creators off EthicalSpoon makes it all the more interesting to whoever comes across it.

"People will obviously think, 'What is going on? What are the ethical concerns?' when they go by these places." she says. "It's a very good strategy on their part."

OpenFile, Mon July 30 2012
Byline: Sean Young

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

Unite to prevent exploitation, improve conditions for Canada's rising number of temporary workers

Last fall, in a dingy boardroom in Ottawa, a group of union leaders sat uncomfortably with migrant worker advocates to discuss Canada's growing use of temporary foreign workers to fill labour shortages.

Union reps in construction trades, food and service industries raised concerns over migrants' substandard credentials and displacement of union jobs, while advocates complained about Canada's protected labour market and employers who exploit foreign workers.

"There was definitely discomfort and tension in the room," recalled Karl Flecker, a national director of the Canadian Labour Congress, who was at the meeting. "It was a frank dialogue, but people were cautious of one another."

Despite their differences, they formed an alliance and have been meeting regularly to discuss labour rights, strategize political lobbying, share information on corporate abusers and unscrupulous recruiters and build bridges with migrant-sending countries - a counterforce, they say, against the globalization of cheap labour.

Increasingly, the union movement has been turning its attention to the plight of migrant labourers and temporary foreign workers as their numbers increase and, in many cases, their poor working conditions come to light.

While western countries often use immigration to address labour shortages and maintain population growth, more and more they're relying on temporary guest workers.

In Canada the number of foreign temporary workers has risen from 122,848 to 165,198 in the last two years, while the number of landed immigrants dropped from 262,240 to 236,758, in the same period.

"I don't believe that if these workers were given the same rights and wages as Canadian workers, our employers would be as interested in bringing them in," said labour studies professor Charlotte Yates of McMaster University.

"It is a cheap labour policy," she added. "There is a danger that if we increase the number of migrant workers, we increase the number of vulnerable workers. It is going to affect Canada's overall labour market, pushing down wages."

Although Canada has just launched the Canadian Experience Class to allow foreign workers and international students on temporary permits to apply for permanent status from within Canada, those in low-paying and unskilled jobs - often the most vulnerable due to their lack of English and education - are still excluded.

With federal and provincial governments eager to respond to employers' needs, but slow to protect foreign workers, critics like Yates say unions have a key role to play.

But some, like John Mortimer, president of Labour Watch, a union watchdog, said migrant workers must take responsibility as well and do their own research before taking a job abroad. Labour organizing may not be a solution, he added.

"Some union leaders ... believe any worker is better off unionized than not. They are a business. It's more revenue," he said. "They accept that the temporary foreign worker programs are a reality, so they move to represent them, even though they may ... think they are taking jobs from Canadians."

Still, unions have made progress in organizing Canada's migrant workers in spite of legal limitations placed on unionization and high turnovers among certain fields.

This summer, the United Food and Commercial Workers signed a contract that included 70 migrant workers with Winnipeg's Mayfair Farms. In May, the Canadian Steelworkers Union and Migrante Ontario, a grassroots advocacy group, launched the Independent Workers Association (Home Worker Section) to offer live-in caregivers discounted legal counselling, insurance and dental plans.

Last year, the Alberta Federation of Labour set up an advocate's office to collect data and assist temporary foreign workers with complaints against employers.

"The unions are basically doing what the governments should be doing," said Stan Raper of the food and commercial workers' union, which last year forced a Red Deer, Alta., hog plant in a collective agreement to fund workplace training and a community integration program for 240 migrant workers from the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Philippines and Ukraine.

The contract also made the employer sponsor 190 of the workers as landed immigrants through the Alberta Provincial Nominee program. Today, more than 75 have received their immigrant papers.

The B.C. government and Service Employees' Union is working with counterparts in 14 other countries to prepare foreign-trained health-care workers on Canadian working conditions, labour rights and basic settlement needs through multilingual education materials abroad.

"With globalization and transnational migration, you can only raise awareness and improve labour conditions by building bridges with workers in other countries," said Lorene Oikawa, the B.C. union's vice-president.

Despite the effort, Chris Ramsaroop of Justice for Migrant Workers said many foreign workers are still too afraid or too busy working to join the movement.

"It is very difficult to organize them because they are so isolated," said the community worker.

"We have a more racialized migrant workforce than ever. Canada's unions must develop more creative ways to ... include them in the labour movement."

Toronto Star, Aug 27 2008
Byline: Nicholas Keung