ALF V1

The Alberta Federation of Labour responded today to a Conference Board of Canada study, released this morning, stating that wages across Canada are on the rise due to wage pressure in Alberta. The AFL points out that the study is methodologically flawed and does not reflect the actual wage patterns in Alberta for the first part of 2007.

"The Conference Board has dressed up a survey of employers as a bona fide study," says AFL President Gil McGowan. "For all the talk of mythical wage increases, the reality for Alberta workers is one of stagnant real wages."

The AFL points out two flaws in the Conference Board analysis. First, it is not a report of actual wages, but is instead a survey of employer "forecasts" for the next year. Second, its reported wage increases do not factor for inflation, which is currently running at around five percent in Alberta.

"The actual data for wages in 2007 shows a different picture than the Conference Board conclusion," observes McGowan. "For the first seven months of 2007, average hourly earnings show no increase whatsoever - even before factoring for inflation."

According to Statistics Canada (CANSIM Table 281-0029) average nominal hourly wages in Alberta was $20.05 in January 2007. In July 2007 - seven months later - it was $20.04. If inflation is factored in, wages actually dropped during the period.

In fact, Alberta wages are not going up during this boom, says the AFL. "According to Statistics Canada data, average real hourly wages was lower in 2006 than it was in 1999," notes McGowan. "Workers are not getting ahead in this boom. They are, at best, treading water."

The problem, says McGowan, is that bad labour laws, aggressive employer tactics, the growing use of temporary foreign workers and spiraling inflation are preventing Alberta workers from benefiting from the boom.

"When it comes to wage data, I will put my trust in Statistics Canada over some employer survey any day," says McGowan.

"The real issue here is why wages are not going up and what we can do about," concludes McGowan.

- 30 -

For more information call:

Gil McGowan, AFL President   @  780.218-9888 (cell)

Labour Economic Monitor (October 2007)

As the economic boom in Alberta reached its crest over the last two years, employers and the business media alerted the public to a new problem: the "labour shortage". At first this was described as a shortage of skilled labour, especially in the construction and health care sectors. Very quickly, however, the "hospitality sector" was identified as another area of the economy starved for labour.

New research produced by the Alberta Federation of Labour and the Parkland Institute shows that wages in Alberta are lagging behind the rate of inflation. As well, inequality is on the rise in the province. The numbers reveal a disturbing trend that suggests average Albertans are not benefiting from the boom.

The research is one of the highlights of Treading Water: Workers, Wages and the Boom, a conference this weekend co-sponsored by the AFL and Parkland Institute. The conference runs Friday evening and all-day Saturday at the downtown campus of Grant MacEwan College.

Some of the data to be presented at the conference include:

• After factoring for inflation, the average hourly wage in Alberta in 2006 was $19.30. In 2001 it was $19.37. Decreases were found in many industries.
• Real wages in construction have dropped, from $25.28 in 2001 to $23.35 in 2006.
• Preliminary data for the first part of 2007 shows stagnant and declining wages.
• Despite the boom Alberta has become the province with the highest percentage of employed clients visiting food banks.
• Corporations are benefiting from the boom. In current dollars, Alberta corporate profits rose from $12 billion in 1998 to $54 billion in 2006

"The bottom line is that average Albertans are not benefiting from Alberta's boom. Wages are stuck in neutral," says Parkland Executive Director Ricardo Acuna. "Inflation is eating up any minimal wage gains being made by workers and as a result inequality is on the rise."

"Basically the claim that wages are skyrocketing in Alberta is a myth," says AFL President Gil McGowan. "The boom is only working for oil companies and a handful of people at the top of the pile. For most of us, the struggle to make ends meet continues."

The conference will also highlight how the boom is making things worse for some groups. For example, Aboriginal unemployment is on the rise, and young workers are falling farther behind.

Other highlights of the conference include:

• Friday 7:00 pm. Keynote Speaker, Sam Gindin: "The Politics of Wages: Who's Holding You Back and Why."
• Saturday 9:00 a.m.: Official release of new wage research by AFL and Parkland
• Saturday 3:30 p.m.: "Getting More In Your Wallet: Policy Solutions"

The media are welcome during all portions of the conference.

