After seven long and often bitter months on the picket line, workers at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton have finally won a first collective agreement.

The strike ended on at 4 p.m. on November 22, less than two hours before a major protest was scheduled to take place outside the conference centre.

When news of the settlement reached the picket line, more than 500 people from dozens of different unions had already gathered to help the strikers shut down the Grey Cup Dinner that was being held inside.

But with a new agreement in hand, the gathering quickly turned from a protest into a party, with the workers and their supporters celebrating victory over a staunchly anti-union employer.

"We wanted to get benefits for part-time workers; stronger protection against sexual harassment; seniority rights; union visitation rights; the right to collect union dues and a grievance procedure that gives real power to an arbitrator," said Doug O’Halloran, president of UFCW 401, the union representing conference centre workers.

"We were able to achieve all those things – so this is a victory. We think it’s a good settlement. But it certainly shouldn’t have taken seven months."

Les Steel, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour, said the threat of protests and disruptions during Grey Cup weekend probably played a role in ending the strike – but he thinks most of the credit should go to the workers themselves.

"Obviously, the mayor and members of Council wanted to avoid the embarrassment of major protests with the national media looking on," said Steel.

"But the only reason we got to this point was because the workers refused to throw in the towel. They stood up for what they believed in and they courageously stared down an employer who wanted to bust their union and deny them their rights in the workplace."

In an unusual move, the union decided to turn the heat up on City Council and conference centre management by putting a slightly amended version of a mediators report to a membership vote. Management initially refused to endorse the deal, but when the workers voted by a three-to-one margin to support it, management relented.

"We told Council and Economic Development Edmonton that a settlement was possible – but if we didn’t hear from them by four o’clock we would go ahead with plans to disrupt the CFL Dinner," said Steel.

"At about ten minutes to four, the Mayor called to say we had a deal."

O’Halloran says the strikers – about 200 serving, cleaning and set-up staff – are now back at work. But he says the strike has raised a number of important questions about how the conference centre is managed.

"The EDE board was running amok during this strike," he says. "They spent close to $4 million in taxpayers money to fight the union – and for what? Council should give them a chance to straighten things out. But they shouldn’t be afraid to go looking for new operators for the conference centre if things don’t work out."

Steel says the strike also demonstrates how badly Alberta’s labour laws are tilted in favour of employers.

"There’s something seriously wrong when an employer can be found guilty of breaking the law and bargaining in bad faith multiple times and still face no penalties," he said. "That’s what happened in this case. It was union-busting plain and simple – and our labour laws let them get away with it."