Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner continues to taunt the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees with an offer for its civil service bargaining unit that is lower than that achieved by other unionized public-sector workers.
In a provocative statement published Friday on the official Government of Alberta website, Mr. Horner accused AUPE of lying to its own members by suggesting to them their recent 90-per-cent-plus strike vote could push the United Conservative Party Government to sweeten its offer.
In his statement, Mr. Horner also threatened to lock most of the 23,500 AUPE members out of their jobs. (A few thousand, which both sides have agreed are essential, would still be legally required to show up for work.)
As I wrote in this space after AUPE President Guy Smith announced the bargaining unit’s mandate from 80 per cent of the bargaining unit’s members on May 13, an offer of four years with 3-per-cent annual pay increases could be what it takes to get things moving toward a settlement.
After all, this is what the government emphasizes in the agreement public-sector health care employers reached with the United Nurses of Alberta, and which the nurse union’s members overwhelmingly ratified on April 2.
Instead, judging from the belligerent tone of Mr. Horner’s statement Friday and the fact the government hasn’t moved off its pay offer of 3 per cent, 3 per cent, 2.75 per cent and 2.75 per cent over four years, which AUPE found insulting 10 days earlier and obviously still does, it would be tempting to conclude the UCP Government wants a strike.
One hopes that is not so. It would be pretty dumb. Nevertheless, there are sure to be people in the UCP who think precipitating a strike could pay off if they impressed the public by acting tough and then blamed the union for the resulting mess. That’s been known to work for right-wing governments before.
But it would be a pretty bold move for a government that is already divided internally, picks fights right and left with other Canadian governments, and is pushing for a separation referendum that could badly hurt all of Canada, all the while trying to suppress a major corruption scandal, dismantling public health care, and failing to deal effectively with a policy-promoted measles epidemic.
Given all that, we should hope that if Mr. Horner’s game of chicken fails to move the union, as seems likely, the government will conclude it needs to sweeten the pot a little more.
If things go pear-shaped, it probably wouldn’t take much to push this into a strike. Since their strike vote, AUPE members can walk out any time with only 72-hours’ notice. In addition, in early May, the government, which in the case of this bargaining unit negotiates directly with the union, applied for and received permission to lock out AUPE’s members in the event of an impasse. So the government could also theoretically pull the trigger after 72 hours’ notice.
About the best you can say about a government that allowed that to happen is that it would be an ambitious strategy! Many would conclude, though, that it was more evidence of sheer incompetence on a scale not witnessed in Alberta since the 1930s, and maybe not even then.
At any rate, Mr. Horner started his statement with the traditional hypocritical tip o’ the hat to the public employees the union represents, while complaining about their union. The government “values and appreciates the hard work” of the civil service, he insisted, before getting down to the nasty stuff.
“Unfortunately, union leadership has not been forthright with its members and sold the idea that a successful strike vote would provide more leverage at the bargaining table,” Mr. Horner went on. As history shows, though, that’s pretty much how collective bargaining is supposed to work, and usually does.
The strength of the union strike vote does suggest that without a deal AUPE could hold out long enough to force the government to go to the Legislature to order the strikers back to work – which would, of course, require them to answer to the Opposition in the House for overriding the workers’ constitutionally protected right to strike.
Independent Lethbridge-based journalist Kim Siever provided a line-by-line analysis Friday of what he called “yet another anti-worker message from yet another neoliberal finance minister.”
On his AlbertaWorker.ca website, Mr. Siever pointed to the government’s insulting initial offer, the way it describes 11.5 per cent as “about 12 per cent,” how it terms its bargaining position an “offer” and the union’s as a “demand,” and its little fib about the size of other Alberta wage settlements. (Some are a lot bigger than Mr. Horner claims.)
In response to Mr. Horner’s hypothetical complaint about how if every other public sector worker got what AUPE is seeking, that would be enough to pay for “two years of funding for kindergarten to Grade 12,” Mr. Siever makes the excellent point that Alberta’s irresponsible decision to set taxes so low we can’t keep the lights on when the price of oil drops is a choice.
Mr. Horner’s statement concluded with his threat and a patronizing suggestion: “If AUPE leadership continues to be unreasonable and unrealistic, the situation could escalate to a strike by government workers or a government-initiated lockout. Neither option is desirable. I encourage AUPE leadership to come back to the table with realistic aspirations. Contingency planning is ongoing to support core government services in the event of a strike or a lockout.”
The government and the union are scheduled to meet with a mediator in June. Perhaps the government should come back to the table with a realistic offer.
With close to 100,000 total members in health care, education, boards, agencies and municipalities in addition to the civil service, AUPE is the largest union in Alberta and one of the dozen largest in Canada.
Time for the unions to coordinate a general strike, in my opinion.
I hope to see this. It’s what the Alberta electorate deserves.
You are right, and the time is ripe, even if the rural rednecks and separatists will come out from the corn in droves. UCP have all enriched themselves all the while clawing back $200 from on most needy, and AUPE have had a ring side seat to their depravity, their incompetence, and their agenda to ruin Alberta. They will be resolute and stand up for the real Alberta.
