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Edmonton Journal
13-05-2025
- Business
- Edmonton Journal
Willing to strike: Huge turnout in unprecedented AUPE vote while province claims market woes
With an 80 per cent turnout of members eligible to vote, and a 90 per cent voting in favour of strike action if necessary, Western Canada's largest union showed 'huge engagement." AUPE members held an information picket on 106 Street in Edmonton on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, to protest and spread awareness of what they say is a staffing crisis in the Family Support for Children with Disabilities and the Persons with Developmental Disabilities programs that is causing vulnerable Albertans to wait more than 18 months to access the support they need. The union said the government hired 30-40 people in 2024 to address case overloads but are now ending those contracts. Photo by Shaughn Butts / Postmedia 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. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by David Staples, Keith Gerein and others, Oilers news from Cult of Hockey, Ask EJ Anything features, the Noon News Roundup and Under the Dome newsletters. Unlimited online access to Edmonton Journal and 15 news sites with one account. Edmonton Journal ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. 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Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors 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. Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 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. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. '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. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. '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. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. '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. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. '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@ Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don't miss the news you need to know — add and to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters . You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun Politics Cult of Hockey Cult of Hockey Sports Edmonton Oilers
Hamilton Spectator
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
UCP faces barrage of disability and accessibility questions after rally-goers call for action and ‘meaningful consultation'
The NDP bombarded cabinet last week with questions and statements critical of the province's treatment of persons with disabilities. The onslaught by more than a dozen members of the Opposition caucus challenged the UCP on Alberta's lack of accessibility legislation, its dollar support for people with disabilities, and its approach to housing, health care and home care. Also on the hit list were wait times for services and programs, access to sports and recreation facilities, transportation in rural areas to and from appointments, and the evacuation of persons with disabilities during wildfires. The torrent came the same day that demonstrators with disabilities, their advocates and their allies rallied outside the legislature building. The ACT Now rally on May 6 called for immediate action on accessibility legislation and income support, along with 'meaningful consultation' with the community. For its part, the UCP accused the Opposition of ignoring its own record on the disability file while in power. Jason Nixon, the minister of seniors, community and social services, said he'll commit to 'continuing to fix the NDP mess in the disability space.' His government was accused of being opaque, cruel and non-inclusive in its processes under the Persons with Developmental Disabilities program. 'You want to talk about cruelty?' Nixon responded. 'That was (the NDP) continuing to bring forth consecutive budgets with no indexation, no increases to the major disability allowance, and completely abandoning the disability community and, more shockingly, continuing to force those who are on AISH that want to participate in employment to be punished, to have their wages clawed back for their hard work.' AISH stands for Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped, a monthly personal allowance in Alberta of up to $1,901. Nixon, the member for Rimbey-Rocky Mountain House-Sundre, continued that 'on this side of the House we're proud to stand with the disability community, and we're proud to make programs that work for them and are the most generous and beneficial programs anywhere in this country.' Of the provinces, only Alberta and Prince Edward Island have no accessibility legislation. Through the Accessible Canada Act of 2019, the federal government is pushing for a barrier-free Canada by 2040. Legislation of this type typically paves the way for further actions over time, like the creation of standards and regulations, planning and strategic documents, reporting and monitoring structures, and even new bodies. In 2018 without accessibility legislation in place — federal or provincial — the NDP under Rachel Notley created the Advocate for Persons with Disabilities. Christina Gray, the NDP's leader in the assembly, said a lack of accessibility legislation locks 'hundreds of thousands of disabled Albertans' out of workplaces, schools and safe housing. Effects include poverty, isolation, unemployment and difficulty achieving basic levels of participation in society, she said. 