BUDGET BETRAYAL - Alberta Union of Provincial Employees

SPRING 2013
DIRECT IMPACT
Published by the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees
BUDGET
BETRAYAL
PREMIER REDFORD SHATTERS PROMISE TO PROTECT SERVICES
WEAR YOUR
UNION PRIDE
Visit the AUPE PUB online store today at
http://store.aupe.org
SOLIDARITY
IS ALWAYS
IN STYLE!
one
number
helping 80,000 members
AUPE MEMBER RESOURCE CENTRE
If you’ve called AUPE lately, you already
know the benefits of our new Member
Resource Centre. A team connects you
with the services you need faster than
ever. Most requests can be handled the
minute we pick up your call. Have a
complex issue? The next time you call, our
new technology will allow us to pick up
the conversation the same place it ended.
1-800-232-7284
ONE NUMBER, PROVINCE-WIDE, SERVING YOU FASTER THAN EVER
DIRECT IMPACT
CONTENTS
FEATURE
p.8
ABOUTTUOBA
FACEECAF
NO SCAPEGOATS
E
BY TBHERS
M
U
N
p. 6
Premier Redford rode to victory
as the defender of public services.
The March budget revealed her
true colours.
Local 003 rallies outside Solictor
Generals office.
p. 20
Popping the bitumen bubble and a
phony financial crisis.
SPRING 2013
From the President
4
News on the Labour Front 12
28
Labour Relations Briefs
Focus on AUPE
30
Steward Notes
Pull Out
13040
Telephone: 1-800-232-7284
Fax: 780-930-3392
Toll-free Fax: 1-888-388-2873
info@aupe.org
www.aupe.org
Direct Impact is published quarterly, with
a circulation of more than 80,000.
ON THE COVER
Premier Redford speaking
to delegates at the 2012
AUPE Convention
Guy Smith President
Ron Hodgins Executive Director
Bill Dechant Exec. Sec.-Treasurer
Editor
Mark Wells
Jason Heistad Vice-President
Erez Raz Vice-President
Carrie-Lynn Rusznak Vice-President
Glen Scott Vice-President
Susan Slade Vice-President
Karen Weiers Vice-President
Contributors
Tyler Bedford
Vanessa Bjerreskov
Andrew Hanon
Design
Jon Olsen
Canadian Publications Mail Agreement: 40065207
Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to:
Alberta Union of Provincial Employees
10451 - 170 Street NW,
Edmonton, AB T5P 4S7
DIRECT IMPACT 3
From the President
Last October AUPE cautiously welcomed
Premier Alison Redford into our Annual
Convention to share with our 1,000
elected delegates and guests her vision for
a renewed, progressive, modern Alberta
supported by a strong, professional,
efficient, and engaged public service.
A public service that would be able
to respond to the increasing demand
of population growth and diversity as
thousands of families move into Alberta
every month.
In her address she talked about the
importance of the work AUPE members
do every day in every corner of the
province and how, working on the front
lines of service delivery, they are the
experts in their field and need to be heard.
Overall we heard from a premier who
claimed she wanted to build a meaningful
working relationship with AUPE to move
forward to the benefit of all Albertans.
Five months later that relationship is
broken. In fact I don’t believe it ever got
off the ground. A photo op and appeasing
AUPE Convention delegates does not a
relationship make.
Honesty, trust, interaction, commitment
and open conversation are the basis of a
positive working relationship and Premier
Redford and her government have merely
gone through the motions without making
any solid commitment. In fact it could
be argued that commitments have been
actually broken or ignored.
So be it. AUPE as a modern, active
and engaged union will respond to
whatever challenges that confront us with
determination and strength by working
together.
More significantly, though, the Redford
government has betrayed Albertans. They
4 DIRECT IMPACT
got elected a year ago on the basis of
building a progressive Alberta that would
be prepared to meet the challenges of a
modern, growing economy and growing
population while protecting the most
vulnerable in society.
Instead, coming out of the recent
provincial budget, we see, just like her
predecessors, that Redford’s Government
has decided that their main function and
goal is to promote the interests and profits
of big oil corporations.
In front of a back drop of one of the
hottest economies in North America, with
the lowest unemployment, highest GDP,
highest population growth, and highest
overall wages and salaries in Canada, the
recent provincial budget paradoxically
slashes services across the board, including
essential services to the most vulnerable.
It is a budget built on the betraying of
Albertans. Cuts to community safety and
security programs; cuts to post secondary
institutes; cuts to funding for long-term
care; cuts to social services programs;
and of course the proposed closure of
Michener Centre in Red Deer are just a
few examples of how Albertans have been
betrayed by their own government. Based
on the economic facts, this budget makes
no sense, and could ultimately damage
economic growth and sustainability by
neglecting the social infrastructure that
supports the safety, security, health, and
well being of all Albertans.
How Albertans respond to this betrayal
remains to be seen. As we’ve witnessed
over the past 40 years successive Tory
governments have survived despite
neglecting the needs of their own citizens.
But Alberta is a changing and evolving
province with an increasing diversity of
population and ideas and a greater sense
that a government elected by the people
should put the interests of the people
ahead of the narrow interests of resource
companies.
This is the basis on which AUPE will
resist the draconian cuts to front line
services and stand up for the rights of
Albertans to receive the services they
need. This is the environment in which we
will negotiate many collective agreements,
including for our 21,000 members on the
front lines of Government Services, and
the thousands in post secondary institutes.
To be sure, extremely challenging
times are upon us. That is why I’ve made
a renewed call for action from our Locals
and Chapters to engage their membership
in standing up and fighting back on behalf
of AUPE members, the services our
members provide and Albertans who rely
on those services.
If your worksite, Chapter, community
or Local is organizing an action I strongly
encourage you to get involved. In the
recent past AUPE members have shown
how strong we are when we take a stand.
We’re stronger when we work together,
and we need to call upon that strength
now more than ever.
In Solidarity,
Guy Smith
AUPE President
Event
Calendar
Civic Election Seminar
May 14, 2013
Edmonton
www.aupe.org/events/conferences/
copa-pre-election-seminar/
Young Activists
Conference
June 2-4, 2013
Goldeye Centre, Nordegg
www.aupe.org/events/conferences/
young-activists-conference/
Health Sector
Conference
June 16-18, 2013
Edmonton
www.aupe.org/events/conferences/
health-sector-conference/
Young Activists
Slo-Pitch Tournament
July 13-14, 2013
Blackfalds
Jason Heistad
j.heistad@aupe.org
Convention
October 17-19,
2013
Shaw Conference Centre,
Edmonton
www.aupe.org/events/convention
SAVE THE DATE
OCTOBER 17, 18 & 19
AUPE CONVENTION 2013
To get involved attend your Chapter AGM this spring.
www.aupe.org
DIRECT IMPACT 5
BY THE NUMBERS
The Government of Alberta is playing games with
numbers, using the price difference between heavy
bitumen oil and lighter oil to claim that Alberta must
cut spending. It’s time to pop the ‘bitumen bubble.’
The term ‘bitumen bubble’ is a
misnomer. The name implies irrational
inflation in the price of bitumen. But
what was happening in the last quarter
of 2012 is the reverse of a bubble – it’s
a temporary depression in the price of
bitumen, measured as Western Canada
Select (WCS) compared with the North
American benchmark for oil prices, West
Texas Intermediate (WTI).
There has always been a differential
between the price of WCS (bitumen
with diluents) and WTI (light oil). In
December 2012 there was a substantial
difference, averaging approximately
US$30 per barrel, compared to $17 for
all of 2011. This large but fleeting gap is
not out of the ordinary. As recently as
Oct 2007, there was an average price
differential of US$30.
100%
WCS (BITUMEN) PRICE AS % OF WTI
90%
80%
70%
Long Ter m
Pr ice Trend
60%
50%
40%
Many analysts predict the price
differential between bitumen and light
crude is going to close in the coming
months. Both Baytex and the PIRA
Energy Group believe heavy differentials
will begin to tighten to as little as
US$22/Bbl by June 2013, and only
US$13/Bbl by the end of 20131.
1
Baytex Energy Corp., “Q4 2012 Heavy Oil Pricing Update”,
January 11, 2013; PIRA, “North American Midcontinent Oil
Forecast”, January 7, 2013.
Jan May Sept Jan May Sept Jan May Sept Jan May Sept Jan May Sept Jan May Sept Jan May Sept Jan May Sept Jan
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
“This has been around for a long
time, and I think the Alberta
Premier is using this as a way to
plant the seed for spending cuts in
the budget coming up for Alberta.”
Preet Banerjee, Globe and Mail finance
columnist and blogger
Corporate vs Public Share of Oil Sands $ (1997-2010)
The windfall in Alberta’s oil sands has been remarkable, but the province only gets a tiny slice. Here’s how
our share of the money that’s left over looks after costs and a reasonable profit is deducted.
CORPORATE
PUBLIC
6 DIRECT IMPACT
$23,202,885,486
Yes, that is bil lions
$199,299,152,471
$25
PROJECTED ALBERTA BITUMEN ROYALTIES (BILLIONS)
$20
$15
$10
$5
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
Premier Redford appears to be exploiting a price anomaly to create a
financial panic justifying unnecessary, long-term cuts to public services.
The reality is oilsands royalties are set to increase dramatically in the next
five years, due to increased production and mature projects switching to
higher royalty rates. The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers and
Canadian Energy Research Institute forecast bitumen royalties of $10 billion
or more by 2016. That’s more than double the current year, and roughly
equal to all current resource revenue combined.
This long-term royalty outlook was confirmed by the Government at the
recent economic summit. AUPE believes current budget decisions should
not be based on a false panic over revenues.
$683
“It’s particularly the Albertan
Government that’s using this
as a bit of window dressing
around some mismanagement
of their finances, blaming it
for deficits.”