Well of course, the United Clown Party wish to see a strike, rather than a lockout. That way they can blame the Marxist LGBT infested union. The rural types will eat it up. Yup, Alburda strong n’free shure snuff.
Oh, and for every strike day the government saves millions in wages not paid, clever buggers right.
Perhaps the government should spend less money ordering mass quantities of useless children’s medications and storage facilities for them. Or maybe it could pay reasonable and realistic prices for surgeries in the public system instead of demanding less for more in private surgery centres.
Alberta’s most unreasonable and unrealistic government is in no position to give advice it doesn’t follow.
A general strike is a dumb move and tht is from some one who spent 28 yrs as a union member and involved in strikes. if you fire all your ammo first, then you have nothing for later. A general strike is also going to piss off a lot of people you’d like to keep on side. Back in the day, Bill Bennett days as premier of B.C., there were marches, 50K person rallies, etc. Some of the non governmental groups wanted a general strike. The big unions weren’t all that keen. As one put it, the community groups have nothing too loose. The Unions do. Think very very carefully about a general strike. Usually you can get most of what you want if you are smart. Many of the strikers would be acting illegally and I do remember when Grace Hartman went to jail and Jean Claude Perriott of the Postal Union.
illegal strikes can land people in jail, unions have to pay large fines, being ordered back to work, the list goes on. If you want to find an answer with out a general strike, find something the Government really doesn’t want out there or given how some of those voters are a little weird when it comes to various social issues, go have some fun. Spending money on newspaper ads works really well. a good P.R campaign works well
Divide and disrupt– sounds very similar to what is going on with Canada Post: union leaders vs employees, who said what?
Just out of curiosity, let’s just say that there was a strike, and that it took some time to settle, even with essential staff working, this will still mean awhile to catch up on shelved/stored/post-poned work; so would this have any impact on things like by-elections, provincial and federal? If Nate decides to lock them out, I’m going to be watching with interest in the timing to what other “events” are going on.
Sidebar— Remember when, back in the day, we used to say TGIF !
Now it’s: F-WTHN (politely)
Which just adds insult to injury to my way of thinking, because only the “lucky ones” worked Mon-Fri…and all the rest that worked evenings, weekends and holidays must be busy working to notice the Friday afternoon “hit and runs” .
So Mr Horner gets another plum job; while Marlaina is off endorsing Tara Sawyer, though by the signs you’d think it was the other way around.
‘Spidey senses are on full alert”
What we *need* to start happening in union negotiations that often used to be standard–is wages tied to inflation. But corporations and governments weakened unions and forced them to tank that demand, decades ago. A double-digit increase is not unreasonable for a workforce that’s been scrimping by for decades through declining wages vs. inflation ratios for over two decades.
Nobody minds a small percentage wage hike IF the members’ buying power wasn’t tanking with the economy. Now, inflation is so bad, workers need larger wage hikes just to stay behind but afloat.
The UCP is gambling that non-union workers are struggling so hard that they see their union siblings as “rich and entitled”–instead of the message we should be pushing that low-wage workers shouldn’t be low-wage non-union workers in the first place. Everyone deserves fair pay.
Every time I hear the words “appreciate your work” from an employer I fight back the urge to retch. Okay then, throw us a balloon party with clowns then UP THE WAGES & BENEFITS.
The fact that the UCP is feckless with taxpayer dollars, never saved money in booms and refuses to tax the wealthy at a responsible rate isn’t the fault of workers.
All of this points to sheer incompetence and lack of planning. Again, not the fault of workers.
Horner has no problem with $280,000 rugs for Marlaina’s office or $70 million for drugs that were dangerous to children or junkets for UCP members (especially to places like Florida during the winter months) or the millions of dollars it takes to provide most UCP caucus members with cabinet postings, but as soon as the folks who do the actual work want a fair wage he spouts off about the cost.
The front line has taken zeros for many years (even under the NDP) and are looking to not fall further behind. Note too that the UCP voted themselves a large raise this spring.
In Marlaina’s world there is always money for insiders and oil company CEOs; never any for workers. Her contempt for the little people who work on the front lines is boundless. She can barely contain her hatred for nurses and teachers who are paid from the same taxpayers as she is.
I hope this government doesn’t try to score political points by locking out their workers, but it might prove a useful distraction from the corruption scandals they have brought upon themselves.
It doesn’t help negotiations when the finance minister puts out inflammatory statements full of lies and deliberately provocative language. Thankfully, the AUPE hasn’t taken the bait knowing that a 90% mandate from the workers means that most of them have had enough and aren’t falling for UCP lies anymore.
One small correction. The Alberta Government has chosen to set royalty rates on oil and gas so low we have missed out on having a multi-trillion dollar Heritage Fund like Norway’s. That is bad choice number one. Record volumes of oil and gas are being exported from Alberta thanks in part, to Justin Trudeau’s thoughtful gift of buying and doubling the Trans-Mountain Pipeline. Bad choice number two was the decision to lower corporate taxes and shift that burden onto workers/farmers/ranchers and small business.
