Report of the Executive Council

Since the last biennial convention in 2001, the Alberta Federation of Labour has been busy working with affiliates, the Canadian Labour Congress, district labour councils and community groups to uphold and protect the interests of working people around the province. This report is intended to provide a summary of AFL activities over the past two years - and take a quick look at upcoming events and actions.
 
 
MEETING CHALLENGES

The past two years have been both difficult and rewarding for the Alberta Federation of Labour. At our last Convention in 2001, membership at the AFL had dropped from 115,000 to 75,000 as AUPE was suspended from its national organization, NUPGE. As a result of this suspension, AUPE was no longer eligible for membership in either the AFL or the CLC.  This produced a financial crisis that deeply effected Federation staffing, finances and programs.

We had to lay off two staff members - one from the senior staff and one from the support staff. We made the Secretary-Treasurer a half-time office, and cut Labour News from 10 issues a year to a cost-recovery publication. Even then, our annual convention had to pass a per capita increase to prevent deeper cuts to Federation staffing and programs.

The next six months were difficult for the Federation. The remaining staff worked very hard to try to maintain the excellent programs that the AFL has become known for. Executive Council and Executive Committee members did extra duty as the Federation began a long-term organizing campaign to encourage non-affiliated unions to join the AFL.
Our affiliates came through in the crunch, backstopping us in our financial crisis. UFCW 401 and the CEP national board, for example, both provided the AFL with interest-free loans to help us through our cash crisis. UFCW also paid to cover the salary and expenses for our Secretary-Treasurer for ten days a month.

In general, leaders and activists from all our affiliates supported the Federation whenever and wherever we needed help. As many members of the Executive Council observed at the time, the fact that so many people rallied around the AFL in its time of need proved that the labour movement recognizes and values the work done by the AFL.

THE ORGANIZING DRIVE

In response to the financial crunch, the AFL went on a major organizing drive in 2001 and 2002 aimed at finding new affiliates. As part of this effort, we prepared a new affiliation/membership fact kit which was distributed to non-affiliated locals and unions. The officers and council members then traveled the province extensively, speaking to interested groups.

Today, the AFL has nearly been restored to its previous membership level. We affiliated 10 CAW locals, 3 CUPE locals, and one each from IBEW, the ATU and IBB. The Postmasters union also affiliated.

The biggest boost to AFL membership came in January 2002, when the 20,000 members of the United Nurses of Alberta voted to affiliate. With this affiliation, the nurses have not only brought new resources to the table - they have also brought new energy, new ideas and a proven track record of success and professionalism.

As a result of our successful organizing efforts, in March of 2002 the AFL was able to bring back our support staff member who had been laid off, and we restored the Secretary-Treasurer position to full-time. We were also able to fill the vacant senior staff position.

Today, as the AFL prepares for its 2003 Convention there is good reason to believe that our membership will continue to grow. One of the brightest prospects is the Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA), representing more than 12,000 professional and technical health care workers around the province. They will be voting on a motion to affiliate to the Federation later in May.

KEEPING UP WITH OUR MANDATE

During 2001 and 2002, the AFL worked hard - and successfully - to fulfill its mandate with reduced resources. It was hard work, and took a lot of effort from everyone - from our affiliates, our Executive, our elected officers and our staff. But we did it.

For example, despite the financial crunch, we managed to hold our Kid's Camp and our annual fall school. We continued to publish Labour News and to issue news releases and commentaries on subjects of concern to working people. We continued to meet requests from our affiliates, and to work with labour groups like the Coalition on Pensions and the Workers' Coalition on the WCB. We continued our political action work and our broad social coalition work with groups like the Friends of Medicare, the Aspen Foundation for Labour Education and the Alberta Labour History Institute.

We also worked closely with UFCW during their dispute with Superstore, and supported them in their successful efforts to get a first contract for workers at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton. And we worked closely with the Alberta Teachers Association during their recent dispute with the Alberta government - and are staying in regular contact with the ATA.

Obviously, the loss of AUPE was significant. But it is now safe to say that the Alberta Federation of Labour is as strong - or stronger - as it has ever been. And we remain one of the most active and progressive labour centrals in Canada.