That’s the size of the Norway Oil Fund at the end
of 2012. The fund was established in 1990 and was
built on surplus dollars from oil taxes. Norway’s oil
production is equal to Canada’s
BILLION
DISTRIBUTION OF OIL SANDS REVENUE (BILLIONS)
PROFIT
Amanda Lang
CBC Senior Business Correspondent,
co-host “Lang & O’Leary Exchange”
ROYALTIES
LAND SALES
40
30
OIL
COMPANIES’
SHARE
20
10
PUBLIC’S SHARE
1986
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
DIRECT IMPACT 7
ABOUTTUOBA
FACEECAF
IN JUST ONE YEAR, PREMIER
REDFORD GOES FROM PROMISE
OF PROTECTING PUBLIC SERVICES
TO SLASH-AND-BURN BUDGETING
by Mark Wells
Communications Staff
8 DIRECT IMPACT
FOR TWO MONTHS, Premier Alison Redford
foreshadowed the changes coming in the March 7 budget. At media
appearances from December to the end of February either Redford
or Finance Minister Doug Horner repeated ominous warnings about
the consequences of the so-called “bitumen bubble,” namely an
expected $4 billion deficit for the 2012-13 fiscal year.
It was a far cry from the premier that addressed AUPE delegates
just months earlier, praising members for being “the experts” when
it comes to service delivery, and promising to consult frontline
employees before embarking on radical changes.
Redford’s new message was that unless drastic measures were
taken Alberta would find itself back in debt. There was just one
problem with the government’s story that had Albertans scratching
their heads: how was it that the most economically successful
province in Canada was suddenly facing a budget crisis?
Rather than answer that awkward question, she turned to a classic
propaganda technique and turned the truth upside down, creating
an economic crisis where none existed. In this brave new world,
Alberta’s royalties dollars were rapidly disappearing, oil companies
were on the ropes, and the Alberta public service was badly bloated.
The pre-budget campaign
The reality is that the public service
has been steadily shrinking in relation
to the provincial population and the
government’s own projections were for
oil sands royalties to explode, doubling
from an expected $3.3 billion this year
to $6.6 billion in 2015. Despite the facts,
the government and its supporters would
drill the phony story into Albertans’ heads
constantly until budget day.
The goal of the story was obvious: create
fear to make it easier for the premier to
slash the budget in a province leading
North America in economic and wage
growth. The effort peaked with two
events: an expensive televised address
to Albertans by Premier Redford, and
an “Economic Summit” in which the
premier could collect budget advice from
economists and wealthy corporate leaders.
In her eight-minute, taxpayer funded
TV address Redford warned Albertans
“some programs and services will
change — especially those that are not
sustainable over the long term.” She also
promised that she wouldn’t take her eye
off her new top priority: supporting oil
companies. “We have a duty to ensure that
our resources — especially Alberta oil
and gas — get to new markets at a much
fairer price... And that is job one for my
government,” she said.
It was the same script at the economic
summit. Redford’s invited guests provided
just two solutions to the province’s budget
woes: bring in a sales tax or get Alberta’s
oil into new markets. It was a perfect setup for the premier. She slammed the idea
of a sales tax while cheerleading for the
oil industry. With no revenue solution to
close the budget gap, cuts were presented
as the government’s only option.
Outwardly, the public relations effort
looked successful. But despite Redford’s
best efforts to sell cuts to services
Albertans count on, the public wasn’t
buying her message. A poll conducted in
February after the Premier’s TV address
and the economic summit showed a
dramatic decline in support.
Poll numbers provided to AUPE by
Janet Brown Consulting and Alberta Scan
showed that in August, back when the
Premier was still portraying herself as the
defender of services to AUPE and others, 63
per cent of Albertans approved of Redford’s
performance. By February that support
One of the most shocking cuts to be
announced was the government’s plan
to close Michener Centre in Red Deer.
The decision will affect 125 disabled
Albertans and 400 AUPE members. It was
a huge betrayal. In 2007 the government
promised families their loved ones
would be allowed to stay at Michener
Centre if they chose to do so. Ninety
per cent of families took the Progressive
Conservatives at their word and decided
their loved ones should stay at the facility
that had become their home.
was shattered, with the Premier getting an
approval rating of just 38 per cent.
The fallout
Each department needed a 4.2-per-cent
increase just to keep up with the effects
of inflation and the increased demands
of a growing population in 2013. In 2012
alone, Alberta grew by the equivalent of
adding a city the size of Red Deer.
But only a handful of departments
were spared cuts: International
and Intergovernmental Affairs, a
preoccupation of Premier Reford, saw
its budget grow by 16.6 per cent. Health
received a three-per-cent increase – not
enough to cope with the effect of inflation
and population growth, but at least better
than an outright cut. Service Alberta
received a token one-per-cent increase
while Treasury and Finance stayed flat.
Every other Government department was
slashed, many brutally.
The most staggering budget cuts came
in Environment and Sustainable Resource
Development (-38.4 per cent), Municipal
Affairs (-11.3 per cent), Culture (-9.8
per cent), and Energy (-9.6 per cent). In
the immediate aftermath of the budget
however, it was the smaller cuts that were
felt first and had the most significant
impact, as the effect on front-line services
to Albertans became apparent.
We’re stronger when
we work together
With the cuts to Michener Centre,
post-secondary institutions, Justice and
Solicitor General already leaving their
mark on the province (see the stories on
pages 10 &11), AUPE is organizing. Local
Chairs and Provincial Executive reps from
across the province drove through storms
to gather at the Delta South Hotel in
Edmonton the day after a March blizzard
immobilized huge swaths of Alberta.
President Guy Smith told the assembled
leaders that while the scope of the cuts
was too broad for headquarters alone to
respond to effectively, the union would
be there to provide support to whatever
responses each local and chapter in each
community was initiating.
ALBERTA POPULATION GROWING
FASTER THAN GOVERNMENT
182
176
175
167
167
167
164
164
163
163
161
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
NUMBER OF ALBERTANS
PER FRONTLINE
GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
TREND
DIRECT IMPACT 9
POST-SECONDARY
PURGE
PCs applaud their cuts: Cabinet ministers clapped for Finance Minister Doug
Horner’s cuts on budget day. Human Services Minister Dave Hancock (front
left) and Associate Minister Frank Oberle (rear centre) are responsible for
the decision to close Michener Centre.
Locals were already taking up the
charge. In Edmonton, members employed
by the Good Samaritan Society organized
rallies in response to a wave of layoffs
and hour reductions affecting hundreds
of employees. Held weeks apart, the
events drew massive media attention
to government funding cuts that were
crippling the quality of seniors care.
In Red Deer, AUPE was organizing a
response to the cuts at Michener centre,
and coordinating with resident’s families
who were already speaking out.
“Like our TV commercials say: we’re
stronger when we work together. We are
all in this together, and it’s going to take
each and every one of us working together
to be effective,” Smith said.
“Last year GSS members showed us
what can happen when our members have
had enough. You can stand up to cuts now,
and at the bargaining table you can say ‘no’
when the finance minister says you have
to take an effective pay cut while everyone
else’s wages are growing,” he said.
“I know what this union is capable of.
I’ve seen what we can do when we come
together. We’ve never been stronger and
better prepared to face these challenges
than we are today. And we’re 100 per cent
behind whatever action you decide to
take.”
NOMINAL WAGE INCREASES
GOVERNMENT SERVICES EMPLOYEES VS. ALBERTA AVERAGE WEEKLY EARNINGS
6%
5%
4%
3%
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
ZERO WAGE INCREASE IN 2010 & 2011 FOR
GOVERNMENT SERVICES EMPLOYEES
10 DIRECT IMPACT
2012
In Budget 2013 Enterprise and Advanced
Education suffered a 4.8-per-cent overall
cut. But the effect on services was far
greater, as the grant to post-secondary
institutions was reduced by seven per
cent. Making matters worse, the cut came
on top of a broken promise: in 2012 the
government told the post-secondary
sector to count on a two per cent-increase.
Enterprise and Advanced Education
Minister Thomas Lukaszuk also issued
“letters of expectation” to every campus
in Alberta. Writing to the Athabasca
University Board of Governors, he ordered
the university to “review the range of
programs offered” to ensure they are “in
demand by employers and students.”
In the media, Redford suggested many
academic programs were unnecessarily
duplicated across campuses.
In response, Athabasca University,
already labouring under the effects
of long-term underfunding and
mismanagement, laid off 44 employees
– 15 of them AUPE members – while
eliminating 33 vacant positions. Bow
Valley College revealed plans to privatize
its bookstore. Meanwhile, University of
Calgary Provost Dru Marshall warned that
“tough decisions” and “structural change”
would be required to balance the budget
in 2014, including potentially ending some
programs. Students and staff wouldn’t be
the only ones affected, according to the
U of C: the total effect of the cuts would
also take $210 million out of the local
economy.
The cost of the planned post-secondary
cuts was clear, according to U of A
political science chair Jim Lightbody.
“If the province forces universities to
centralize these operations, what they’re
doing is they’re really condemning the
children of people who live outside
the metropolitan area to a second-rate
education,” he told the Edmonton Journal.
BUDGET GOES SOFT ON
CRIME
Even as the government was getting ready
to throw open the doors to the massive
new Edmonton Remand Centre, streetlevel public safety initiatives were being
thrown out the window.
The end of electronic offender
monitoring programs, which provided
surveillance of convicts serving sentences
in the community, was announced the day
after the budget came down. According
to Local 003 Chair Clarke McChesney,
the surveillance program caught 10,000
violations of sentencing conditions a year.
“That’s more than 27 violations a day
by individuals serving probation and
GOVERNMENT
SERVICES
BARGAINING
conditional sentences in the community
that will go unnoticed. The question is how
judges will react to that – will they keep
more offenders in jail or will the community
bear all the risk?” McChesney wondered.
