A Historical Outline of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees

A Historical Outline of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees
Introduction
The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) was founded in 1977, although
its roots lie in the Civil Services Association of Alberta, formed in 1919 to voice the concerns
of Alberta province’s government employees. It functioned as a pressure group for over half a
century, and eventually became a union in its full right to represent its members legally. This
transition was effected after a provincial act – the CSAA Act (1968) – severely restricted the
functioning capacities of the CSAA, thus pushing it to demand the status of a full-scale union
(AUPEa, n.d.).
According to most recent statistics, the AUPE has close to 81,000 members from
among provincial government servants, employees of public, private, and not-for-profit
medical agencies, teachers, and local and municipal government employees (AUPEb, n.d.).
Significant Events
Apples and Oranges
One of the earliest campaigns which AUPE initiated in its life was the 1980s
campaign to expand the negotiating space within Alberta’s politics. In this regard, this was
the agenda with which AUPE was formed, given its struggles against the practical gag order
on its activities by the CSAA Act. This campaign began as a series of negotiations with
Alberta’s provincial government, mainly around the disproportionate wage hikes between
legislators and civil servants, popularly known as the “Apples and Oranges Campaign.”
(AUPEc, n.d.) When negotiations during this event failed, AUPE members struck work.
Almost 3000 of them were then sacked, but the strike continued and proved to be successful,
setting a new stage for greater negotiating power among civil servants.
Divestment

A second significant event in the life of AUPE was the wave of government
divestment from civil services that began in the late 1980s and reached its conclusion in the
early 1990s (Reshef & Rastin, 2003, p.57). This was part of a wider trend of liberalization
seen not only in Canada, but all over the world. It was common knowledge by the 1980s that
the government was seeking to privatize much of its administrative work, and in lieu of this
major organizing actions had already begun. AUPE, along with other provinces’ unions such
as the OPSEU (Ontario Public Service Employees’ Unions), had opposed these policies at a
national level. However, push came to shove, and the liberalization of public services
managed to find its way through. This period also came with a massive reduction in the
membership of the union, as private employees had agendas and work conditions
significantly different from their government counterparts.
Correctional Officers’ Strike, 2013
A more recent act on part of members of the AUPE in Alberta’s remand homes
denotes the shift of power which has resulted from the early 1990s till date. In April 2013,
two correctional officers of a remand home were removed from work. While the facility
administration claims this was due to offensive emails from their side, their claim is that they
were bringing to attention the awful condition of health in the remand homes, and were thus
silenced. Being part of the union, this act of removal on the administration’s side condensed
into a chain of walk-outs on part of employees in support of their terminated comrades (CBC
News, 2013). This strike spread to all correctional facilities of Edmonton, and even extended
to places as far away as Saskatchewan.
Current Issues Before AUPE
When contacted, a member of the executive committee of AUPE (on condition of
anonymity) said that the perennial issues before a union are those of timely wage hikes, as
well as ensuring that the management does not get the better of the employees through unfair