MEMBERSHIP FORUM

On May 3rd and 4th of 2002 the Federation held its biennial membership forum in Edmonton. The Forum is held in the spring of every year in which no AFL convention is held. The function of the forum is two-fold: to engage our affiliates and activists in an open dialogue about Federation activities and priorities; and to present a series of workshops on a topic relevant to unions and union members.

In 2002, the focus of the Forum was on organizing, and delegates heard from two guest speakers: Charlotte Yates of McMaster University and community activist and organizer Walter Davis. 150 union leaders and activists participated in the event.

MOBILIZING AGAINST THE G8 SUMMIT

During the month of June 2002, the Alberta labour movement - including the AFL, CDLC and various affiliates - joined youth and social groups in protesting the G8 Summit held in Kananaskis. The labour movement was a leading component of the protests - which were peaceful and educational despite the incredible fear-mongering done by politicians and media prior to the event.

Thousands of unionists joined with students, church groups, social justice activists and environmentalists to demonstrate public opposition to the continued intrusion of international corporate influence in our daily lives, the decline of public services and programs and the undermining of our democratic institutions.

The Federation is working to maintain and expand the alliances created with a broad spectrum of social allies during the G8 protests.

THE AFL AND THE CAMPAIGN TO DEFEND MEDICARE

For the past six or seven years, Alberta has been "ground zero" for debates over the future of Medicare in Canada. Our province was the first to impose deep cuts to health care staff in the mid 90s. The Klein government was also the first provincial government to contract out support services and engage in other dangerous experiments with private health care.

Throughout these turbulent times - from the laundry workers strike in 1995 to the more recent battles over Bill 11 and the Mazankowski report - the Alberta Federation of Labour has been at the forefront of the fight to preserve public health care. During the Bill 11 debate, for example, AFL senior staffer Gil McGowan worked closely with affiliates and other groups involved with Friends of Medicare to coordinate the fight back.

Over the past year, the AFL has continued to play a leading role in the province-wide campaign to stop the spread of private health care. Starting in the fall of 2001 and continuing through January 2003, the AFL has worked closely with the Friends of Medicare to organize the following high-profile events and campaigns:

Response to the Mazankowski Report: In January 2002, the AFL helped develop a 20-page critique of the controversial Mazankowski report. The AFL then helped organize a special media tour to the Premier's Conference in Vancouver, where the Friends of Medicare warned other Premiers not to follow the Klein government's lead on health care.

Mobilizing Against Mazankowski: In the spring of 2002, the AFL, various health care unions and the Friends of Medicare worked together to organize a province-wide campaign against the Klein government's latest plans for health care privatization. The campaign included the creation of a new Friends of Medicare website; "teach-ins" in Edmonton and Calgary dealing with the real impact of the Mazankowski plan; distribution of leaflets to hundreds of thousands of households in Edmonton and Calgary; and a province-wide TV and radio ad campaign.

Rallying for Romanow: Also in the spring of 2002, the AFL helped mobilize unions and union members to participate in Roy Romanow's traveling commission on the future of health care. The AFL also helped organize rallies outside the Romanow hearings in both Edmonton and Calgary. The goal was to pressure Romanow into producing a report that would actually defend public health care - and in that regard, we were successful.

Building a "Canopy of Care": More recently, the AFL has been instrumental in designing and launching the latest Friends of Medicare activity - the Medicare Tree Campaign. Albertans are being asked to sign their names on copper leaves to show they care about public health care. The leaves will then be mounted on metal trees to act as a reminder that most Albertans don't support the privatization of Medicare.

Romanow Now! Campaign: In January and February 2003, the AFL actively supported the Friends of Medicare's Romanow Now! campaign. Launched on January 14, 2003 this six-week election-style campaign was conducted in Edmonton-West, the riding of Federal Health Minister Anne McLellan. The goal of the campaign was to pressure McLellan into implementing the best recommendations formulated by the Romanow commission (as opposed to listening to the Klein government's call to scrap or water-down the report). During the course of the campaign, leaflets were distributed to every household in the riding; more than 20,000 people were canvassed by phone; and more than 1,000 lawn signs were erected. As a result of our efforts, more than 5,000 people signed cards calling on McLellan to defend public health care - and hundreds sent e-cards to her from the Friends of Medicare website (www.keepmedicarepublic.ca).