Rumors that the province was ending
the SCAN (Safe Communities and
Neighbourhoods) program to shut
down drug houses were immediately
criticized by people that benefitted
from the program. According to media
reports, last year in Calgary the unit did
190 investigations initiated by public
complaints, and shut down five drug
houses with 90-day orders.
“You’d call, and they’re there the same
day, not three days later. And they’re good,
interviewing all the neighbours, not just
taking one guy’s word for it,” Ron Gillies, a
Calgarian who saw SCAN get rid of a drug
house in his neighbourhood told the Sun
newspaper.
McChesney saw the benefits of SCAN
first hand. He reported a drug house next
door to his own home, where he estimated
upwards of 30 drug deals a day happening.
“SCAN got them shut down. They did
it quickly and with minimal disruption
to the neighbourhood. We can’t afford for
that program to disappear,” he said.
2013
AUPE STANDS FIRM
IN GOVERNMENT
BARGAINING
Meetings between the employer and the
General Services Bargaining Committee
began under the cloud of the 2013 budget.
In a closed-door scrum with reporters the
morning of the budget, Finance Minister
Doug Horner gave his position on public
service collective agreement negotiations.
“I budgeted for zeros and that’s what I
expect,” he said.
So it wasn’t surprising when the
government bargaining team refused
to table their monetary position in the
initial exchange of proposals. Horner had
effectively spoken for them. GSBC Chair
Guy Smith was blunt about the union’s
expectations.
“I told the employer’s representatives
that our members, who are delivering
services to Albertans everywhere, are
experiencing increasing demands on
workload as thousands of new Albertans
flood in every month,” said Smith.
The General Services Bargaining Committee (L to R): Dale Perry (Staff
Negotiator), Doug Knight (Local 002), Terrie Wispinski (Local 012),
Dan Niven (Local 004), Amanda McMurren (Local 003), Mike Dempsey
(Local 005), Donna Smith (Local 006), Darrol Mason (Local 009), Shelley
Makowski (Local 001), Guy Smith (Chair).
Smith noted that when the province
was in a recession, government employees
made sacrifices to get the economy back
on track. Alberta now has the second
hottest economy in Canada with Average
Weekly Earnings projected to increase by
3.5 per cent this year.
“AUPE’s wage expectations are
supported by facts: government employees
only received total wage increases of four
per cent between 2010 and 2013. In the
same time period, Alberta Average Weekly
Earnings increased by 13 per cent. We will
stand firm on our wage proposals because
they reflect the economy our members live
and work in,” he said.
A second round of meetings produced
more disappointment when the
government bargaining reps expressed
that they were “comfortable” with
current procedures that deny a fair
hearing to employees grieving disability,
discrimination, or workplace bullying.
“It was evident the employer was not
prepared to move into the 21st century
when it comes to these basic conditions of
employment,” said AUPE staff negotiator
Dale Perry.
DIRECT IMPACT 11
NEWS ON THE
LABOUR FRONT
Michener residents just collateral damage to
Redford government
When David Lough moved into Michener
Centre in Red Deer three decades ago,
he was on medication, in part to control
what younger brother Bill called his “white
rages.”
“He was a fantastic older brother,” Bill
says. “He was loving and fun, but you had
to be able to understand him. The hardest
decision we ever made was to have him
leave home and live somewhere else.”
David was a 200-pound man with
the cognitive capacity of a three-yearold. He needed continual supervision
and stimulation, but in the mid-1980s
programs for developmentally disabled
adults were few and far between. David
was frequently bored and frustrated, and if
people around him didn’t understand his
behavioral cues, it could quickly escalate
into a full-blown tantrum. When David’s
father died, the family was no longer able
give him the care and attention he needed.
That’s where the Michener Centre
came in. It’s a provincial facility for
developmentally disabled adults with
intense behavioral or medical needs. It has
high staffing levels, special equipment and
facilities that provide a safe, structured
environment. Unlike typical communityrun group homes, the staff have been there
for years and develop deep relationships
with their charges.
David lived at Michener for 27 years
until he passed away of natural causes
three years ago.
“He was happy and safe,” Bill says.
“They gave him his life back.”
His family frequently visited and took
him on outings, but he was always eager to
get back home to Michener. He no longer
needed to be medicated.
Bill believes so strongly in the program
that he has stayed involved and is now
president of the Society of Parents and
Friends of Michener Centre.
That’s why he was so angry when the
Redford government announced out of
the blue this month that Michener will be
shut down and its 125 residents shipped
off to group homes.
Bill Lough holds a photograph of his
brother David, who lived happily at
the Michener Centre in Red Deer
for 27 years.
12 DIRECT IMPACT
Frank Oberle, Redford’s Associate
Minister of Services for People with
Disabilities, insisted that evicting the
residents, many of whom are senior
citizens who’ve lived at Michener for
decades, will somehow give them more
dignity.
“Dignity” is one of the government’s
primary talking points on the Michener
evictions, and it’s been repeated with
almost Pavlovian frequency in the media
by a few special interest groups. But in
truth, it’s a deceitful and manipulative
diversion from the real issues.
In the early to mid-20th Century,
Michener Centre was known as the
Provincial Training Centre for Mental
Defectives. It was the epicentre of Alberta’s
monstrous eugenics program, where
people deemed unsuitable for the gene
pool were sterilized against their wills,
often without their knowledge. It was one
of the most shameful chapters in Alberta
history, but it ended over 40 years ago.
Since then the facility has transformed
into a stellar example of how to care for
developmentally disabled adults with
respect, compassion and yes, dignity.
Make no mistake about what’s really
going on here. The government is
removing highly vulnerable people
from a safe, nurturing place and people
they know and trust into the chaos of
uncertainty.
The reason? To save money and offload
responsibility for the residents onto
someone else. It’s about cutting the costs.
It’s about dumping responsibility for
maintaining old buildings. Most shameful
of all, it’s about the Redford Tories
wriggling out of their duty to care for
Alberta’s most vulnerable people.
In the eyes of this government, the
residents are just collateral damage.
*
If you want to send a letter to the
Redford Tories urging them to
keep Michener Centre open, go
to www.keepmicheneropen.com
NEWS ON THE
LABOUR FRONT
Wicked weather can’t stop labour school
A wicked Rocky
Mountain
winter storm
that dumped
close to 40
centimetres of
snow and brought winds as high as
80 kilometres per hour ushered more
than 200 members to AUPE’s 12th annual
labour school, held this year at the scenic
Delta Lodge in Kananaskis.
The storm eventually shut down
highways in southern Alberta and left a
handful of members unable to finish the
drive to Kananaskis until the next day.
Thankfully, the majority arrived safe and
sound on Sunday March 3 and settled in
to their classes.
Throughout the week, members
participated in important labour
education courses ranging from advanced
union steward, direct action, labour
history and leadership, to advanced
.com
occupational health and safety and duty to
accommodate.
“The education members receive at
labour school is top-notch. They leave
here with the knowledge and skills to be
leaders in the worksites and the broader
labour movement,” said AUPE President
Guy Smith.
Members were treated to special guest
speaker Lex Gill on Monday night. Gill
is the head of Concordia Student Union
in Montreal and was the leader of the
massive student strikes against tuition
hikes there last summer.
She discussed successful organizing and
mobilizing tactics and treated the crowd
to some inspiring videos of unity and
solidarity. Gill was also a guest facilitator
at this year’s direct action course.
At Tuesday’s dinner, a giant flash
mob circled the Olympic Ballroom and
encouraged members to “get on the bus”
and join them as they chanted union
power at the tops of their lungs. That
emptied seats in the ballroom as members,
staff and the executive joined the flash
mob.
Members also took time to talk
throughout the week about Monterey
Place in Calgary. They dedicated the large
school photo to that worksite, which has
been locked out since June 2012.
A video of solidarity from labour school
to Monterey Place was created and played
after dinner on Wednesday. The video has
since been sent to members on the line in
Calgary.
As the school wrapped up on Thursday
afternoon, members hopped on their
busses to head back home with minds full
of new information and the ability to use
that information at their worksites and in
their daily lives.
AUPE’s 13th annual labour school will
be held Feb. 23-27 in Banff.
START SPREADING THE NEWS!
yourworkingpeople.com features
principled journalism on issues
that matter.
sharing AUPE stories on social
media has never been easier.
Visit the website and start sharing online now!
www.yourworkingpeople.com
DIRECT IMPACT 13
NEWS ON THE
LABOUR FRONT
Auditor’s report shows bottomless
barrel for AHS expense claims
Black cards are the most exclusive of all
credit cards available today. They are
rare and line the pockets of some of the
wealthiest citizens on Earth.
Cards like the Eurasian Bank Diamond
Card are available to those who have more
than $300,000 in their bank account.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card is
available only to those making at least
$120,000 USD per year, and the Citigroup
Chairman MasterCard is exclusively
available to elite cardholders and comes
with a credit limit of $300,000. But they
are peanuts compared to the cards in
Alberta Health Services.
In February, Alberta’s Auditor General
revealed that Alberta Health Services
provides some staff purchasing cards with
credit limits up to a whopping $900,000.
The drastic plastic issue came to light
after some unusual and pricey items
claimed by an AHS senior executive last
summer prompted Minister of Health
Fred Horne to call in Alberta’s Auditor
of-the-ordinary in the
organization.
“Almost
$6-million
a month
went
toward
things like
travel, Calgary
Flames and
Calgary Stampede
tickets and video
games,” said AUPE
President Guy Smith.
“There are no guidelines to
follow or limits to spending
on things like hotel rooms,
airfare and meals. That’s got to
stop.”
Included in the Auditor
General’s report was the
revelation that close to $6.1
million in travel expenses
were paid by AHS for private
There are no guidelines to follow
or limits to spending on things like
hotel rooms, airfare and meals.
That’s got to stop.
Auditor General Merwan Saher
General. The audit dug into Alberta
Health Services systems for processing
expense claims, purchasing card
transactions and other travel expenses.