- 30 -

For more Information:

Ricardo Acuna, Parkland Institute Executive Director, (780)492-8558, (780)951-7180 (cell)

Gil McGowan, AFL President @ 780.218-9888 (cell)

It was only a matter of time.

Whenever the economy heats up, business people reward themselves with bigger salaries and hefty bonuses.

"We've earned it," they tell themselves as they put orders in for the latest BMW status symbol or the newest gas-guzzling monster SUV.

But when ordinary, wage-earning workers begin asking for a bigger piece of the pie, they're usually denounced as greedy, selfish and short-sighted.

Over the past few months, this old double-standard has re-surfaced with a vengeance in Alberta.

As groups of unionized workers - from nurses and paramedics in the public sector to construction and energy workers in the private sector - have tabled aggressive contract positions, a wounded cry of protest has gone up from corporate boardrooms and the business press.

One prominent columnist described unionized Alberta construction workers as among the most "coddled" in the world and called their wage demands "absurd."

A short time later, a well-known business professor and an influential energy industry analyst both warned darkly that the wage demands being advanced by Alberta workers threaten to drive up inflation, undermine our province's "business-friendly" reputation and scare away oil sands investment.

One B.C.-based construction boss went so far as to say that unionized workers were "holding a loaded gun" to the head of Alberta's economy and that all workers (not just "essential" public sector workers) should be stripped of their right to strike.

In the face of these kinds of verbal assaults, some working people might start wondering if, just maybe, the bosses are right. But they shouldn't allow themselves to be sucked in by all the hype and mock indignation.

The truth is that the wage increases being sought (and won) by unionized Alberta workers have been reasonable, fair - and entirely appropriate.

In most cases, unions have been asking for increases of between five and seven percent a year. This might be out of line in other provinces, where the cost of living has been increasing by only about 2 percent annually.

But in Alberta, inflation shot up by more than five percent in the first six months of this year - and in June it rang in at a whopping 6.3 percent over the cost of living in June 2006. That's three times higher than the national average.

In this climate, wage increases of anything less than five or six percent represent a cut in real taken home pay and purchasing power.

Given the unprecedented growth in the Alberta economy - and the fact that inflation adjusted wages have remained essentially flat for the past fifteen years - is it unreasonable for workers to aspire to something more than simply treading water?

If the working middle class can't get ahead during a boom, when exactly can they?

As far as claims go that wage increases will drive up inflation or discourage investment, two things need to be said.

First, growing unionized wage demands haven't caused Alberta's overheated economy - they've been a response to it.

If the only way the boom can be sustained is by convincing workers to take cuts to their inflation-adjusted take-home pay, then the boom is probably not sustainable.

Second, threats about "capital flight" are over blown. Even factoring in rising costs for things like labour and building materials, the Conference Board of Canada projects that the Canadian oil industry is on track to $12.6 billion in profits this year - not a record, but still very healthy.

What really determines whether energy companies invest in Alberta is not labour costs - it's global demand and international prices for oil.

As Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams recently demonstrated, in a world of rapidly disappearing "cheap" oil and galloping demand from monster economies like China and India, energy companies will (however reluctantly) pay more for the privilege of exploiting publicly-owned energy resources.

Oil executives may bluster and rattle their sabers - some of them may even take their balls and leave the sandbox for short periods. But as long as we have the resource that the world wants under our feet, they'll be back.

Having said all that, union members and leaders agree that inflation is a real concern for Albertans. It bites into both corporate profits and individual workers' standard of living.

But it's not workers who are causing the problem - they're just trying to avoid being swamped by the rising economic tide.

The real cause of overheating in the Alberta economy is the decision by energy companies to develop an unreasonable number of oil sands projects at once - and the decision by the provincial government to stand passively on the sidelines and simply let that happen.

If our leaders in government and business really want to tame the excesses of the Alberta economy, then what we need - as former Premier Peter Lougheed has urged - is a plan to regulate the pace of development so that it doesn't outstrip the ability of our labour force or community infrastructure to handle the growth.

We also need rules to ensure that upgraders and refineries are built here - as opposed to having valuable "down-stream" jobs shipped down pipelines along with our oil to destination in the U.S.

Left to their own devices, energy companies will never do this - none of them will voluntarily move to the back of the line. And none of them will willingly put the Alberta public interest ahead of their narrow corporate self interest. Only government can effectively play the role of referee, traffic cop and steward of the public interest.

