Yesterday academic unions around Alberta hosted rallies in support of the healthcare workers who engaged in an unsanctioned wildcat strike on October 26th. The strike was in response to planned privatization of 11,000 AUPE jobs such as laboratories, laundry, housekeeping, and food services. Workers in dozens of different locations walked off the job, returning to regular duties the next day. This push to privatization disproportionately affects women, particularly women of colour.

One-day job actions like this one often don’t have immediately visible impact and so can leave people wondering if it was a success or not. It is best to view the walkout as a first major step in building momentum towards further labour action in Alberta, particularly as multiple public sector unions move into bargaining. It was vital that other unions around the province step up to celebrate the bravery of the healthcare workers.

Three rallies took place in Athabasca, Edmonton, and Calgary and were organized by faculty unions with enthusiastic attendance from our sibling unions CUPE 3911 and AUPE 69 in addition to many others. Attendance ranged from around 50 in Calgary to around 60 in Athabasca and upwards of 200 in Edmonton. The Athabasca rally was organized by AUFA, the Edmonton rally by NASA and AASUA at the University of Alberta, and the Calgary rally by the Mount Royal Faculty Association. Attending unions included the above post-secondary unions, The Amalgamated Transit Union, United Nurses of Alberta, Health Sciences Association, and the Iron Workers.

This is in addition to early-morning rallies staged by the AFL on the same day to welcome workers coming on to shift, which also saw attendance from AUFA members.

Solidarity rally in Calgary. Source: AUPE Facebook Page

Athabasca rally

In Athabasca, 60-70 people were attendance marking this one of the largest rallies in town memory. Athabasca is a town of 3,000 people and thus the turnout was significant, bolstered by attendance by community groups. The rally was held over lunchtime with healthcare workers coming out on break to celebrate with the attendees, which included a march in front of the hospital, a few speeches, and an out of tune banjo.

No discipline

The workers who took part in the job action are all vulnerable to disciplinary action from management, which can include suspension without pay or even termination. In Athabasca, 71 names signed a petition demanding no discipline of the healthcare workers who took part in the strike, which has been sent to senior AHS management.

The Non-Academic Staff Association at University of Alberta have also started an online no-discipline petition we encourage all members to sign here.

Why hold these rallies?

Solidarity is not a buzzword. It is a strategy. The mass privatization of positions faced by healthcare workers mirrors the designation battle that AUFA members face. Around the world, working people of all kinds face the same struggles. Suppressed wage growth, casualization, and erosion of protections and benefits. AUFA members are in a privileged position, and it is incumbent upon us to use that privilege to bolster and empower others. When we act in the interests of other working people, we do so in our own interest as well. Our battles with designation and what may be an extremely contentious round of bargaining are serious ones, and we will need allies to win. By hosting rallies like these, and attending the rallies and pickets of others, we can find those allies and work towards our common cause.

David Powell

President, Athabasca University Faculty Association