'These should be priority issues for this premier,' said Gray, who characterized Danielle Smith as preoccupied with airing grievances with Ottawa. The premier also wants to distract Albertans from charges of corruption involving services procurement, she claimed. 'When will this government finally bring forward legislation?' Smith said a comprehensive review of programs involving persons with disabilities is underway through Seniors, Community and Social Services. A new assistance program is giving people with disabilities more options, she said. The province has increased money going to caregivers and is digging into what's behind waitlists in the Persons with Developmental Disabilities program. 'There are a lot of issues that have to be dealt with in (Nixon's) department, and he's working through them one at a time,' said the premier. One issue the NDP raised multiple times is that those receiving AISH won't be getting a further $200 through a federal disability benefit that starts in July. That's because 'this Premier believes AISH is enough,' said Marie Renaud, the NDP's shadow minister for community and social services. 'This premier gave her MLAs a housing allowance increase, citing affordability, but AISH recipients, nothing for you. Why?' asked Renaud, the member for St. Albert. But Nixon said AISH is $500 more than the allowance in comparable provinces and is the highest in Canada. 'To be very clear, the AISH benefit in our province is not changing,' he said, noting that the government is committed to keeping it indexed for inflation. Nixon added that spending continues to increase though the UCP putting 'more than the NDP government every dreamed of' towards disability services. Nixon repeatedly pegged UCP disabilities spending at $3.6 billion this year. Statistics Canada defines a person with a disability as someone 'whose daily activities are limited as a result of an impairment or difficulty with particular tasks.' In 2022 the agency found that about eight million Canadians, or 27 per cent of the population aged 15 or older, reported having at least one disability. That's about twice the percentage reported 10 years earlier. The province has said that in 2022 the percentage for Alberta was more than 21 per cent, which works out to more than one million people. Luanne Metz, the NDP member for Calgary-Varsity, said people with disabilities in Alberta have reduced access to health care that 'the rest of us take for granted.' Noting that the province's own disability advocate recommends legislation, she pointed to diagnostics equipment access, rural transportation for medical appointments and emergency room treatment as especially difficult for people with disabilities. Said Metz, a medical researcher and physician: 'For those of you who think the health system is not meeting their needs, let me assure you that it's even worse for people with disabilities.' Sharif Haji, the NDP member for Edmonton-Decore, mentioned a family 'collapsing under the pressure of unmet needs' as they wait for support through one program. Despite having a profoundly disabled daughter, the family have been waiting a year for a contract under Family Support for Children with Disabilities and have been told it could take another three years, he said. The UCP has 'essentially stopped FSCD intake,' Haji charged. Nixon responded that the FSCD budget is up about $30 million this year, saying intake does continue. 'We also acknowledge that a multi-decades-old program like FSCD has challenges (and) that we're working through a process to change.' The program was created when about one in 10,000 kids were diagnosed with autism, he said, while today the rate is one in 10. 'The difference between us and the NDP, though, is that we have the courage to fix these things,' said Nixon. Lethbridge-West MLA Rob Miyashiro of the NDP singled out funding cuts to three organizations providing community services for people with disabilities. Miyashiro said the groups in Lethbridge, Edmonton and Calgary lost a combined $420,000 in provincial money. Later cautioned by the speaker for insinuating that the UCP would intentionally harm Albertans, Miyashiro said: 'Will this minister just admit that these cruel cuts to services suggest that this government is obsessed with bullying our most vulnerable citizens?' Nixon said, however, that the organizations still receive $33 million 'to do their work' and that the province is being strategic about where it puts its money. Decisions are about 'making sure every one of the dollars. . .goes directly to helping people.' Samir Kayande, the NDP's chair of analytics and part of the leader's senior advisory team, said improving accessibility is the right thing to do as a caring society. There's also an economic case for disability legislation, he said. Research shows that GDP increases with the rising employment of people with disabilities. Kayande, the member for Calgary-Elbow, criticized research from what he called 'hard-right think tanks' that cherry-pick data and blame people with disabilities for the challenges they face. Persons with disabilities deserve fulfilled lives of dignity, he said. 'Our values as Albertans who care for each other demand it. Any of us could end up with a disability at any point in our lives.'