Unfortunately, our barely visible premier, Ed Stelmach, has made it clear he has no plans to "touch the brake" or address the energy industry's Wild West approach to development.

This stubborn refusal to stand up for the public interest may cause the Alberta's economic house of cards to come tumbling down. But let's be clear - that collapse will be the result of business and government policy failures, not the result of wage demands from workers.

So what's my advice to working people as they return from the Labour Day long weekend? Don't be afraid to use the power that the market is giving us to drive hard bargains and grab the biggest piece possible of Alberta's growing economic pie.

As market-loving business people might admit themselves, smart people take advantage of market conditions to get the highest possible returns. The labour market is a market like any other, so we'd be suckers if we fell for corporate guilt trips and missed out on this opportunity to make gains.

KEVIN NEWMAN: Well with so many of us returning to the habit of waking to an alarm clock again, a new survey of Canadian workers on this Labour Day showing that in spite of a booming economy in much of the country, job satisfaction is sinking. Francis Silvaggio is also on his first day back from vacation, so he seemed like the right guy to handle this one.

FRANCIS SILVAGGIO (Reporter): Alberta's economy continues to boom. There's more work, more money, more people. So why are these labour leaders concerned?

GIL MCGOWAN (Alberta Federation of Labour): We've got a growing disparity between people on the top end making a lot of money and people on the bottom end making much less. And it's not just a disparity in wages.

SILVAGGIO: In fact Graham Lowe's research discovered even though Canada's economy has grown over the past 25 year, actual job quality has declined and only about half of us are satisfied with our jobs.

GRAHAM LOWE (Employment Researcher): Because the economy is so strong these days, you might think that there would be benefits for people in terms of improvements in the quality of their workplace. We're not seeing that.

SILVAGGIO: That's no surprise to national labour groups that have seen union memberships fall sharply as well.

SID RYAN (CUPE Ontario President): They're making profits at the expense of the workers is what they're doing, and they're using globalization as the battering ram to force unions and to force employers to, employees to lower their wage demands, open up their collective agreements, give concessions.

SILVAGGIO: As the workforce begins to shift with the retirement of our baby boomers, experts say job quality will be more important than ever to keep our economy growing.

LOWE: By providing people with better quality work environments. Work environment that really encourage them, inspire them to contribute their best, that is going to improve business success. It's also going to make people want to stay with their employer so it's going to reduce turnover. It's going to reduces absenteeism, and absenteeism is trending up in this country, that's a problem. So it's going to have a lot of positive chaos for the economy overall.

SILVAGGIO: Which is why on this Labour Day, labour officials are urging all levels of government to take action.

MCGOWAN: Is this the kind of Canada that we want, that's sort of divided between the haves and have-nots. Shouldn't we be fighting for a stronger middle class Canada that allows everyone to share in the prosperity? That's the challenge for our policymakers.

GLOBAL NATIONAL, Mon Sept 3 2007

It was only a matter of time.

Whenever the economy heats up, business people reward themselves with bigger salaries and hefty bonuses.

"We've earned it," they tell themselves as they put orders in for the latest BMW status symbol or the newest gas-guzzling monster SUV.

But when ordinary, wage-earning workers begin asking for a bigger piece of the pie, they're usually denounced as greedy, selfish and short-sighted.

Over the past few months, this old double-standard has re-surfaced with a vengeance in Alberta.

As groups of unionized workers - from nurses and paramedics in the public sector to construction and energy workers in the private sector - have tabled aggressive contract positions, a wounded cry of protest has gone up from corporate boardrooms and the business press.

One prominent columnist described unionized Alberta construction workers as among the most "coddled" in the world and called their wage demands "absurd."

A short time later, a well-known business professor and an influential energy industry analyst both warned darkly that the wage demands being advanced by Alberta workers threaten to drive up inflation, undermine our province's "business-friendly" reputation and scare away oil sands investment.

One B.C.-based construction boss went so far as to say that unionized workers were "holding a loaded gun" to the head of Alberta's economy and that all workers (not just "essential" public sector workers) should be stripped of their right to strike.

In the face of these kinds of verbal assaults, some working people might start wondering if, just maybe, the bosses are right. But they shouldn't allow themselves to be sucked in by all the hype and mock indignation.

