AUPE on the march

By Lethbridge Herald on August 20, 2025.

Alberta government workers who are members of the AUPE rally outside the Provincial Building on 5 Avenue South on Tuesday.

Al Beeber
Lethbridge Herald

More than 20,000 Alberta government workers who are members of the Alberta Union of Public Employees could go on strike in early September if they haven’t been reached a tentative agreement with the province.

Enhanced mediation is underway and the union has served the government a hard deadline of Aug. 29 for a tentative agreement that it can  put to members for a vote, said AUPE vice-president Curtis Jackson Tuesday before a rally at the Provincial Building here.

If the deadline passes, the AUPE has made clear it will be serving strike notice by Sept. 6.

What Jackson calls a historic strike vote in May showed 90.1 per cent of members were in favour of striking. Eighty per cent of members voted, said Jackson.

“It was a huge mandate. Our members support strike action if we can’t  get a deal that sees all of our members with significant increases.”

Jackson added that prior to enhanced mediation, an offer that was presented would see only some AUPE members get pay increases.

“We’re not interested in putting a contract in front of our members  that doesn’t see all of our members getting increases,” he said.

GoA members are asking why they aren’t being treated like the United Nurses of Alberta and seeing the same market adjustments in their wage bid, said Jackson.

Many GoA workers in the union have four-year university degrees like registered nurses, so it’s not understood why, “when Albertans are under-served and we’re having a staffing crisis that we’re not seeing increases to attract new staffing,” he added.

About 25,000 GoA workers are part of the union and about 22,000 will be going on strike if that action is taken. Union members include administrative support staff, court judicial clerks, child services workers, environmental technicians on dams, spillways and waterways, health inspectors, correction workers, highway patrol  Sheriffs, courthouse Sheriffs and program services workers. Permits for heavy moves on highways would also be affected, the union VP said.

Trail maintenance workers in mountain parks and forest firefighters would also strike, said Jackson.

“There’s this misconception that unions always want to strike,” said Jackson. “ We actually want a contract for our workers and we want a fair deal. I would absolutely rejoice in us getting a tentative agreement that sees all of our members get an increase and be respected.”

Enhanced mediation, he told rally members, is usually used when unions are securing their first collective agreement. But this time it’s been implemented as a direct line “to the people that make the decisions. Instead of bargaining with people that have to go back and give a  mandate, we are bargaining directly with the people that can make a  decision.”

Jackson told members if they go on strike, they will get $1,400 bi-weekly with no taxes or deductions in addition to basic medical benefits being covered.

“We do have an essential services agreement. A strike in this position is entirely legal, you cannot be disciplined or terminated for taking  part in strike action,” he added.