If the MLA committee is honestly looking for reforms that would benefit working Albertans, they should consider the following proposals in the areas of certification, bargaining and strikes:

Certification: Under the current system, workers interested in joining a union must go through a long two-stage process. First they must sign up 40 percent of workers in a given bargaining union. Then they must win the support of fifty percent plus one of the workers in a formal certification vote. The problem with all this is that in the period between the certification application and the actual vote, the employer is able to exert unfair pressure on workers (usually in the form of threats and/or promises) to vote against the union. During this period, the employer also has almost unrestricted access to the workers – and the union has almost no access. If this were an election for public office, it would be like allowing only one party to campaign. Elections held in these circumstances cannot be characterized as either free or fair.

Recommendation: We recommend automatic certification be granted once a union has signed up 50 percent plus one of workers in a given bargaining unit. This would eliminate the unfair "electioneering" period that exists under the current system during which employers are able exert disproportionate influence. At the very least, if the two-step process is maintained, the time between the certification application and the vote should be reduced to two weeks to keep unfair employer pressure to a minimum. Also, to discourage manipulation, the Labour Relations Board should have the right to grant automatic certification if the employer is found guilty of breaching the rules. Such a system would provide employers with a strong incentive to "play fair."

Bargaining: Once a union is certified in Alberta, it is only the first step on the long road to an agreement. In most other provinces, newly certified unions and their employers are given a proscribed period of time to negotiate a first collective agreement. If no deal is reached in that period, the labour relations board will step in with the power to either impose an agreement or send the dispute off to binding arbitration. Unfortunately, here in Alberta, there is no time limit and the Labour Relations Board has no power to mandate a settlement. The result is that employers who are hostile to unions will simply attempt to wait the union out. At the same time, because there are no effective penalties for bargaining in bad faith, employers will often engage in "dirty tricks" campaigns or campaigns of legal foot-dragging. The goal in such campaigns is to wear the workers down and make them feel dissatisfied with their union – so much so that they eventually vote for decertification. The problem with all this is that it tramples on basic worker rights. Here in Canada, workers have the right to bargain collectively. But in Alberta, employers are allowed to undermine that right by simply refusing to bargain.

Recommendations: We recommend that the Alberta Labour Relations Board (ALRB) be given power to send contentious first-agreement negotiations to binding arbitration. We further recommend that the ALRB be given the power to impose an agreement in cases were the employer has been found guilty of bargaining in bad faith. This will give employers a real incentive to play by the rule and bargain fairly – an incentive that currently does not exist in Alberta.

Strikes: Strikes are always the weapon of last resort for unions – but without at least the threat of a strike, working people have little real power against the resources and influence of large employers. In most other provinces, the right of workers to withdraw their labour is widely held and protected. Unfortunately, the situation is significantly different in Alberta. We have the dubious distinction of have the widest prohibitions on striking of any province in the country. In other provinces, it’s common to see the right-to-strike denied to a small number of "essential service" workers – like police, fire and emergency room workers. But here in Alberta, almost no one is the provincial civil service has the right to strike. That’s right – it’s not just nurses and doctors. Everyone in the main-line civil service – from secretaries at the department of Labour to janitors at the Legislature – is denied the right to strike.

At the same time, in those sectors where strikes are legal, there are no restrictions placed on employers from bringing in scabs ("replacement workers") during a strike. The result is that the incentive to reach an agreement is reduced – and the likelihood of picket line confrontations is increased. Overall, Alberta labour laws have had the perverse effect of denying rights to public sector workers (or turning them into "criminals" when they do go on strike) and weakening the bargaining power of private sector workers (as they watch from the picket line as scabs take their jobs).

Recommendations: We recommend that the Alberta government remove blanket restrictions on the right-to-strike for public sector workers. All Canadians should have the right to withdraw their labour if the circumstances require it. Restrictions on that right should be kept to an absolute minimum. No one in government would dare to tell large numbers of people what to do with their property – why should they have the right to tell them what to do – or not to do – with their labour? We further recommend that the Alberta government impose a ban on the use of replacement workers. Such a ban would reduce the likelihood of picket line confrontations – and it would provide employers and employees with a real incentive to resolve disputes quickly and with the minimum possible disruption to the economy.