Labour laws are supposed to be  put in place to protect workers  democratic right to join a union and enjoy the protection of a collective agreement.

However, in virtually all aspects of labour laws, the Alberta Code is unfair and ineffective.

1. Certifications

The most important protection workers need is during the initial period from the organizing drive through the successful negotiations of a first contract.

Employers have an immense amount of power in the workplace. They can demote and harass and even fire union organizers and sympathizers, putting an end to any organizing drive – unless there is some legal check on their activities.

In most provinces, laws provide for the mandatory certification of a union if an employer has interfered in the process so intensely as to effect the outcome of the organizing drive.

That is not true in Alberta. Even in the face of gross labour law infractions, all the Alberta Labour Relations Board can do is order another vote. This completely ignores the real effect of employer animosity and its ability to cast a permanent chill on organizing.

Certification Votes

Many jurisdictions grant certification upon proof (signed cards) of 50% plus 1 support for the union. But, Alberta has a mandatory vote for certification.

This allows employers a window of opportunity to electioneer against the union – the time between application to the Board and the actual vote. This alone could cause up to one-third of all new certification drives to fail.

Getting a First Agreement

It is especially difficult to get a first collective agreement for a new local. In many cases the employer fails to bargain in good faith by deliberately bargaining to an impasse.

Alberta is one of only three provinces that does not allow the Board to impose an arbitrated first agreement in cases like this. (The other two are New Brunswick and Nova Scotia).

Unfair Bargaining Practices

Even in the case of well-established locals, Alberta labour laws provide no protection against unfair bargaining practices by employers. The lack of punitive authority means that anti-union employers like Conrad Black can announce publicly that they intend to bargain to impasse and then de-unionize – and there is no remedy for effected workers.

2. Union Security

Alberta is one of only four provinces that does not have a mandatory dues check-off once an employer is unionized.

This weakens unions by encouraging ‘free riders’ – people who enjoy the protection of the union without helping to support it. Unions in Alberta have to bargain union security that is simply provided by law in other provinces.

3. Prohibitions on the Right-to-Strike

Alberta has tried to take away the right-to-strike from public sector workers. Despite the fact that such laws violate international charters and, in fact, are unenforceable – they still send a message to Alberta employees that unions and workers are second-class citizens.

4. The Use of Strike Breakers

Although only Quebec, BC and the federal government (and until recently Ontario) prohibit the use of strikebreakers (scabs) during legal disputes, Alberta has refused even to consider such legislation.

Despite the fact that the use of strikebreakers increases the likelihood of picket line violence and increases the duration of disputes, Alberta remains devoted to their presence.

Conclusion

Although most other provinces share some of the anti-union aspects of the Alberta Labour Code, only Alberta consistently enacts those labour laws most prejudicial to unions. Alberta has, without doubt the worst labour laws in Canada.

That fact is backed up graphically by the fact that Alberta has (at 22.5%) the lowest unionization rate in Canada.

The Alberta Federation of Labour believes that only an informed electorate will keep our democracy healthy.
With big business dominating the mass media, it is essential that alternate, reliable information be available to working people -- so that they can cast their ballots in their own best interest. As part of the effort to provide that information, the AFL has put together this political action kit for union members. It contains fact sheets on key issues that each local can either distribute to members, schedule into regular meetings, or make use of in part or in whole as they see fit.