The truth is that the wage increases being sought (and won) by unionized Alberta workers have been reasonable, fair - and entirely appropriate.

In most cases, unions have been asking for increases of between five and seven percent a year. This might be out of line in other provinces, where the cost of living has been increasing by only about 2 percent annually.

But in Alberta, inflation shot up by more than five percent in the first six months of this year - and in June it rang in at a whopping 6.3 percent over the cost of living in June 2006. That's three times higher than the national average.

In this climate, wage increases of anything less than five or six percent represent a cut in real taken home pay and purchasing power.

Given the unprecedented growth in the Alberta economy - and the fact that inflation adjusted wages have remained essentially flat for the past fifteen years - is it unreasonable for workers to aspire to something more than simply treading water?

If the working middle class can't get ahead during a boom, when exactly can they?

As far as claims go that wage increases will drive up inflation or discourage investment, two things need to be said.

First, growing unionized wage demands haven't caused Alberta's overheated economy - they've been a response to it.

If the only way the boom can be sustained is by convincing workers to take cuts to their inflation-adjusted take-home pay, then the boom is probably not sustainable.

Second, threats about "capital flight" are over blown. Even factoring in rising costs for things like labour and building materials, the Conference Board of Canada projects that the Canadian oil industry is on track to $12.6 billion in profits this year - not a record, but still very healthy.

What really determines whether energy companies invest in Alberta is not labour costs - it's global demand and international prices for oil.

As Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams recently demonstrated, in a world of rapidly disappearing "cheap" oil and galloping demand from monster economies like China and India, energy companies will (however reluctantly) pay more for the privilege of exploiting publicly-owned energy resources.

Oil executives may bluster and rattle their sabers - some of them may even take their balls and leave the sandbox for short periods. But as long as we have the resource that the world wants under our feet, they'll be back.

Having said all that, union members and leaders agree that inflation is a real concern for Albertans. It bites into both corporate profits and individual workers' standard of living.

But it's not workers who are causing the problem - they're just trying to avoid being swamped by the rising economic tide.

The real cause of overheating in the Alberta economy is the decision by energy companies to develop an unreasonable number of oil sands projects at once - and the decision by the provincial government to stand passively on the sidelines and simply let that happen.

If our leaders in government and business really want to tame the excesses of the Alberta economy, then what we need - as former Premier Peter Lougheed has urged - is a plan to regulate the pace of development so that it doesn't outstrip the ability of our labour force or community infrastructure to handle the growth.

We also need rules to ensure that upgraders and refineries are built here - as opposed to having valuable "down-stream" jobs shipped down pipelines along with our oil to destination in the U.S.

Left to their own devices, energy companies will never do this - none of them will voluntarily move to the back of the line. And none of them will willingly put the Alberta public interest ahead of their narrow corporate self interest. Only government can effectively play the role of referee, traffic cop and steward of the public interest.

Unfortunately, our barely visible premier, Ed Stelmach, has made it clear he has no plans to "touch the brake" or address the energy industry's Wild West approach to development.

This stubborn refusal to stand up for the public interest may cause the Alberta's economic house of cards to come tumbling down. But let's be clear - that collapse will be the result of business and government policy failures, not the result of wage demands from workers.

So what's my advice to working people as they return from the Labour Day long weekend? Don't be afraid to use the power that the market is giving us to drive hard bargains and grab the biggest piece possible of Alberta's growing economic pie.

As market-loving business people might admit themselves, smart people take advantage of market conditions to get the highest possible returns. The labour market is a market like any other, so we'd be suckers if we fell for corporate guilt trips and missed out on this opportunity to make gains.

It was only a matter of time. Whenever the economy heats up, business people reward themselves with bigger salaries and hefty bonuses.

"We've earned it," they tell themselves as they put orders in for the latest BMW or gas-guzzling monster SUV.

But when ordinary, wage-earning workers begin asking for a bigger piece of the pie, they're usually denounced as greedy and short-sighted.

Over the past few months, this double-standard has re-surfaced with a vengeance in Alberta.

As groups of unionized workers -- from nurses and paramedics in the public sector to construction and energy workers in the private sector -- have tabled aggressive contract positions, a wounded cry of protest has gone up from corporate boardrooms and business press.

