Willing to strike: Huge turnout in unprecedented AUPE vote while province claims market woes

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Some 23,000 members of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees who are directly employed by the province showed unprecedented turnout and support in last week’s strike vote.

For the subset of the larger 100,000-member AUPE, it was the first major test of union laws compelled by Canada’s Supreme Court a decade ago that acknowledged the constitutional right of workers to full collective bargaining rights and strikes.

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With an 80 per cent turnout of members eligible to vote, and 90 per cent voting in favour of strike action if necessary, Western Canada’s largest union showed “huge engagement,” said AUPE president Guy Smith.

“We’ve never, ever had a strike vote this large before. It’s the first time we’ve done this in our 106-year history, hold such a large strike vote. And you know, you’re never quite sure how it’s going to go until you put it in the hands of the members. The members are always right, but I’m so proud that they are engaged and aware of what’s going on.”

Strike action is somewhat restricted by essential service agreements declaring certain critical services must be provided during a strike.

Of the estimated 23,000 members, about 25 per cent are deemed “essential services” and exempted from taking strike action, including members who are correctional officers and sheriffs who uphold the operation of law and order, and some in social services.

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Finance Minister Nate Horner started Tuesday’s news conference with the day’s market price of oil, at US$63.85 — a changing figure much touted as central to Alberta revenues and corresponding fiscal planning.

Noting the “novel situation” the government finds itself in, Horner said his focus is ensuring “a fair deal looking at the market evidence.”

“What I’ve been saying is that a strike or a lockout won’t change the market data,” he said.

Government pressure with talk of economic woes is nothing new to the negotiation process, Smith said.

“Always the price of oil comes up, and it’s always, ‘The government fiscal situation’ that really is a barrier to overcome. However, we’ve seen some recent collective agreements negotiated in this province that we believe fully do recognize and respect the contribution that those workers make,” Smith said.

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“Like every Albertan — every worker in this province — they were absolutely devastated by the high inflation of the past few years, and now they’re trying to play catch up. And as a union, it’s our role and responsibility to our dues-paying members to support them in doing that.”

If anything, the turnout for the strike vote should tell the Government of Alberta of the strike-readiness and frustration its workers are feeling, he said.

AUPE’s direct provincial employees have been at the bargaining table with government for more than one year without reaching a mediated settlement.

In that time, the union has come down to a 24 per cent wage increase over four years.

That’s not coming down enough, said Horner.

“When they walked away from the table, they were still asking for twice as much as the nurses got. So there’s a big, big gap,” Horner said.

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“You can’t be that far apart and walk away from the table.”

The province has secured the corresponding lockout licence, calling it an option, but no decisions have been made as yet amid AUPE claims of wanting to come back to the table, Horner said.

“They’ve got 120 days to strike a deal before that time. I’m confident that I have no intention of letting this play out that long. If they’re serious about coming back to the table, we’ll be there,” he said.

While more than 100 settlements remain unresolved, Horner said the province has settled 49 out of 164 negotiations.

“We’ll see where it goes. Nobody wants to see this kind of disruption, but we have contingency plans.

“I never thought it’d be this tough to give the biggest wage increases people have seen in multiple decades, but here we are, and we’ll continue the work,” Horner said.

Over the past decade, AUPE’s direct provincial employees have had two rounds of negotiations, neither of which ended up going to a strike vote. Both were settled at the table, with the last round of bargaining in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic that limited travel and interaction with members, Smith said.

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“During COVID, we were most concerned about everyone’s health and safety and making sure of the services our members provided to Albertans during a very scary and critical time,” he said, citing new strength shown in recent strike actions by postal workers and Alberta education support staff.

“Public sector workers are starting to stand up and fight back. I think what you’re seeing is that workers are finding their voice and they’re finding their strength, and it is our responsibility as a union to make sure that that voice is heard,” Smith said, anticipating more labor disruptions, with dozens of collective agreements still at the bargaining table among AUPE’s total membership of 100,000 members — among them employees with Alberta Health Service, Covenant Health, post-secondary institutions, ATB, AGLC and others — with fellow union member support expected at the bargaining table and on the picket lines if necessary.

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“It’s a huge amount of support that they’re showing each other. We’re calling the government back to the table to negotiate seriously so we can get this done and avoid any disruption.”

jcarmichael@postmedia.com

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