Alberta Union of Provincial Employees: Labor Relations Report

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE), a significant trade union in Alberta, Canada. It begins with an introduction to the union, its membership, and its founding in 1919. The report then delves into significant life events in the union's history, including the first annual convention, the 1974 strike, and the legal formation of the AUPE in 1976. It examines the challenges faced by the union, such as job cuts and financial difficulties in the late 20th century, and its rebuilding period in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The report also discusses current issues faced by the union, such as collective bargaining and upcoming elections, and the strategies employed by the union to address these issues, including strikes, lobbying, and awareness campaigns. Furthermore, it highlights the social issues the union addresses, such as gender equality and fair remuneration. The report concludes with a personal observation and a list of references.

Running head: LABOR RELATIONS
Labor Relations
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

1LABOR RELATION
Introduction
The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees is a trade union in Canada which solely
operates in Alberta. The union has about 84000 members as of December 2016. It is the
largest labor union in Alberta. Most of the members of the union are the workers of public
sector. The membership of the union is divided into four categories for the purpose of better
administration namely people who are direct employees of the government, employees
working in the health care sector, employees working in non-profit and private facilities and
employees working in educational sector as well and municipal government’s employees.
The union also represents the members of a private company which was formerly an agency
of the government. The union was established on 26th march 1919 when a founding meeting
was held by a few employees of Alberta at first prebyterian church of north Edmonton. An
agreement was made between them for the incorporation of Civil Services Association of
Alberta and Judson Lambe was elected as the initial president. A crest had been adopted by
the union which provided “Unity Strength Protection” ("AUPE | Alberta Union of Provincial
Employees", 2017)
Significant life events in the history of the union and its impact on the union and
its members
The first annual convention of the Civil Services Association was held on 1921
February which accounted to an overall cost of $202.65. Eleven provincial executive
members along with eighteen delegates attended the first annual convention. W.T. Aiken who
was a public works employee had been selected as their new precedent and irrespective of the
behavior of a few politicians civil services employees were highly respected in the society
those days. A need for legal recognition in the form of a full-fledged union had been

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identified by the leaders of CSA as it was growing in size considerably with 3000 members in
1970.
About 300 members of the Department of Health & Social Development in 1974,
portrayed dissatisfaction with respect to changes in statutory holiday benefits in an arbitrary
manner. The government did not provide any support to the employees and thus they went on
strike which was carried on over a period of 10 days and resulted in significant wage increase
for the employees.
The strike had ended in 1st October 1974 when more than 10000 employees who
directly worked for the government had left their jobs for two days as the government had
imposed pay increase in an arbitrary manner which did not allow the employee to have a
chance to bargain. The point raised by the employees had been won by them as the
government agreed to their demand by allowing bargaining and negotiation for pay increase
in a bona fide way. The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees was born legally on 14th June
1976 when the Civil Services Association was brought to an end by the legislature through a
repealing in the Alberta Act. The day on which the union had been formed a budget of 43.4
Million had been boosted by the Union. The first president of the Union was the last
president of CSA T.W. (Bill) Board. The founding convention of the Union was held at
Chateau Lacombe Hotel on 18th November 1976 in Edmonton.
As the operations of the union were conducted under the Societies Act the
government still had to approve the decisions of the convention. However the practice came
to an end when the Union changed its status to an unincorporated trade union on 17th
November. The new union incorporated all aspects of CSA. The union got bargaining rights
in relation to every group of employees who had a collective agreement with the union on
18th May 1977 through the Public Service Employee Relations Act (PSERA).

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In 1976 the new prime minister of Canada Pierre Elliot Trudeau had declared that
bargaining and negotiations by employees over a prescribed limit illegal in relation to wages.
The inception of the union initiated the same year when it declared to openly contest the
government. After a series of unsuccessful negotiation the union declared strike knowing that
the actions were illegal to challenge the rules and provisions made by the government. The
government began to cut jobs and the membership of the union started to fall. The most
challenging decade for the union was from 1987-1996 which witnessed various layoffs and
privatization. The union had lost more than 3000 of its member over the period of 1992-1993
as a result of privatization of liquor store. In total 4700 jobs related to the health care sector
had been lost between 1990-1993. All the reserve funds of the union had been used up when
the new president Carol Ann Dean had been elected in 1992. A loan of $1 million
accumulated over the union by 2004. A special convention was called for by the executives to
address the financial crunch.
The rebuilding period of the Union was between 1997-2004. This was because of the
labor shortage of labor in the booming economy which provided for between bargaining
powers to the union. In order to make up for previous roll backs the union concluded about
79 new agreements in 1997. In 1998 the employees the health care sector walked off their
jobs for only a period of two hours which made them win the settlement (Selby, 2015).
A major campaign had been launched by the union in 2007 with respect to changing
the labor law of the country. It was argued by the union that the labor laws were not
consistent to international standards and were unfair and prejudicial to the employees. In
2013 the union had launched the wild cat strike (Aupe. Org, 2017).
Current issue faced by the union

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The union is currently bargaining to various employees across different sectors in relation to
collective agreements. The union recently rejected the offer made by the Portage Collage
Employers by a wide margin of its members and launched a bargaining survey. The
bargaining committee is continuing bargaining in a positive tone in relation to Elizabeth
Heath Care at St. Thomas Heath Center. The election for the union is going to take place and
the union has invited its members in relation to a pre-election forum ("AUPE | Alberta Union
of Provincial Employees", 2017).
How the issues are addressed
The union has diverse strategies to address issues which it has been facing currently.
Strategies such as strikes, government lobbying, initiating awareness and education plans for
its members and emphasizing on unity. The union acts in the best interest of the employees
and ensures that the employer does not treat them in an unfair manner (Smith, 2016).
Social issue the union works on
The union addresses any issue which is faced by the employees at their specific work place
which may include Gender equality, discrimination, revising unfair laws and ensuring fair
remuneration to the employees. The union also works on social issues such as poverty and
providing a proper work life balance to the employees to ensure their personal development
("AUPE | Alberta Union of Provincial Employees", 2017).
Personal observation
Yes I would want to be a member for this union. This is because the union fights and stands
up for what is right and protect ant employee from being treated unfairly by the employer in
the work place. the union ensures that fair remuneration is provide to its members and their
rights and bargaining power in the work place is maintained.

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References
AUPE | Alberta Union of Provincial Employees. (2017). AUPE.org. Retrieved 27 September
2017, from https://www.aupe.org/
Aupe. Org, (2017). Retrieved 27 September 2017, from http://www.aupe.org/news/wildcat-
strike-timeline
Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada, & Romanow, R. J. (2002). Commission
on the future of health care in Canada. Commission on the Future of Health Care in
Canada.
Selby, J. (2015). Delaying, Disarming, and Deceiving the Union: The Lougheed Government,
Alberta Government Employees, and the Public Service Employee Relations Act,
1977. Labour/Le Travail, 75(1), 75-100.
Smith, G. (2016). Please find enclosed copies of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees'
submission.