Allaudin Merali, the now-former AHS
executive vice-president and CFO, claimed
$346,208 in expenses between January
2005 and August 2008 for things like
wine, lavish meals, beer and service for his
Mercedes Benz.
Auditor General Merwan Saher
found Alberta Health Services spent
$100-million on expense claims in just
a 17-month period. The daunting fact
is that the types of claims Merali made
that outraged taxpayers were not out14 DIRECT IMPACT
contractors. Outrageously,
these private contractors were
not required to submit receipts
for their claims.
“Meanwhile, the government
and AHS are cutting home care,
eliminating Licensed Practical
Nursing positions at Capital Care
and closing an entire seniors’ unit
at Edmonton’s Royal Alexandra Hospital,
eliminating another 40 health-care
positions,” said Smith.
“We have been notified that more cuts
are coming,” he said. “It’s the kind of thing
that keeps you up a night.”
Smith said it’s Minister Horne’s job to
rein in outrageous spending on expense
claims and put that money to use on real
health services. “AHS must stop cutting
front-line services and closing seniors’
beds in light of these expenses. It’s Horne’s
job to make that happen,” said Smith.
{
EDUCATIONAL PULL-OUT
Steward Notes
VOL. 6 • ISSUE 2 • SPRING 2013
}
Your steward,
your choice
Union stewards attend meetings between
union members and employers when
their attendance is requested by a
member. It’s one of the duties stewards
have. It’s the member’s right to have a
steward present, but who that steward is
is the member’s choice.
The member may also choose to
have their Membership Services Officer
attend meetings and may do this if
they do not want anyone from their
worksite to know certain details of the
meeting. Although a steward must keep
the contents of meetings confidential,
UNION STEWARDS ARE THE
FRONT LINE OF DEFENCE
FOR UNION MEMBERS IN THE
WORKPLACE. STEWARDS
PLAY ONE OF THE MOST
IMPORTANT ROLES IN THE
LABOUR MOVEMENT.
by Wendy Webber
Membership Services Officer
a member may not want coworkers to
know personal information.
So what happens if an employer
requests you to be the union steward at
a meeting?
First, you should let the employer
know that the member gets to choose the
steward, not the employer.
Second, you should speak privately
with the member before the meeting. Let
them know that the employer asked you
to be in attendance as the union steward,
and that it’s up to them to allow you to
stay or not.
STEWARD NOTES 1
Your steward, your choice
You should also contact the MSO and
let them know the employer asked you to
attend the meeting as the steward.
If the member is okay with you
attending the meeting, in front of the
member, let the employer know the
member has approved your attending as
a steward.
If the member is not okay having you
represent them, go to the employer and
advise them that the member is not
satisfied with you as their steward. Ask
the employer to give the member time to
find a representative of their own.
meeting. However, it’s unusual for an
employer to refuse the member time to
find their own union representative.
If the employer is still insistent the
meeting go forward, the member has the
option to attend the meeting alone or
have you attend with them.
If the employee insists you not attend,
in a private meeting advise the employer
that in recent arbitrations, some forms
of discipline have been overturned by
arbitrators due to lack of proper union
representation. Inform the employer the
member does not want you to represent
If the employee insists you not attend, in a
private meeting with the employer advise the
employer that in recent arbitrations, some forms
of discipline have been overturned by arbitrators
due to lack of proper union representation.
The employer should then postpone
the meeting until the member finds a
representative.
If the employer refuses to postpone
the meeting, the member still has the
right to decline your attendance at the
them, that the employer is proceeding
even though you have advised them
the member does not wish to have you
as their representative, and that the
member will be attending the meeting
alone.
Continued
Again, suggest the member be given time
to find appropriate union representation. If
you know who the employer participants
are, note them down.
Finally, call your MSO and make them
aware of the situation. The MSO may
want to have a meeting or conversation
with the Human Resources Department
to remind them that the member/
employee has the right to choose their
own representation.
Although the member has the right to
choose their union representation, that does
not mean a member may put off a meeting
if their MSO is on a six-week holiday. If
the employer insists, the member should
obey, and note the details of the incident in
writing for later argument.
Ideally, the employer should give the
employee a reasonable amount of time to
find their choice of union representation.
Either a union steward on site, their
MSO or a cover-off MSO. Sometimes
the amount of time is dictated in a
collective agreement and sometimes
it is just a suggestion of a “reasonable
amount of time.” Whatever the language,
it’s the member’s right to choose the
representative they want. The employer
should not be doing it for them.
PEACE RIVER
HAVE QUESTIONS?
GRANDE PRAIRIE
CONTACT YOUR
MEMBER SERVICES OFFICER
CALL 1-800-232-7284
ATHABASCA
EDMONTON
CAMROSE
RED DEER
CALGARY
LETHBRIDGE
Have your local/chapter number and worksite
location ready so your call can be directed quickly.
2 STEWARD NOTES
“I’m out of Kleenex. Am I
allowed to go get more?”
Answers about illness leave
Often when an employee calls in sick for
work, they think they must be in bed or
lying on the couch to truly be considered
ill. They also believe they cannot go
outside for fear of the employer seeing
them and not believing they are ill.
An employee goes on illness leave for
a variety of reasons, including but not
limited to:
• They have been injured at work and
are on Workers Compensation.
• They have been injured outside of
work and cannot fulfill their duties.
• They are having surgery and will be
recovering.
• They have a medical problem and are
under a health care professional’s care.
• They have a minor medical problem
and are off work to get well (i.e.
headache, cold, minor strain).
Many members will call their
Membership Services Officer or Union
Steward to ask if they can go somewhere
or do something while they are off on
illness leave, especially if they are off for
more than one day. So what are the general
guidelines for activity on illness leave?
What a member can do
A member can go to the store or
pharmacy when they are on illness
leave. They are also allowed to leave
their house to attend appointments
with doctors, dentists, and other health
professionals without fear of reprisals
from the employer.
A member on General Illness, Short
Term Disability, or Long Term Disability
does not have to stay home 24/7. Their
health care professional will advise them
as to what they can do to stay healthy and
active with their condition. If the member
is advised to swim or walk by their doctor,
then they can do those things.
What a member cannot do
An employee should never call in sick
from one employer and go to work for
another employer for the same hours
they are on illness leave. Illness leave
benefits are income replacement so an
employee does not lose income while they
are sick. To claim illness benefits from
one employer while working for another
employer is grounds for discipline, and
may be grounds for dismissal.
A member should not call in sick from
one job, then go to a shift with another
employer later that same day, even if
they are feeling better. The employer
may feel the employee was not really ill
if they discover the situation. Even if the
member was feeling better, it would be
by Wendy Webber
Membership Services Officer
are posted online. There are also times
where the employer has found out
about the event from discussions in the
coffee or lunch room. The employer will
request a meeting with the member, and
discipline is possible.
What a member may be able to do
Attending seminars, conferences,
meetings, and union events while on
illness leave should only be on the advice
of the member’s health care professional.
Current practices of allowing employees
to return to modified duties have also
created a situation where the employer
can question why a member can attend
union events but not work. It is important
in this case for members to keep their
health care professional informed and to
seek their advice.
A member on General Illness,
Short Term Disability, or
Long Term Disability does
not have to stay home 24/7.
almost impossible to prove. The situation
could lead to discipline.
An employee should not call in sick,
then go to a social event on the same
day. Employers are monitoring social
media like Facebook and Twitter,
and will almost certainly find out the
member attended a social event if photos
Meetings between the employer
and the member are generally not
recommended while the member is on
illness leave. If a meeting is necessary
before the member can return to work,
for whatever reason, the member should
contact their MSO and their health care
professional for advice.
STEWARD NOTES 3
{
Labour
Education
Upcoming courses and training
For information on any of these courses or
to register please call 1-800-232-7284
Edmonton
Calgary
Red Deer
Introduction to
Your Union
Introduction to
Your Union
Introduction to
Your Union
May 1
June 14
Union Steward
Level 1
June 25-26
Union Steward
Level 2
June 11-12
May 1
June 14
Union Steward
Level 1
June 25-26
Union Steward
Level 2
June 11-12
Contract
Interpretation
Contract
Interpretation
OH&S Advocate
Level 1
OH&S Advocate
Level 1
Apr 30
June 27
Apr 23-24
June 19-20
OH&S Advocate
Level 2
Apr 30
June 27
Apr 23-24
June 19-20
OH&S Advocate
Level 2
June 6
Union Steward
Level 1
June 13-14
Union Steward
Level 2
May 28-29
Contract
Interpretation
May 22-23
OH&S Advocate
Level 2
Apr 17-18
Respect in the
Workplace
Union Officer
Training
Union Officer
Training
Union Officer
Training
4 STEWARD NOTES
Apr 9-10
June 5-6
Executive Director
Ron Hodgins
Editor
Mark Wells
m.wells@aupe.org
Wendy Webber
w.webber@aupe.org
Respect in the
Workplace
Apr 9-10
June 5-6
Vice-Presidents
Jason Heistad
Erez Raz
Carrie-Lynn Rusznak
Glen Scott
Susan Slade
Karen Weiers
OH&S Advocate
Level 1
Respect in the
Workplace
May 31
Executive Secretary-Treasurer
Bill Dechant
June 7
May 7
May 31
President
Guy Smith
Writers
Tyler Bedford
t.bedford@aupe.org
May 15-16
May 15-16
Steward Notes is published by the Alberta
Union of Provincial Employees to provide
information of technical interest to AUPE
Union Stewards, worksite contacts and
other members. Topics deal with training
for union activists, worksite issues, disputes
and arbitrations, health and safety, trends in
labour law, bargaining and related material.
For more information, contact the editor.
June 18-19
Design
Jon Olsen
The goal of Steward Notes is to help
today’s AUPE union stewards do their
jobs effectively. To help us, we encourage
readers to submit story ideas that deserve
exposure among all AUPE stewards.