Kang: Norway followed what Peter Lougheed did. The rest of the Conservative governments in Alberta did not. Very substandard tax policies, while using volatile oil revenues to pay the bills. No nest egg. Quite a pathetic legacy.
“If AUPE leadership continues to be unreasonable and unrealistic, the situation could escalate to a strike by government workers or a government-initiated lockout.” If there’s anything bone headed politicians are good at, it’s threatening the membership and insulting their choice of leaders. How to unite workers in one easy lesson.
Jim Stanford’s article today in the Star is a must read. Of the many issues he highlights are a 10% decline in real wages over the past 10 years in Alberta – worse than any other province / electricity, insurance and tuition costs (governed by provincial regulations) higher than any other province in last year, a 52% increase in oil production in the last year with the help of tax payer’s purchase of the 35 billion TMX, record oil company profits – “$192 billion over the last four years alone — four times more than in the entire 2010s. Corporate profits gobble up a huge slice of Alberta’s GDP: about 40 per cent of total output over the last five years, twice as much as the rest of Canada.” Maybe it’s time for another “Fair Deal Panel” that truly reflects what is fair for all Albertans.
https://www.thestar.com/business/opinion/lets-drop-the-phoney-alberta-versus-canada-nonsense-the-province-has-met-the-enemy-and/article_94bd26a0-d22d-47e9-9fa8-a367efc784da.html
On top of a possible AUPE strike, there’s a looming teacher strike.
Well, it is called negotiations but when it starts to get serious then there’s always some intimidation involved – on both sides. All good valid points from Mr. Siever but now that the Union has the strike mandate they will be looking at the big picture, the things you point out; how stable is the govt, UCP internal dissent, public sentiment, member solidarity, etc. As much as the past wage freezes bug the workers that is history and unfortunately you can only get that back slowly over several subsequent contracts if ever. A mediator or arbitrator won’t seriously consider it.
Pushing this to a strike does seem like a big gamble for the UCP but maybe they’ll try it on. I suspect they’re just flying by the seat of their pants to see how things unfold on their other multiple fronts. The lockout talk sure seems to be an empty threat but I don’t know not being in Alberta. If we’re talking about an 11.5% offer vs 12% needed to get things moving then they’ll get back to negotiations unless the gov’t wants to have a strike for some other reason.
The Hillbilly Horner needs a song? Boy howdy! I got a lesson for him! https://youtu.be/PFoiSFpN_us?t=3
I don’t think that the Minister should threaten union members, nor should the Minister tell make pre-negotiation judgments on what is reasonable compensation.
“Reminds me of the taste of wild hickory nuts.” That might have been Yule Gibbons’ posthumous warning to the UCP that foraging for a redoubt of the feral Freedumbite man who ‘don’t need no dang unions’ is really just an advertising gimmick composed of bygone icons, cringeworthy canards, persistent prejudices, and cleverly deceiving holy water solemnly tapped from the finest, most jumpable shark tanks in the country. He also might have warned that iconic ads can become social memes which subsequently trail a carefully concocted persona with type-cast fabulation that springs across the spectrum from campy humour to the kampfy rumours of lowest Q-Anon quality—except that Mr Gibbons passed away unexpectedly from an aortal aneurism and was unfortunately unable to debunk the theory that the peri-famous wildcrafter had accidentally poisoned himself while “living off the land.”
Who knows how these urban myths get started or what came first, the meme or the ad? Lately UCP PR is disgustingly PU and it’s painfully obvious its soundbite garglers need to be refreshed if it wants its message to be more palatable to the public, especially to older UCP members who might have held their noses while looking askance at the party they reluctantly voted for in 2023 but are now covering their eyes in embarrassment. Bad enough for the UCP that this ebbing faction of moderation is attritting naturally because without it the odds of staying in power are very poor. And the longevity of remainder, the strength of its conviction, the flintiness of its bones are all the more taxed and tired.
What the UCP needs is a new ad campaign to reinvigorate —in this case to rejuvenate —whomever might be having regrets about the bullness of time in the Wild Rose province. Something along the lines of a Geritol commercial:
INT. Dark still of Danielle Smith
VO [Voice Over]
Feeling internally divided? Picking fights right and left?
Pushing for a separation referendum? Suppressing major
scandals? Dismantling public healthcare and dealing in-
efficiently with measles?
My premier: I think I’ll keep her.
You would think the fairly right wing UCP government would relish a show down with its employees unions, but so far this doesn’t seem to be the case. I’m not quite sure why.
It could be that the UCP realizes how perilous its efforts to privatize and reorganize health care are, so it does not want to totally upset things now. It could be they realize they have political fights on many fronts and adding government employees to that may not be wise.
Whatever the reasons are, I do feel negotiations may again be drawn out and go almost to the brink before an agreement is reached. Regardless of their intentions, the UCP is unlikelt to give up any easy victories here.
You can’t fund the Corporate welfare coffers and pay your provincial employees at the same time, right???? UCP…….useless
The way the UCP looks after these people, and other Albertans, is quite simply disgusting. There are exceptions, and that is friends of the UCP, who are failed former political grifters, of the Reform persuasion, or multi millionaires, or billionaires.