Now, we have a government in Alberta that, as a part of their philosophy, dislikes unions. I know it’s hard to understand as all of us members are really nice people who do pay our taxes and we also pay our union dues. The government, through the spring and summer, has pushed through an agenda to take away the rights of union members that we have spent a lifetime creating. The legislative changes that the government has made are extremely restrictive to the union members. The government has seen fit to restrict the picketing that can take place during a strike by eliminating the ability for the people on strike to slow down people who are crossing or are attempting to cross a picket line and even the ability to communicate with these people about why they should not be crossing a picket line. All the while that this has been taking place, our Union has not provided commentary to us, the members, nor has it posted anything online regarding their response or opposition to these changes in government legislation.
Alberta’s largest public sector union has decided to take the government to court over Bill 1, claiming it violates the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. As we know, peaceful protest is a cornerstone of any democracy and it keeps our democracy active, and it should be protected. With the government’s implementation of Bill 1, these folks have been turned into criminals and having their life, liberty and justice, and union security denied to them.
The Bill prohibits individuals from entering, damaging, obstructing or interfering with essential infrastructure and imposes stiff fines or jail time on those who break the rules. The union says what qualifies as essential infrastructure is too broad along with railways, oil sands production sites and other locations. The definition of essential also includes any road, trail or sidewalk so that opens the door to massive abuse of power. The ability for the government to add the definition of essential infrastructure by regulations means union members could find themselves in trouble for actions like protesting or handing out leaflets in front of their workplace. The union should be there for its members and obviously should protect them if something happens as a result of this piece of legislation. This Bill severely erodes an individual’s rights and has no place in a democratic society and the Government of Alberta should rescind it.
As union members of Teamsters Local 362, we should be keeping an eye on the actions of our leadership to ensure that they voice our concerns as union members and participate in the eradication of this restrictive Bill.