Story suggestions for Steward Notes
may be submitted for consideration
to Communications Staff Writer Tyler
Bedford by e-mail at t.bedford@aupe.
org or by mail. Please include names and
contact information for yourself and
potential story sources.
Alberta Union of
Provincial Employees
10451 - 170 Street NW
Edmonton, AB T5P 4S7
T: 1-800-232-7284
F: (780) 930-3392
info@aupe.org
www.aupe.org
NEWS ON THE
LABOUR FRONT
At the same time, SAIT’s vice
presidents saw their salaries increase
26 per cent, along with $58,000
performance bonuses.
Interestingly, the bonus is the
same as the instructors’ starting
salary.
AND
“There’s a bit of resentment on my
behalf for the fact that they are claiming
poverty and taking exorbitant – and in
some instances just obscene – payments
for
themselves,”
committees
ing
ain
rg
ba
r
cto
se
on
ati
Spurgeon told
Educ
ts
en
em
ttl
se
ick
qu
for
re
the Calgary
warned of pressu
Herald.
AUPE’s staff negotiators told
seminar participants that there’s no
justification for wage freezes. It’s a hot
labour market, Alberta has the lowest
unemployment in the country, there’s
high demand for skilled workers and the
government’s own data shows that average
Don’t panic. Be patient. Don’t let the
weekly earnings went up 3.5 per cent last
employer’s gloom and doom predictions
year in Alberta.
frighten you into a quick – and weak –
AUPE staff negotiator Dale Perry said
settlement.
that if employers are pleading poverty,
And if you feel your resolve weakening,
it’s because of financial mismanagement.
take a gander at the obscene raises and
“It shouldn’t be up to employees to pay
bonuses senior management get. That
the price for management or government
ought to help you stay focused.
bungling. Why should AUPE members,
That was the prevailing message at a
or any other employees for that matter,
two-day seminar held in February for
subsidize them?”
nearly 70 bargaining committee members
Participants were told that they have
in AUPE’s education sector. It’s a busy time
every
right to expect fair market increases
in the sector, with 11 separate bargaining
in
their
collective agreements, but it will
units heading to the table in 2013,
take
patience
and resolve to achieve them.
including two wage re-openers. Another
For
months
leading up to the release of
five bargaining units will head to the
the
Redford
government’s
2013 provincial
bargaining table in 2014. These bargaining
budget
in
March,
Tory
politicians
hinted
units represent 4,600 AUPE members in
at dramatic belt tightening. This, they kept
various organizations, nearly half of the
repeating, was caused by the lower than
entire sector.
anticipated price of oil sands bitumen,
The seminar was held two weeks before
resulting in lower royalty payments to the
the Redford government released the 2013
government.
provincial budget, which slashed funding to
Critics of the Redford government say
post-secondary institutions by 6.8 per cent.
the problem isn’t the price of oil — it’s the
Seminar participants learned what
province’s tax regime that allows the wealthy
can happen if they’re not patient. One of
and corporations to get out of paying
the guest speakers was Doug Spurgeon,
their fair share. They also argue that the
president of the SAIT faculty association.
government is manufacturing a fake crisis
After just a few weeks of negotiations,
to convince the public that drastic measures
his association’s members voted
are needed, when in fact they aren’t.
overwhelmingly in favour of a collective
And that, said AUPE President Guy
agreement that froze their wages for the
Smith, is why it’s critical for bargaining
next four years.
KEEP
CALM
BARGAIN
ON
teams to mobilize and communicate
effectively with their members especially
during collective bargaining.
“There’s going to be a lot of employer
spin over bargaining, and it’s really
important that the channels of
communication within the bargaining
unit are open,” he said. “The more
knowledgeable and connected the
membership is, the more strength and
solidarity there is to get a fair collective
agreement.”
It’s also critical for employee groups
to work together with students and their
families, who will also be expected to
shoulder the burden of the cutbacks. At
the same time that it’s cutting funding, the
government says it expects the amount
of money students borrow for their
education to skyrocket 21 per cent, on top
of a 30-per-cent increase the previous year.
“If inflation and population adds 4.2%
to expenses and the government cuts
6.8%, then students and their families will
end up paying more for a lower quality
education,” warned Smith.
BARGAINING ON
Education sector bargaining units
heading to (or already at) the
negotiating table:
2012
Norquest College
Evergreen Catholic Separate
Regional Division
Edmonton Catholic School Division
Living Waters Catholic Schools
2013
NAIT
SAIT
Athabasca University
Lethbridge College (wage reopener)
Olds College
Lakeland College
Medicine Hat College (wage reopener)
Grande Prairie Regional College
Portage College
Bow Valley College
Red Deer College
DIRECT IMPACT 19
NEWS ON THE
LABOUR FRONT
Local 003 rallies at
Solicitor General’s office
to demand respect for
corrections workers
WHO’S GOT OUR BACKS?
If you think a peace officer’s job is
predictable, possibly dull, think again.
Just ask the sheriff who on Feb. 26 was
shot in the hand while on court duty in
Whitecourt. Two local men, appearing
on drug charges, now face charges of
aggravated assault, assault with a weapon
and escaping custody over the incident.
Or how about the commercial
enforcement officer who was crossing
a highway near Drayton valley with his
emergency lights flashing on Feb. 28
when his car was rammed by another
car? The force of the collision flipped the
officer’s vehicle, which slid into a third car.
Remarkably, no one was gravely injured.
Then there are corrections workers.
They go to jail every day and spend
each shift with people too dangerous to
be out in society. In some institutions,
notably Alberta’s large remand centres,
correctional peace officers face a daily
barrage of threats and verbal abuse.
Frequently those threats turn into real
attacks.
20 DIRECT IMPACT
You would be forgiven if you didn’t
realize how many peace officers are out
there, keeping Albertans safe. They’re
not in the public eye that much. AUPE
represents nearly 3,000 peace officers
employed by the Government of Alberta.
Most are working behind the walls of a
jail, keeping courtrooms safe, or patrolling
an isolated stretch of highway. They do
Peace officers don’t go looking for
recognition, McChesney said, but they
do want to know that their employer
understands and appreciates the risks
inherent in the job, and that when
something goes awry, the employer has
their backs.
“We’re all professionals,” he says. “We
are expected to behave and perform our
We are expected to behave and perform our jobs
in a professional manner. But we also expect to
be treated that way by our employer.
their jobs with little fanfare or public
acknowledgement.
“We all go into it with our heads up,”
said Clarke McChesney, chair of Local
003 (correctional and regulatory services).
“We know what we’re getting into
when we sign up. It can be stressful and
dangerous, but we’re proud of what we do.”
jobs in a professional manner. But we
also expect to be treated that way by our
employer.”
That’s been a sore point with some
corrections workers who in recent years
have felt scapegoated for system-wide
problems like overcrowding in the Calgary
and Edmonton remand centres.
NEWS ON THE
LABOUR FRONT
“Our members feel like whenever there’s
a major incident that gets the public and
media’s attention, management goes on
a witch hunt so they can blame staff and
ignore the real issues,” he said.
It came to a head in January, when
scores of Local 003 members and their
supporters rallied outside Solicitor
General Jonathan Denis’ Calgary office.
The protest came on the heels of the firing
of three CPOs at the Calgary Remand
Centre after a prisoner was severely
beaten, allegedly by the two other inmates
sharing his cell. AUPE is grieving the
dismissals.
“Instead of addressing the problem of
triple bunking at Calgary Remand, the
staff members get blamed. The question
we were asking the minister is, ‘who’s got
our backs?’” McChesney explained. “It’s
reached the point that some CPOs are
second-guessing themselves and their
training, and that puts them and their
coworkers at risk.”
After the rally, senior Solicitor General
managers agreed to meet with AUPE
officials to discuss the problem.
Meanwhile, AUPE is planning a public
awareness campaign to highlight the
valuable contribution corrections workers
make.
This all comes as the government
prepares to open the brand new, $580million Edmonton Remand Centre. With
a capacity of nearly 2,000 inmates, it will
be the largest jail in Canada. It replaces
Edmonton’s much smaller, dangerously
overcrowded downtown remand.
“We still have some occupational health
and safety concerns about the new centre,”
McChesney said. “We’re meeting with
management before it opens to go over
them, and we will be following up to make
sure they’re addressed.”
McChesney says he’s cautiously
optimistic that management/employee
relations in the corrections branch will
turn the corner. “I think we’re finally being
heard. Whether that results in positive
change remains to be seen, but we’re going
to keep pushing for it.”
new
the Edmonton Remand Centre
When the new Edmonton Remand Centre on the city’s north side
opens in April, it will be Canada’s largest jail. It replaces the 33-year-old
downtown ERC, which has long been dangerously overcrowded. Here are
some of the new ERC’s impressive stats:
FACILITY
CAPACITY:
1,952
APPROX.
INMATE
POPULATION
AT OPENING:
INMATES
1,400
711
114
OPERATIONAL
STAFF*
NON-OPERATIONAL
STAFF AND
MANAGEMENT*
825 TOTAL STAFF*
* When ERC is at full capacity
STAY
INFORMED
SAVE
PAPER
UPDATE
YOUR
EMAIL
TODAY
UPDATE YOUR INFO AT
www.aupe.org/update-me
When it’s time for your
worksite to bargain
a new collective
agreement, you need
to stay informed.
Bargaining updates and
more are now available
by email.
AUPE only has home
email addresses for one
in five members. Update
your contact information
with AUPE’s Records
department and your
employer in order to help
us keep you informed.
Your home email is vital
to helping us keep you
informed. We will never
sell or give away your
contact info to thirdparties, and you can optout at any time.
TOTAL COST:
0
0
0
,
0
0
0
,
0
8
$5
DIRECT IMPACT 21
NEWS ON THE
LABOUR FRONT
Upheaval, uncertainty hangs
over new energy watchdog
As the deadline looms for the launch
of Alberta’s energy industry watchdog,
frontline workers are left with more
questions than answers.