One prominent columnist described unionized Alberta construction workers as among the most "coddled" in the world and called their wage demands "absurd."

Calgary Herald, Page A23, Sat Sept 1 2007
Byline: Gil McGowan

A well-known business professor and an influential energy industry analyst both warned darkly that the wage demands being advanced by Alberta workers threaten to drive up inflation, undermine our province's "business-friendly" reputation and scare away oilsands investment.

One B.C.-based construction boss went so far as to say that unionized workers were "holding a loaded gun" to the head of Alberta's economy and that all workers (not just those deemed "essential") should be stripped of their right to strike.

In the face of these kinds of verbal assaults, some working people might start wondering if, just maybe, the bosses are right. But they shouldn't allow themselves to be sucked in by all the hype and mock indignation.

The truth is that the wage increases being sought (and won) by unionized Alberta workers have been reasonable, fair -- and entirely appropriate.

In most cases, unions have been asking for increases of between five and seven per cent a year. This might be out of line in other provinces, where the cost of living has been increasing by about two per cent annually.

But in Alberta, inflation shot up by more than five per cent in the first six months of this year -- and in June it rang in at a whopping 6.3 per cent over the cost of living in June 2006. That's three times higher than the national average.

In this climate, wage increases of anything less than five or six per cent represent a cut in take-home pay and purchasing power.

Given the unprecedented growth in the Alberta economy -- and the fact that inflation-

adjusted wages have remained essentially flat for the past 15 years -- is it unreasonable for workers to aspire to something more than treading water?

If the working middle class can't get ahead during a boom, when exactly can they?

In response to the claim wage increases will drive up inflation or discourage investment, two things need to be said.

First, growing unionized wage demands haven't caused Alberta's overheated economy -- they've been a response to it.

If the only way the boom can be sustained is by convincing workers to take cuts to their inflation-adjusted take-home pay, then the boom is probably not sustainable.

Second, threats about "capital flight" are overblown. Even factoring in rising costs for things like labour and building materials, the Conference Board of Canada projects that the Canadian oil industry is on track for $12.6 billion in profits this year -- not a record, but very healthy.

What really determines whether energy companies invest in Alberta is not labour costs -- it's global demand and international prices for oil.

As Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams recently demonstrated, in a world of rapidly disappearing "cheap" oil and galloping demand from monster economies like China and India, energy companies will (however reluctantly) pay more for the privilege of exploiting publicly-owned energy resources.

Oil executives may bluster and rattle their sabres -- some of them may even take their balls and leave the sandbox for short periods. But as long as we have the resource the world wants, they'll be back.

Having said all that, union members and leaders agree that inflation is a real concern for Albertans. It bites into both corporate profits and individual workers' standard of living.

But workers are not causing the problem -- they're just trying to avoid being swamped by the rising economic tide.

The real cause of overheating in the Alberta economy is the decision by energy companies to develop an unreasonable number of oilsands projects at once -- and the decision by the provincial government to stand passively on the sidelines.

If our leaders in government and business really want to tame the excesses of the economy, then what we need -- as former Premier Peter Lougheed has urged -- is a plan to regulate the pace of development so that it doesn't outstrip the ability of our labour force or infrastructure to handle the growth.

We also need rules to ensure upgraders and refineries are built here -- as opposed to having valuable "downstream" jobs shipped down pipelines along with our oil to the U.S.

Left to their own devices, energy companies will never do this. And none of them will willingly put the public interest ahead of their corporate self-interest. Only government can effectively play the role of referee, traffic cop and steward of the public interest.

Unfortunately, our barely visible premier, Ed Stelmach, has made it clear he has no plans to "touch the brake" or address the energy industry's Wild West approach to development.

This stubborn refusal to stand up for the public interest may cause Alberta's economic house of cards to come tumbling down. But let's be clear -- that collapse will be the result of business and government policy failures, not wage demands.

So what's my advice to working people?

Don't be afraid to use the power that the market is giving us to drive hard bargains and grab the biggest piece possible of Alberta's economic pie.

Smart people take advantage of market conditions to get the highest possible returns. The labour market is a market like any other, so we'd be suckers if we fell for corporate guilt trips and missed out on this opportunity to make gains.

