By Jeremy Appel Faculty and academic service officers at Concordia University of Edmonton beared blistering cold temperatures on Jan. 4 to kick off the first-ever post-secondary strike action in Alberta outside a mansion the employer purchased while they were negotiating a new contract. The 82-member Concordia University of Edmonton Faculty Association (CUEFA) voted to go Continue readingA small university strike sets big Alberta precedent
Alberta
By Jeremy Appel Rankandfile.ca’s Cargill correspondent The new agreement won by workers at Cargill’s High River, Alberta meatpacking plant is a significant improvement over its previous iteration and could provide a template for labour struggles in the industry, according to labour relations experts. Members of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 401 voted 71% in Continue readingWorkers’ gains at Cargill set stage for JBS bargaining
By Jeremy Appel Cargill correspondent for Rankandfile.ca Whether or not workers at Cargill’s High River, Alberta, plant go on strike Monday, there’s no question the past 20 months have been a long, painful journey. Jamie Welsh-Rollo has worked at Cargill since June 2018. She is a cryovac operator and serves as a liaison between the Continue readingStories from the inside: Cargill workers speak
By Jeremy Appel Cargill correspondent for Rankandfile.ca Workers at Cargill’s High River, Alberta meatpacking facility have overwhelmingly rejected the company’s latest contract offer and management has escalated tensions by serving a lockout notice. The Cargill plant was the site of the largest COVID outbreak in North America in April 2020, with 950 workers — almost Continue readingCargill prepares lockout & scabs as workers reject offer
By Jeremy Appel In 1968, The Beatles released the song Blackbird, expressing their sympathies for the civil rights movement. “You were only waiting for this moment to arrive,” sings Paul McCartney before the song’s chorus. Tom Hesse, the president of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 401, says he was reminded of this lyric Continue readingAlberta workers take on Cargill and its record profits
By Cole Rockarts Today, October 26 2020, hundreds of members of the Alberta Union of Public Employees (AUPE) walked off the job to protest ongoing attacks on health care by Jason Kenney’s government. The key issues include job security against outsourcing, addressing short-staffing, and stopping the privatization of public healthcare. On October 13, Health Minister Continue readingWILDCAT! Major Alberta strike against healthcare cuts
By Cole Rockarts On Wednesday, July 29, Alberta’s United Conservative Party government passed the Restoring Balance in Alberta’s Workplaces Act, which aims to control how union dues can finance political activities and legislate restrictions on where unions can picket. The bill claims it will save employers $100 million dollars per year by “reducing red tape”, Continue readingIt’s going take more than the courts to stop Kenney’s Bill 32
By C. Rockarts In March, cities across Canada implemented fare-free public transit and back door boarding to encourage social distancing and curb the spread of COVID-19. On March 20, the City of Edmonton moved to temporarily suspend fare collection on all Edmonton Transit Service (ETS) buses, LRT and DATS services. Now, as many cities ‘relaunch’ Continue readingThe battle in Edmonton for a new kind of transit
By C. Rockarts On Thursday, May 14, Alberta “relaunched the economy” and began the first phase of the plan to re-open golf courses, provincial parks, as well as some retail stores, daycares, and museums. While many of the prairie provinces have decided to re-open, the comparison of cases between Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba is stark. Continue readingProfits over health in Alberta
By Emily Leedham Workers reveal fear, frustration, and doubt in Cargill’s ability to manage the COVID-19 outbreak at the High River meatpacking plant in a recent Telephone Town Hall. RankandFile.ca obtained an automated transcript of a Telephone Town Hall between members of Cargill plant management, the Alberta Government, Alberta Health Services, and Cargill plant workers Continue readingCargill workers’ frustrations revealed in telephone town hall
Photo via REUTERS/Chris Wattie by C Rockarts On Saturday, March 28, two days before workers were set to return from Spring Break, the UCP government announced the province’s largest mass layoff in history, with $128 million in cuts to funding for 26,000 educational assistants, bus drivers, substitute teachers and other K-12 support staff. The government Continue readingLargest layoff in Alberta history proves workers aren’t Kenney’s priority
What do the prairie budgets say about the values of our provincial leaders? In a time of such uncertainty, how can we formulate a vision of a society that values people over profits? Joel French, Simon Enoch, and Lynne Fernandez discuss the Prairie budgets and what they mean for workers’ futures. AUPE asks for immediate Continue reading2020 Prairie Provincial Budget Review