“Some managers are openly saying
that this won’t be ready by June,” said one
AUPE Local 005 member. “And we’re
hearing that some oil and gas companies
are putting applications on hold because
of the ambiguity.”
Said another: “The idea of a one-stop
shop for all permits might be a good
idea, but this transition period could be a
disaster.”
In December the Redford Tories passed
the Responsible Energy Development Act,
which paves the way for single regulator
for all energy resource development. The
act combines six conservation statutes —
presently overseen by several government
departments — and paves the way for a
single regulating body.
The new body, at this stage called simply
the Alberta Energy Regulator, is supposed
to be up and running by June.
Environmentalists and landowners have
harshly criticized the new act. They argue
that the supposed streamlined process
actually restricts who can challenge permit
applications and limits the appeal process.
Meanwhile, frontline government
employees in the departments that
currently oversee all regulations, permits
and enforcement in the energy industry
have been under a cloud of uncertainty
over their careers.
About 400 Government of Alberta
employees will see their work transferred
over to the new regulator, which will
be an arms-length, non-union agency
governed by its own board of directors.
They can apply for employment with the
new regulator, and if they want to stay
with the government, they will be found
“meaningful work” within the GOA.
“I’m not even sure what that means,”
said one member. “My expertise is with
something the government isn’t doing any
more. If I want to stay I have to change
careers.”
AUPE is working with the members
to find the best situation for them. In
the end, the government claims that
no jobs will be lost, but whether all the
upheaval improves the regulatory system
for Albertans and companies working in
Alberta remains to be seen.
Support Social Justice Education in Our Schools
The Aspen Foundation brings community values of social justice and a respect for
fairness and equality to the classroom. The Foundation for Labour Education works to
educate youth to allow them to work, live, and participate fully in a democratic society.
AFLE encourages the use of materials, resources, and speakers in our schools that reflect
the best traditions in community values and democratic principles of our society.
How can I contribute?
Please mail your charitable donation to:
Aspen Foundation for Labour Education
11 Bonin Place, Leduc AB T9E 6H6
Charitable donations can be made online:
www.canadahelps.org
“Supporting
Labour and Social
Justice Education
in our Schools”
For more information:
Phone: 780-986-1745
Email: afle@telus.net
Website: www.afle.ca
The Aspen Foundation for Labour Education is now a recognized charity by Canada
Customs and Revenue Agency (BN 881720510RR0001). You can support labour and
social justice education in our schools with your charitable donation.
22 DIRECT IMPACT
NEWS ON THE
LABOUR FRONT
Months on the picket line forge strong bonds
Monterey picketers redefine the term “solidarity”
Janet Matusewycz’s knees were bothering
her again. Nearly 280 days on a picket line
had taken a toll on her.
“I had surgery two years ago, but it’s
gotten worse again since we’ve been out
here, ” said Matusewycz, a health care aide
and rec therapy aide at Monterey Place
seniors facility. Her doctor told her not to
stand for more than 30 minutes at a time,
so she takes frequent breaks relieve the
pressure on her joints.
It was early March, and at that time
there was no end in sight to the longest
labour dispute in AUPE history.
Despite the nagging physical
discomfort, she faithfully continued her
vigil on the sidewalk outside the northeast
Calgary facility through the long, cold
winter. Asked what kept her from giving
in, Matusewycz replied without hesitation,
“I believe in what we’re fighting for. I
believe in our worth.”
Monterey Place’s owner, Triple A Living
Communities, locked out its 90 employees
on June 26, 2012, in an effort to force
them to accept a collective agreement that
would keep them among the lowest paid
continuing care workers in Alberta. Prior
to the dispute, the members of AUPE
Local 048 Chapter 006 were paid up to 27
per cent below the industry standard, and
if Triple A had its way, that gap would be
even wider.
Rather than give in to Triple A’s bullying
tactics, the picketers endured blistering
summer heat, driving rain and bitter
winter winds. It has been, by far, the
longest labour dispute in AUPE history.
“It’s been hard at times,” Matusewycz
admitted. “But through all this, we’ve
built such a strong bond with each other.
When one gets down, the others are there
to pick them up. We’ve gotten to know
one another in a very personal way, like a
family. When you’re on the job, you don’t
get to spend as much time together getting
to know one another. We have built some
really solid friendships from the heart.”
The picketers, the majority of whom
are immigrant Canadians, come from all
over the world – Africa, the Middle East,
Asia, South and Central
America. Matusewycz
was born in Ireland.
“Everyone brings
(traditional) food to
share,” she said. “The
sharing is wonderful.”
After the lock-out
ends, Matusewycz said,
“a lot of these bonds will
hold for life.”
SAVE THE DATE
OCTOBER 17, 18 & 19
AUPE CONVENTION 2013
www.aupe.org
DIRECT IMPACT 23
SOUNDING THE ALARM ON SENIORS CARE:
While Alberta Health Services fiddles with funding and
privatization, elderly Albertans pay the price
by Andrew Hanon, Communications Staff
As one exasperated Royal Alexandra
Hospital employee put it: “Whenever the
government decides to cut back, the first
people they pick on are seniors.”
It certainly seems that way. Public
seniors care has been under fire since the
summer of 2012, when Alberta Health
Services abruptly decided to close the
Little Bow Care Centre, a long-term care
facility and major employer in the village
of Carmangay, one hour south of Calgary.
Since then things have only gotten more
bleak. More of AHS’s small town, longterm care facilities, which provide care
for the highest-needs elderly people, face
cutbacks and closure. The AHS long-term
facility in Stettler is being downsized to
make way for a taxpayer-funded private
24 DIRECT IMPACT
facility, while another in Bashaw is being
shut down entirely and the residents
moved to a not-for-profit facility that’s
opening nearby.
On March 1, AHS changed the way
it calculates funding for long-term
care facilities and warned that over the
next three years, 50 facilities will see
their budgets slashed. Some non-profit
organizations felt the effects immediately.
CapitalCare, which operates five longterm care facilities around Edmonton,
slashed the hours of its nursing staff,
mean eliminating 40 full-time LPN and
55 Health Care Aide positions. The Good
Samaritan Society, which operates in
B.C. and Alberta, cut back nursing hours
affecting 250 staff.
“Disgusting”
And then there’s the baffling decision to
close down one of the “transition units”
at the Royal Alex in Edmonton, barely a
year after they were hailed by the health
minister as one of the best ways to reduce
wait times and save money in the health
care system.
Here’s how they work: Because of a dire
shortage of assisted living and long-term
care spaces, many seniors and other
high-needs Albertans end up waiting
months — years, sometimes — in acute
care hospitals until they can be placed in a
suitable home.
It costs untold millions every year and
creates delays throughout the acute care
system, from longer waits in emergency
rooms to cancelled surgeries because beds
are taken up by patients who should no
longer be in a hospital but have nowhere
else to go.
Two years ago the government
announced the introduction of transition
beds, spaces specifically designed for
people who no longer need acute care but
must wait for placement elsewhere. The
innovation was hailed as an enormous
success, with wait times in other areas
plummeting.
Just a few months after their
introduction, then-Health Minister Gene
Zwozdesky raved to the media, “I can
tell you in many sites, we’re seeing an
improvement (in ER wait times) from
anywhere between 20 and 30 per cent.”
The decision in January to close one
of the 30-bed transition units at the
Royal Alex caught everyone off-guard,
particularly the AUPE members who
staffed it.
“They just did a bunch of upgrades six
months ago,” said one. “What a waste. It’s
disgusting.”
Until it was closed, Unit 18 was special
among transition units. It was equipped
to handle people with the most intense
needs — dementia patients, homeless
people with addictions and people with
chronic disease. At the time the closure
was announced, five patients had been
there for a year waiting an appropriate
placement. It was common for patients to
be there three months.
“We called some of the dementia
patients ninjas,” said one staff member,
laughing affectionately. “We had to keep a
very close eye on them because they were
always trying to sneak out.”
She recalled one patient, a large man
with cognitive impairments who spoke no
English. If anyone spoke to him, he would
become frustrated and uncooperative.
“It took a bit of time, but we soon found
that if we used gestures to explain what
we wanted, he was fine. If he had been in
a regular (acute care) unit, the staff would
have been very pressed to find the time
to figure it out,” the staff member said.
“It’s always a big learning curve with new
patients. We also charted everything like that
so it was easier for the new caregivers when
a patient got placed. At times we’ve felt like
wizards solving these intricate riddles.”
While that’s going on, non-profit
agencies are seeing their funding slashed,
forcing layoffs and cutbacks to services for
clients.
The government claims it’s revamping
the way it’s paying providers for care, but
so far all that’s happened is reductions to
public and not-for-profit organizations.
Capital Care in Edmonton saw 48 licensed
practical nurse positions eliminated. The
Good Samaritan Society’s cutbacks will
affect 250 nursing staff. Some will have
their jobs eliminated entirely while the
majority’s hours will be cut back. Bethany
Care Society Society cut 53 positions.
Albertans have seen plenty of examples
of the risk of handing responsibility for
seniors care over to private corporations.
Two cases in point: Monterey Place in
northeast Calgary and Symphony Aspen
Ridge in Red Deer.
Monterey’s owner, Calgary-based Triple
A Living Communities, locked out 90
AUPE members in June 2012 to pressure
them into accepting a collective agreement
that will keep their wages well below the
industry standard. Throughout the lockout
there was a growing chorus of complaints
from some residents and their families
about poor care from the replacement
workers, including medication mix-ups
and terrible food
Symphony Senior Living cancelled its
contract with Alberta Health Services
to provide 49 assisted living beds in Red
Deer— not because of money losses, but
because they simply weren’t lucrative
enough to keep the entire facility’s profit
margins at a staggering 30 to 40 per cent.
