OLDS — The Kenney government’s newly-introduced Restoring Balance in Alberta’s Workplaces Act is good for district businesses and families, says area MLA Nathan Cooper.
Bobby-Joe Borodey, the vice-president of Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) and an admissions officer at Olds College, calls it an attack on workers’ rights.
If passed, the legislation would, according to the government, increase “employee choice by ensuring union members are not forced to fund political activities without explicit opt-in approval” and “restore balance between employers and employees with updated rules for union certification and revocation.”
Cooper is the UCP MLA for Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills.
“This is a commitment that the government made when they were running for office to restore balance in the workplace, and the government is fulfilling that commitment,” said Cooper.
Asked what he means by balance, he said, “The balance between workers and job creators. There are a number of pieces in this legislation that fulfill those commitments.
“Obviously one of the big one is unions’ ability to be involved in political activism. This legislation allows member of a union to determine whether or not they would like union due applied to political activities.”
Asked if the fact some unions worked against the UCP during the past election is part of the motivation behind the new legislation, he said, “This doesn’t prevent unions from engaging on issues of public discourse. What it prevents is unions using their members’ dues against the wishes of those individual members. It gives union members choice.”
Borodey says the legislation is unreasonable and should be withdrawn.
“We feel Bill 32 is an attack on all working Albertans,” said Borodey. “It does call out unions specifically, but ultimately if it passes we do feel that it is an attack on all Alberta workers.
“The bill itself is looking at taking away power from working Albertans. It’s an attempt to take away power."
The UCP government is “trying to restrict where unions can spend their money, how they can collect dues, and they are also looking at putting limitations and restraints around where we can picket during a strike,” she said.
The AUPE is consulting with legal counsel about a possible lawsuit against Bill 32, she said.
“It’s very possible that this could be a tipping point to take job action,” she said.
The province’s largest union, the AUPE does not donate to any political parties, she said.
Jason Copping is Alberta’s Minister of Labour and Immigration.
“Our government was elected on the promise of supporting employee choice and to bring balance back to Alberta’s labour laws,” said Copping.
Rachel Notley is the leader of the official Opposition.
“This bill does a number of things that will hurt already hard hit Alberta families by rolling back the hard-won rights of working people,” said Notley.