Calgary Herald, Sat Sept 1 2007
see also Edmonton Journal, Mon Sept 3 2007
By Gil McGowan
AFL President

The announcement of $40 billion worth of new energy industry projects in the past two weeks, including Shell Canada's plans to spend $27 billion to construct a massive oilsands processing unit at its Scotford upgrader near Edmonton, has refocused attention on the province's ongoing labour crunch.

All told, oilsands projects worth more than $130 billion are planned for the next 20 years -- and billions more will be spent on energy-related projects across the province over the same time period. That has Albertans asking: where will the workers come from?

Last month, the Alberta government warned the province is facing a shortfall of 100,000 workers by 2015, with at least 40,000 of those positions in the oil and gas sector. Energy contributes about a third, more than $59 billion annually, to Alberta's gross domestic product.

"Our top three priorities are people, people and more people," said Shell Canada spokeswoman Janet Annesley, acknowledging the dilemma. "Ensuring we have access to skilled people is our top concern."

Shell's new upgrader is the cornerstone of a made-in-Canada strategy that will see it process virtually all of its oilsands in Alberta -- about 10 per cent of the country's projected output -- from the mine to the gas tank. The facility is to be built in four stages over the next 15 to 20 years, with each phase requiring 5,000 construction workers over and above the 1,200 personnel needed to run the plant.

Likewise, Petro-Canada is refitting its Edmonton refinery to take a steady diet from the Fort Hills mine, which is currently under construction near booming Fort McMurray. Costs to complete the project have risen steadily.

"The impact of labour shortages is very real. To keep up with the pace of economic growth and capitalize on key projects in the oilsands, industry needs to take the lead and tackle this issue," Andrew Stephens, a Petro-Canada vice-president, said in response to the unveiling of a new government program to recruit and train new workers.

According to a report by Deloitte and Touche, the oil industry is partly a victim of its own success, pulling talent and manpower from other sectors of the economy that support it.

"It's not just in the oilsands areas," said Dick Cooper, Deloitte's energy and resources practice leader, who is based in Calgary.

"It's in the whole economy . . . whether it's the Tim Hortons or new restaurant that can't find people to serve coffee and food because there's not enough people to keep the restaurants or coffee shops open."

In a report on future labour requirements, Cooper sees emerging demographic and educational trends contributing to the problem.

In addition to recruiting a younger generation of skilled workers, a greying bubble of baby boomers will retire, further straining a limited and shrinking talent pool.

"It's really causing a crunch in terms of getting these projects done."

But oil companies remain cautiously optimistic they can find and train new staff.

Recently, Total SA, Europe's third-largest oil producer, said it expects logistic bottlenecks and hiring difficulties as it develops oilsands projects in Alberta.

Like Shell and Petro-Canada, Total is also seeking a homegrown solution to handle the processing of its growing production, including an oilsands upgrading plant to take up bitumen from Joslyn and Surmont.

In its second-quarter report earlier this week, Total said it plans to spend between $10 billion and $15 billion to expand in Canada.

"We will have logistic pressure," Robert Castaigne, the company's chief financial officer told analysts last week. "There will be more costs. I don't think it's anything we won't be able to solve."

But Shell's Annesley said her company has a leg up because of direct recruiting programs in Alberta's colleges and trade schools -- even Internet sites like Facebook -- that lure young people into the fold.

The problem is finding the right skills for the job, another major challenge in an education system also under stress.

A $7.5-million donation to the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) in Edmonton is being used to develop a program tailored exclusively for Shell and its operating processes. In addition, the company wants to raise the number of apprentices on job sites to increase training.

"That alone gives an indication of the importance we place on educating the workforce of the future," Annesley said. "In the oilsands, education is the key to having opportunity."

But Alberta's labour movement is deeply suspicious of any incursion into their traditional turf, saying it compromises worker safety and benefits.

In July, five separate construction unions voted to strike, the first such ballot in three decades. The results showed a rising discontent with the breakneck pace of oilsands development among the people charged with building it.

Although the unions haven't yet served strike notices, the threat of a walkout could arise Aug. 8 when the contractors are expected to come back with a counter-offer.

A union proposal put forth in July calls for 14.5 per cent wage increases over two years, barely above Alberta's nation-leading inflation rate of 6.5 per cent.

Another issue for unions are temporary foreign workers.