“Private seniors care has been around
for a long time,” he said. “But the pace
and scale with which the government is
handing over money and responsibility
to the corporate sector is unprecedented.
There needs to be more accountability
for what these corporations do and more
transparency with their contracts.”
He added, “and equally important,
there’s no need to sacrifice the public
system to corporate interests. Public
seniors care has served Albertans very
well and we need to speak up and fight to
preserve it.”
AUPE members
demonstrate
outside the
Royal Alexandra
Hospital in
Edmonton after
Alberta Health
Services abruptly
shut down one of
its transition units.
DIRECT IMPACT 25
FIVE DAYS TO FAIRNESS:
The strike at Red Deer’s Aspen Ridge
by Tyler Bedford, Communications Staff
“They’re my family. This is my home. This is
my community. I love them.” – Tina Larsen,
Health Care Aide, Symphony Senior
Living Aspen Ridge.
Emotions ran high as the strike/lockout
at Symphony Senior Living Aspen Ridge
began the afternoon of Jan. 28 in Red
Deer. But the caregivers who walked were
ready to stay out as long as it took to get
a first collective agreement that treated
them and the seniors they care about with
the respect and dignity they deserve.
As it turns out, that took just five days.
Their story, however, began close to a year
and a half earlier.
In Sept. 2011, negotiations between
AUPE and Symphony Senior Living
began. It was the first time the Aspen
26 DIRECT IMPACT
Ridge worksite had been organized and it
was clear from the beginning bargaining
with the Ontario-based employer would
not be easy.
Symphony wasn’t going to budge on
wages. The industry standard wasn’t even
an option if it meant walking away from
their outrageous profits.
Following a year of tough negotiations,
both sides entered into mediation.
Mediation collapsed in Nov. 2012 when the
employer told the union they would not
operate without a 30 to 40-per-cent profit.
“To sustain the profit margins
Symphony demanded meant the company
would have had to continue spending less
on caregivers and less on essentials for
seniors,” said AUPE President Guy Smith.
“There was no way these caregivers were
going to let the quality of care go down so
profits could go up.”
Members at Aspen Ridge weighed their
options as the weeks passed following the
collapse of mediation. A strike vote was
held Jan. 2 in Red Deer. Caregivers voted
overwhelmingly in favour of strike action
if necessary.
After supplementary talks failed, there
were no more options to weigh. Strike
notice was given to the employer on Jan.
22. Symphony served staff with a lock-out
notice at the same time. Job action was to
begin on Friday, Jan. 25.
Symphony called in a notorious security
company with a history of intimidating
caregivers on picket lines to bully Aspen
Ridge members. They set up black SUVs
at every entrance and installed high-tech
security cameras that gave them a bird’s
eye view of the entire property. Residents
felt intimidated by the security guards and
by the Guantanamo Bay-style makeover
the company did at their home.
Just hours before Aspen staff were set
to walk off the job, AUPE and Symphony
Senior Living mutually agreed to postpone
all job action so both sides could meet in
a last-minute effort to attempt to resolve
the dispute.
And that’s when the bomb dropped.
During the 11th hour talks, Symphony
agreed to pay caregivers the fair market
rates they had denied Aspen Ridge staff. But
the offer was a poison pill: in return for fair
wages the employer demanded the right to
terminate any employee without cause.
“It was an attempt by the employer to
roll back the most basic of labour rights
“The employer’s demand forced AUPE
to file for an emergency hearing with the
Alberta Labour Relations Board, alleging
bad faith for pushing bargaining to an
impasse over such a basic right,” said
AUPE negotiator John Wevers.
Close to 130 Licensed Practical Nurses,
Health Care Aides and other specialized
staff at Symphony Senior Living Aspen
Ridge hit the picket lines at 1 p.m. on
Monday, Jan. 28.
Support for the caregivers from
residents, their families and the
community of Red Deer was strong from
the outset.
“They have a reason to fight, they have
been treated shabbily,” a resident, who
wished not to be named, told Global News
as she joined the caregivers on the picket
lines in a show of support.
“The staff at Aspen Ridge are fantastic.
They know my mom so well. I’ve never
It was an attempt by the employer
to roll back the most basic of labour
rights in Canada by 100 years
in Canada by 100 years,” said Smith. “That
forced members onto the picket lines.”
“Just cause” provisions in collective
agreements give employees the right to
grieve discipline and see that discipline
reversed or substituted with a lesser
penalty if an arbitrator deems the employee
innocent or otherwise finds fault in the
employer’s rationale for discipline. It is the
equivalent of an employee’s day in court.
had to worry about her needs and wants,”
Pam Williamson, daughter of an Aspen
resident told AUPE from the strike lines.
Williamson’s mom, who has dementia, has
been a resident at Aspen Ridge for five years.
Williamson’s mom requires a lot of
care. Because of that, her mom and the
staff have become very close. The staff
have “been treated terribly. They’re shortstaffed, doing double shifts, it’s incredibly
sad they are treated like this.”
Dean Cowan’s wife is a resident at
Aspen Ridge and suffers from late-stage
Alzheimer’s.
Cowan told the Red Deer Advocate
that Symphony has had a very high staff
turnover rate because of its lower wages.
Thankfully, a stable core of wonderful
workers have remained, he said.
“In this case I am extremely supportive
of the workers,” Cowan said.
This support stayed strong throughout
the final week of January and on Feb. 1,
news spread that a tentative agreement
had been reached between the union and
employer after just four days of job action.
“Members were ecstatic an agreement
had been reached in such a short amount
of time. They knew the reasons for going
on strike were valid. So did the residents,
their families and the community.
Reaching a tentative agreement after such
a short amount of time made them realize
the employer knew it too,” said AUPE
negotiator John Wevers.
The next day, Aspen Ridge members
voted to accept the tentative agreement
they had fought so hard to get. They had
their first collective agreement.
“The agreement brought members up to
the industry standard wages they deserve
for the hard and important work they
do every day,” said AUPE President Guy
Smith.
“The union also negotiated important
workplace rights, including just cause
provisions,” Smith said.
At 7 a.m. on Feb. 4, Aspen Ridge staff
went back to work caring for the seniors
they bravely took a stand for. Their heads
were held just a little bit higher.
President Guy Smith speaks to media and the picket line in Red Deer
as Aspen Ridge employees began their strike on a bitterly cold day.
DIRECT IMPACT 27
LOCALS: 047/011, 047/009, 047/012, 047/016, 047/022, 047/029, 047/044, 048/014,
048/007/008/010/016, 048/019, 058/016, 071/003, 118/002, 118/010, 118/109
LABOUR RELATIONS BRIEFS
News on Local Bargaining
December 3 - March 4, 2013
Local 047/012
Local 118/109
St. Thomas Community Health
Centre: Employees join AUPE
Alberta Terminals: Agreement
ratified
Employees at the St. Thomas Community
Health Centre in central Edmonton are
the newest members of AUPE, following a
worksite vote held Feb. 26.
In addition to providing francophone
health services to the community, St.
Thomas is also a designated assisted
living and enhanced assisted living facility
with 138 beds. The new AUPE members
work in both Auxiliary Nursing Care and
General Support Services at the facility. A
desire to enhance the quality of care for
their clients and residents was the impetus
behind joining AUPE.
Bargaining for a new collective
agreement will begin in the coming
months.
Members at Alberta Terminals, a division
of Cargill Ltd., ratified a new collective
agreement on Feb. 25. The four-year
agreement was ratified by a sizeable
majority of the membership.
Highlights of the agreement, which
expires on Dc. 31, 2016, include: wage
increases of 3 per cent in each of the first
three years of the contract, and 3.5 per
cent in the final year; a $0.20 increase to
weekend premiums and changes to trigger
times, giving members more access to the
premium; safety footwear and clothing
allowance improvements; layoff and
severance pay improvements; and benefits
plan increases.
AUPE represents 27 employees at
Alberta Terminals in Edmonton and
Lethbridge.
Local 118/010
County of Northern Lights:
Agreement ratified
A new collective agreement was ratified
Feb. 26 between the County of Northern
Lights and Local 118/010. The three-year
agreement was reached over the course of
only two days of bargaining.
Highlights of the agreement, which
expires Dec. 31, 2015, include: wage
increases of 3 per cent on Jan. 1, 2013 and
2014, and 3.25 per cent on Jan. 1, 2015;
introduction of a Summer Student rate;
one additional special leave day per year,
and the ability to carry over special leave
days to the following year to a maximum
of 15 days; extension of paid time off
for medical appointments to part-time
employees working 0.5 FTE and above;
and an increase in boot allowance to $130
per year.
The County of Northern Lights is
located in northwestern Alberta. AUPE
represents approximately 30 employees of
the County.
28 DIRECT IMPACT
Local 047/016
St. Michael’s Long Term Care
ANC: Agreement ratified
Members at St. Michael’s Long Term
Care Centre in Edmonton and Grove
Manor in Spruce Grove ratified a new
collective agreement on Feb. 25. The
three-year agreement continues to provide
these members with industry-standard
compensation.
Highlights of the agreement, which
expires June 30, 2015, include: wage
increases of 3 per cent in each year of the
agreement; supplemental vacation benefits
for long-service employees; increases to
the Flexible Health Spending Account
to $500 over the last two years of the
contract; and language improvements
that allow an employee to return to their
previous position during the trial period
of a new position.
AUPE represents over 100 Auxiliary
Nursing Care employees at the two facilities.
Local 047/009
Place Beausejour: Application
for mediation
After only one day of bargaining, AUPE
has filed for mediation with the Beaumont
Supportive Living Society on behalf of the
staff at Place Beausejour, a continuing care
facility in Beaumont.
Bargaining for the first collective
agreement for this unit has been
problematic. The union has already
filed two complaints with the Labour
Relations Board, and filed for mediation
immediately following the first day of
bargaining on Feb. 8.