BILL 27 AND THE ATTACK ON UNIONS

The Alberta government recently rammed through a new piece of legislation that makes sweeping changes to labour relations in the provincial health care sector. Government spokespeople say Bill 27 is simply an attempt to streamline administration as the province moves to fewer regional health authorities - but there's much more to this new law than that.

• Bill 27 strips the right-to-strike from thousands of community health care workers
• It attacks the right of all health workers to choose their own union
• It denies many health care workers access to severance pay-outs if they loose their jobs
• It transforms the supposedly impartial Alberta Labour Relations Board into a one-sided tool for imposing inferior agreements on health care workers

The AFL believes that Bill 27 is the first shot in what may turn into a war on workers and the unions that represent them in the health care sector. In fact, we believe it is aimed at opening the door to the same kind of union-busting and contract stripping that is currently being done by the provincial government in B.C.

Since Bill 27 was introduced, the AFL has been working closely with health care unions and labour councils to coordinate the fight back. As part of this fight back, we have already launched an international challenge of Bill 27 under the NAFTA side agreement on labour. We are also considering legal action in the courts here in Alberta. And we're working on a protocol that will see all of our unions work together in fighting this backward piece of legislation.

FIGHTING THE P-3 ATTACK

The Alberta government says it will push ahead with plans to let the private sector finance, build and operate new roads, hospitals and schools - despite evidence that similar schemes have failed miserably in other provinces and countries.

In an interview with the Calgary Herald just before Christmas, Premier Ralph Klein said that so-called public-private partnerships - or P3s for short - may become the government's preferred method for getting major infrastructure projects off the ground.

"You name it, anything that involves public infrastructure basically is eligible for the three-P scenario," he said.

Government sources say that as much as $500 million of the province's expected $1.4 billion surplus will be spent on infrastructure projects over the next year - and significant amounts of that money will be funneled to P3s.

Two major projects in particular - the construction of a new hospital in southeast Calgary and the development of a new heart institute at the U of A hospital in Edmonton - are expected to built by investors and leased back to the government.

In response to the government's latest push for privatization, the AFL has committed itself to a campaign aimed at educating and mobilizing Albertans against P-3s. As part of this effort, we've published several stories in Labour News and we've developed a four-page flier designed to expose the truth about P-3s.

The AFL will monitor the situation and join with affiliates and social partners when it becomes clear which new infra-structure projects have been designated for development under the P-3 model.

ISSUES CAMPAIGN

In March 2003, the AFL convened a special meeting of affiliates to discuss the possibility of launching a union-sponsored "issues campaign" here in Alberta.

Modeled on a campaign that is currently underway in Saskatchewan, an issues campaign would involve polling union members to find out which issues matter most to them - and using that information to re-focus our efforts in areas such as lobbying and political action.

The Saskatchewan labour issues campaign was launched a year and a half ago and will culminate during that province's upcoming provincial election with a non-partisan parallel campaign - featuring leaflets, educational events and even television ads.

Here in Alberta, an issues campaign could follow a similar course - or it could be something entirely different. The idea is to find ways to engage members and get them more involved in the political process.

At the special meeting, leaders from several different unions expressed interest in exploring the Saskatchewan "issues campaign" model. A steering committee has now been struck to discuss how a similar campaign could be designed and launched here in Alberta. The idea of building an issues campaign in Alberta will also be brought to the floor for debate during this year's AFL Convention.

LABOUR LAW CAMPAIGN

The Alberta Labour Relations Code was reviewed by an MLA Committee this summer as a result of a strenuous province-wide lobbying campaign by a small group of anti-union employers. The MLA Committee will be making recommendations about amending the Code to Clint Dunford, the Minister of Human Resources and Employment - who will then decide upon either further review or particular changes to labour laws.