The skilled labour shortage is a global phenomenon, prompting companies to look overseas for employees.

Alberta Building Trades Council president Ron Harry likens it to a "runaway train." But others just call it union busting.

Gil McGowan, the president of the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL), fired off a letter to provincial authorities after the collapse of a pair of holding tanks at Canadian Natural Resources Ltd.'s Horizon mine site this spring, killing two Chinese workers and injuring four.

It was the second accident in a span of three weeks his organization blamed on inadequate safety standards and the use of unqualified staff.

"From our perspective, these events raise serious questions about construction practices and safety on the site," he said.

"If these temporary workers were on a track to becoming full citizens, it would be less of a concern. But they're not. The vast majority will be treated like Post-it notes -- to be used, discarded and sent back to the countries of origin."

The AFL also questions whether there is actually a labour crisis and what needs to be done to address it.

By the Alberta government's own definition, problems don't start developing in the labour market until the unemployment rate drops below 3.5 per cent.

According to Statistics Canada, Alberta currently has a 6.1 per cent unemployment rate in the construction trades.

McGowan said there are plenty of potential workers to be found in the Aboriginal communities as well as in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

Rather than marginalize unions, the government needs to start looking at labour organizations as a potential source of training and for creating new opportunities, he said.

"Organized labour has to be part of the solution."

Calgary Herald, Page A1, Mon Aug 13 2007
Byline: Shaun Polczer

Seizing the Time: Collective Bargaining in a Boom Economy (May 2007)

Policy paper adopted at AFL 45th Constitutional Convention, May 10-13, 2007

Gil McGowan, President of the Alberta Federation of Labour, January 10, 2007

There's no denying that times are good in Alberta. Unemployment is low, profits are high - and many Albertans are enjoying wages and opportunities that people living in other provinces can only dream about. This is the story we read about on the business pages. It's the story our politicians talk about and it's the story the public is encouraged to focus on. But there's another story in Alberta. In fact, there's a whole other Alberta. There's a whole population of Albertans for whom the boom is little more than a distant echo. That's why we at the Alberta Federation of Labour have participated in the preparation of this report. We think it's long past time that our leaders acknowledge the fact that not everyone is sharing in the so-called Alberta Advantage. The truth may not be comfortable for the comfortable to look at - and it may not jibe with the government's preferred script - but it's a truth that needs to be brought out from the shadows. The truth, as this report shows, is that not all boats are rising. The truth is that, even in here in wealthy Alberta, thousands of Albertans go to work every, they work hard - and yet they still can't make ends meet. The truth is that a quarter of working Albertans make less than $12 an hour and that the minimum wage is a cruel joke. The truth is also that wage increases for most Albertans are not keeping pace with the increase in costs for things like transportation, gas, home heating, food, child care and, especially, housing. For me, what is perhaps most troubling is that these issues don't even seem to be on the provincial government's radar screen.

You probably all remember that just before Christmas, our new Premier gave letters to each of his new cabinet ministers outlining his expectations and setting out his priorities for each ministry. The letter to Employment, Immigration and Industry Minister Iris Evan talked about the labour shortage, it talked about training - but it didn't talk about poverty and it didn't talk about struggling families. There's an old saying that the first step toward recovery is to admit you have a problem. Well, what we seem to have here is a government in denial. Some people may say: what can government do about these kinds of problems? They might say "the market will decide" or that we can never truly eliminate poverty. But what we're saying today is that the government, through its low minimum wage and patch-work approach to social policy - has helped create this problem. And they need to be part of the solution. The good news is that our governments have their hands on policy levers that can help. The provincial government could and should increase the minimum wage and index it to inflation. They could and should develop and fund a real child care program. And finally they, along with municipal governments, could and should adopt living wage policies for their employees and all their contracts. In the end, government is about choices. And when it comes to social policy, governments have a choice to take the high road or low road. The low road says let the market decide and let workers fend for themselves. The high road says all society benefits when families are given a hand up and when we as a society say we will not condemn any of our fellow citizens to lives of poverty and despair. Living Wage policies, like the ones outlined in this report, are concrete ways we can make the goal of reducing and eliminating poverty a reality.

But the first step is for all of us to convince our leaders and our governments that's it's time to take the off the rose coloured glasses. This report is the first stage in what will be an on-going campaign to do just that.