AUPE represents approximately 50
staff members at Place Beausejour in
Beaumont, which is four kilometres south
of Edmonton.
Local 047/029
Edmonton Chinatown Care
Centre: Application for
mediation
A mediator was requested in early February
for negotiations between AUPE and the
Edmonton Chinatown Care Centre.
There has been a lack of clarity from the
employer on a variety of issues, and other
compensation such as night shift premiums
and health benefits remain at issue.
AUPE represents approximately 80 staff
members at the facility.
Local 048/007, 008, 010,
016
Carewest ANC: Application for
mediation
AUPE applied for mediation in late
January in negotiations with Carewest
on behalf of the Calgary long-term care
provider’s auxiliary nursing care staff.
At issue are the terms of the flexible
health spending account and other
benefits, as well as the employer’s
insistence on rolling back layoff and recall
language in the collective agreement.
AUPE represents over 1700 employees
of Carewest in both ANC and GSS
classifications.
Local 047/044
Waterford at Summerlea:
Majority vote to strike
Mediation concluded for the employees
at Waterford at Summerlea on Jan. 9, and
the mediator wrote out of the process
on Jan. 14, opening the door for a strike
vote at the west Edmonton assisted living
facility. A solid majority of employees
voted in favour of strike action Mar. 6,
which brought the employer back to the
bargaining table.
Key issues are term of the agreement,
shift/weekend/in charge premiums, sick
leave benefits, health benefits, and salaries.
AUPE represents approximately 60 staff
members at Waterford at Summerlea.
Local 047/022
Venta Care Centre: Agreement
ratified
Employees at the Venta Care Centre
ratified a new collective agreement in a
worksite vote on Jan. 24. The three-year
agreement, which expires July 31, 2015,
continues to give staff at this private,
for-profit seniors care facility industry
standard compensation.
Highlights of the three-year agreement
include: wage increases of 3 per cent on
Aug. 1 of each year of the agreement,
starting in 2012; life insurance increase to
$100,000 per year; dental benefit increase
to $3,000 per year and orthodontic
increase to $3,000 per lifetime; and the
introduction of a direct-pay drug card
(80%).
Venta Care Centre is a 148-bed facility
in north Edmonton. AUPE represents
the approximately 160 ANC and GSS
employees at the facility.
Local 118/002
Town of Bonnyville: Agreement
ratified
Employees of the Town of Bonnyville
ratified a new collective agreement in a
vote on Jan. 22. The four-year agreement,
expiring Dec. 31, 2016, was achieved over
the course of a short, positive round of
bargaining.
Highlights of the four-year agreement
include: wage increases of 3, 3.5, 4, and
4 per cent on Jan. 1 of each year of the
agreement, starting in 2013; addition of
$100/year clothing allowance for inside
workers in 2013; Easter Monday and ½
day Christmas Eve added to paid holidays;
pay in lieu of benefits increase to 6 per
cent for temporary and term employees,
starting in 2014; pay increases of $0.25 for
standby and shift and weekend premiums
in 2014 and 2015 respectively; and
overtime increase to 2x base rate of pay in
2016.
AUPE represents approximately 60
employees of the Town of Bonnyville.
Bonnyville is located approximately 250
kilometres northeast of Edmonton.
Local 047/011
Shepherd’s Care Vanguard:
Employees join AUPE
Employees at the Shepherd’s Care
Vanguard site in north Edmonton joined
AUPE following a worksite vote in mid
January.
AUPE represents several other
Shepherd’s Care sites, and management at
Vanguard were applying pieces of those
collective agreements at Vanguard. The
main impetus behind the staff joining
AUPE was to have their own agreement
that reflected the specific conditions at
their site.
The 115-unit care facility, which opened
in 2011, employs approximately 90
employees in auxiliary nursing care and
general support services.
Local 071/003
Evergreen Catholic Schools:
Application for mediation
After a difficult start to bargaining, AUPE
applied for mediation in negotiations with
the Evergreen Catholic Separate Regional
Division No. 2.
The employer tabled nothing but
rollbacks at the start of negotiations,
and even after a clearing of the decks,
continued their regressive negotiating
stance. AUPE applied for a mediator, and
one was appointed on Jan. 8.
Evergreen Catholic Schools serves five
communities west of Edmonton: Devon,
Hinton, Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, and
Westlock. AUPE represents approximately
20 employees of the school division.
Local 048/019
AgeCare Valleyview: Agreement
ratified
Employees at Medicine Hat’s Valleyview
Retirement Community ratified a threeyear collective agreement on Dec. 28,
2012, that will make their wages and
benefits comparable to industry standard
rates. The agreement was reached with the
assistance of a mediator.
Highlights of the three-year agreement
include: a first-year signing bonus; 3-percent wage increases each of the following
two years; improvements to weekend shift
premiums; and a retirement plan.
Valleyview is owned by AgeCare, an
Alberta based private, for-profit operator
of seniors facilities. It has nearly 100 beds
in total, including 30 long-term care.
Medicine Hat is located approximately 300
kilometres southeast of Calgary.
Local 058/016
AHS GSS Lethbridge: Imaging
employees join AUPE
Following a reconsideration vote on Dec.
19, 2012, the employees at the Alberta
Health Services imaging department in
Lethbridge voted to join AUPE.
The worksite of with 18 employees
was one of the many small and widely
scattered non-union AHS worksites,
which date back to 2003. In April that
year, the Alberta government passed
legislation that combined all Auxiliary
Nursing Care (ANC) and General Support
Services (GSS) bargaining units into single
region-wide units that corresponded to
the Health Regions.
The few worksites that were without
union representation before 2003 had
their non-union status “grandfathered”
in the legislation until such time as the
employees voted to join their ANC or
GSS bargaining unit’s union. Over the
last three years, AUPE has brought union
representation to 20 such worksites across
the province.
Local 048/014
Newport Harbour: Arbitration
award issued
Following an arbitration award in midDecember 2012, employees at Newport
Harbour Care Centre in Calgary will be
receiving compensation very close to
industry standards at the end of their new
agreement on Mar. 31, 2015.
The union and employer mutually
agreed to interest arbitration just prior
to the expiry of the Dispute Inquiry
Board appointment, and the report
from the arbitrator was issued Dec. 12.
Compensation for ANC and GSS staff
at the facility will increase significantly
by the end of the agreement, and major
improvements to shift, weekend, and night
differentials were awarded.
AUPE represents approximately 130
staff members at the north Calgary care
centre.
DIRECT IMPACT 29
S
FO CUP
ON AU E
More than 200 AUPE members, plus course facilitators and staff,
pose for the 2013 Labour School photo in scenic Kananaskis. The
large group dedicated the picture to members at Monterey Place in
Calgary who have been on strike since last summer.
AUPE President Guy Smith welcomes members
to the 2013 AUPE Labour School.
Special guest sp
ea
Concordia Stud ker Lex Gill, president of th
e
en
organizing and t Union in Montreal, disusses
direct action te
chniques with
AUPE members
at Labour Scho
ol.
30 DIRECT IMPACT
Members in the advanced occupational health and safety
course participate in a class exersise lead by class facilitator,
Diana Kee.
Social Workers: Advocating for Albertans
Across Alberta, Registered Social
Workers can be found helping others.
Often, you will find us advocating for
those who are not able to speak for
themselves.
As social workers, we are on the front
lines, urging government to repair major
cracks in our social infrastructure and to
adopt social polices that look after the
needs of vulnerable Albertans.
Alberta’s income disparity gap is a good
example. A growing gap between the
haves and have nots has resulted in more
homelessness, more working poor, an
affordable housing crisis and many other
social problems.
Access to resources to meet basic human
needs is every person’s right. Alberta’s
6000 Registered Social Workers are
advocates for fairness and social justice.
Advocacy is a fundamental aspect of our
professional ethics and at the heart of
what we do.
Registered Social Workers (RSW):
The professional standard in social work
The Alberta college of Social Workers regulates social work practice in Alberta. Its primary
focus is to serve and protect the public interest by promoting skilled and ethical social work.
www.acsw.ab.ca
HELP ENRICH A
SENIOR’S LIFE
You can volunteer to provide much needed
companionship to an isolated senior in your community.
Visitors and drivers are needed in your neighbourhood to
help seniors with grocery shopping, share stories, go for
walks, or drive them to and from medical appointments.
Please contact Alberta Health Services Home Care at
780-735-9545 to get in touch with a Volunteer
Coordinator in Edmonton and the surrounding area,
or visit www.albertahealthservices.ca to find your local
Home Care office. Help give back to those who made
Alberta the great province it is today!
MEMBER ASSISTANCE
PROGRAM (MAP)
Confidential Counselling Services for
AUPE General Service Members
and Their Families
What is MAP? MAP is an AUPE sponsored program
of confidential counselling, designed to help
members and their families resolve their personal
and professional issues, stresses, and traumas and
thus improve their overall health, well-being, and job
performance.
Counselling services covered by this program
To arrange counselling or receive more
information contact CMR Canada at:
1-800-567-9953 or
by e-mail: cmr@cmrcanada.ca or
find us on the web at
www.cmrcanada.ca/AUPEmap.htm
All arrangements will be made for you.
Your confidentiality is guaranteed.
CMR Canada
•Aging Parents
•Anger Management
•Bereavement
•Career Issues
•Emotional Problems
•Family Problems
•Fatigue
•Harassment
•Health Concerns
•Marriage Preparation
•Marital Problems
•Physical or Sexual Abuse
•Relationship Issues
•Single Parenting
•Stress
•Substance Abuse/Addiction
•Trauma
www.aupe.org
Publications Mail Agreement: 40065207
RETURN UNDELIVERABLE CANADIAN ADDRESSES TO
ALBERTA UNION OF PROVINCIAL EMPLOYEES,
10451 170 St. NW, Edmonton, AB T5P 4S7