Given the attitude toward working people by the current government, this review process is extremely dangerous for unions. The AFL chose to create a two-level campaign to try to diffuse the threat.

First, the Federation organized a province-wide lobbying campaign aimed at getting labour's side of the issue across to all the MLA's who had been misled by the anti-union employer group. The AFL held lobbying workshops in several locations to educate union members and activists about how to lobby and to put forward a uniform labour message about Alberta labour laws. Since then, activists have lobbied MLA's across the province and reported back their responses to the AFL.

The Federation also prepared briefing notes for affiliated unions to help them prepare their own submissions to the Minister's Committee. The AFL also prepared and submitted its own comprehensive brief to the Committee.

Now, we are waiting for the Minster's response to the Committee recommendations. Depending upon that response, the AFL may have to launch a third, more militant and public phase of the labour law campaign. At this point we are still not entirely sure when the report will be released - but there are indications that it may be out shortly before the AFL convention in Calgary.

LOCAL AUTHORITIES PENSION PLAN

The AFL ad hoc Labour Coalition on Pensions has been working with a number of unions with members in the Local Authorities Pension Plan (LAPP) in an effort to complete the long-promised move to independent governance for the LAPP.

Despite negotiating a memorandum of agreement on governance with the employers, the labour coalition has found itself blocked again by Provincial government refusal to release control of the LAPP.

The AFL will continue its efforts to secure independence for the LAPP and to work toward a pension plan that will meet the needs of workers in the health care, education and local government sectors. Most recently, the AFL prepared a submission presented by the Coalition to the Standing Policy Committee on Economic Development and Finance.

LABOUR DISPUTES

The Alberta Federation of Labour has been active in its support for workers engaged in labour disputes. For example, in the spring of 2002, the AFL worked very closely with the Alberta Teachers' Association during the province-wide teachers' strike. We also worked with paramedics in the city of Edmonton (CUPE 3197) when they went on strike in the summer of 2001. And, of course, we also worked closely with UFCW to support the efforts of striking workers at the Shaw Convention Centre in Edmonton.

The good news is that, after seven long months on the picket line, these workers finally won a first collective agreement. The cancellation of many bookings by labour organizations and labour sympathizers (e.g. several teachers' conventions) helped put pressure on the City. But the thing that really turned the tide in favour of the strikers was the commitment by unions to stage a massive protest outside the Conference Centre during Grey Cup weekend.

Thanks to a strong showing of solidarity by the labour movement - and a desire to avoid getting a black eye in front of the national media - Economic Development Edmonton agreed to a deal only minutes before the scheduled start of our mass demonstration. The message that we can take from this is clear: Solidarity works!

KIDS' CAMP

The annual Alberta Federation of Labour summer camp for children of affiliated members was held at Camp Warwa twice since last convention - in the summers of 2001 and 2002. Every year the camp is enthusiastically attended by children and union volunteer supervisors. And, as in past years, we have improved the program and facilities based upon our experiences from previous years.

THE PUBLIC INTEREST NETWORK

In partnership with the Alberta Teachers' Association, the Alberta Federation of Labour sponsored a two-day conference to explore the possibility of founding a Public Interest Network in Alberta.

The conference, held October 18th and 19th 2002 in Edmonton, brought together labour organizations, social activists, church, youth and women's organizations and NGOs.

The initial conference explored the desire of organizations to have a counter to private sector propagandists like the C.D. Howe or Fraser Institutes. The idea is to create an organization that will actively speak out on behalf of public programs like Medicare and public education, and will promote the advantages of public services and public employment.

If the Public Interest Network can provide a credible voice in the ongoing debate about how our society should run, it could become an excellent educational and political force. The idea of throwing the AFL's weight behind the Public Issues Network will be discussed in more detail on the convention floor in Calgary.

SUBMISSION TO ALBERTA'S COMMISSION ON LEARNING

In early December, the AFL made a submission to the Commission on Learning that the Premier set up to deflect criticism of the government's refusal to deal with class size and teacher workload during the teachers' strike.

The chronic under-funding of education has created intolerable stresses on teachers and support staff in the public education system. Since the government has stripped control of education property taxes away from school boards, the boards have been left with no resource outside of provincial funding.

The AFL told the Commission that secure funding of education (like healthcare) must be set at an adequate level, and then indexed for population growth and inflation. Any other course will result in constant industrial conflict.

ANTI-SWEATSHOP CAMPAIGN

On October 26th 2002, the Alberta Federation of Labour leafleted Bay Stores in Calgary & Edmonton to protest the Bay's support for sweat shops.

Ethical Trading Action Group (ETAG), an association of human rights, labour and church groups has charged three factories with which the Bay has contracts with rights violations including verbal and physical abuse; sexual harassment; forced overtime of up to seventy-five hours per week; emergency exits being locked during working hours, harassment, discrimination against and firing of union members; child labour, and inadequate wages.

ORGANIZING INSTITUTE

The AFL has learned through it's involvement with various coalitions that it makes sense to pool our money, our people, and our resources. This was the thinking behind our work with Friends of Medicare - and it's what lies at the heart of projects such as the Public Interest Network and the Issues Campaign.

Over the past year, we've taken the next logical step and started applying this concept to organizing the unorganized. In partnership with the two other Prairie provinces, we're talking about establishing a central Prairie organizing school.  We're even talking about joint organizing drives. So instead of competing with each other when it comes to organizing the unorganized - different unions will be working together to make sure that all the workers who need representation actually get it.

So far, the Organizing Institute is still in its conceptual phase. But within the next few years, we hope to be offering intensive, multi-union training workshops - and we hope to develop other tools that will make us all more effective in terms of organizing new members.

In the end, we believe the Organizing Institute will become one of our most important tools for moving the labour movement in Alberta forward. It will give real meaning to all our talk about cooperation between unions. And it will give us new tools for bringing working people into the House of Labour.

OTHER ACTIVITIES

As usual, the Federation has assisted affiliates wherever staff time and expertise allow. For example, Federation staff has taught workshops for the Boilermakers, the United Food and Commercial Workers and the Hotel and Restaurant Employees Union. Senior staffers also presented a workshop on labour history at UNA's spring school and a workshop on health care economics to a UNA shop steward's meeting.

The Federation continues to publish its newspaper, the Labour News, and to comment to the media on all issues relevant to working people in Alberta. We are also continuing work with the Alberta Labour History Institute and the Aspen Foundation for Labour Education - both of which are doing valuable work in the province.

The AFL has also held workshops and seminars on a wide range of issues over the past year - from the violence against women seminar last December to the seminar on aboriginal workers issues just a few weeks ago.

COMMITTEES

Over the course of the past two years, the AFL's standing and ad hoc committees have continued to play a pivotal role in the operation of the Federation. The Education Committee has continued its work in steering the Fall Schools and the Kids Camp. The ad hoc committee on literacy produced a highly regarded video. The Political Action committee has turned our attention to an Issues Campaign in an effort to improve and strengthen labour political voice. The Women's Committee has continued its work on issues such as pay equity and violence against women. The Health and Safety Committee is producing an updated health and safety handbook for stewards and activists. Much of the work of the Environment Committee focused on the controversy around the Kyoto Accord and the labour movements call for a Just Transition to environmentally sustainable jobs. And the International Solidarity Committee has organized numerous events to draw attention to things like sweatshop labour and the implications of globalization.

UPCOMING EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES

The next six months will be busy times for the AFL. The Federation will continue to work with affiliates to fight against union-busting and contract-stripping in the health care sector. We will also continue our efforts to mobilize members and the public against P-3 developments.

In addition to work in these areas, the AFL will continue working with the Alberta Teachers' Association on the formation of a Public Interest Network;
 
we will continue our efforts to challenge and improve Alberta's labour laws; we will continue to refine our approach to political action (i.e. launch an "issues campaign); and we will continue to work closely with Friends of Medicare on health care issues.

In addition to these on-going efforts, the AFL will also pursue several new youth-related initiatives including establishing an AFL youth committee and running Solidarity Works for another year. Finally, the next year will also see the AFL cooperating with other prairie labour federations to launch a Prairie Organizing Institute.

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