For the last 30 years labour organizations, with the help of the Edmonton and District Labour council, have been holding a Labour Day barbecue at Giovanni Caboto park within the heart of our city. Here, many underprivileged and underemployed citizens gathered for a meal. The goal has always been to draw attention to the needs of the hard-working people in Edmonton. With a world pandemic on our ...

Many still misunderstand why wearing a mask at this time is important. The point is not that most masks will meaningfully prevent the wearer from getting sick -- they won’t. The point is that by wearing any kind of mouth and nose covering, the wearer is considerably less likely to asymptotically spread the virus.

After taking a well-deserved summer break, our communications committee is back with the newest edition of our newsletter. This will also be the first issue since the pandemic started to have a physical print version distributed.

Although many of us are suffering pandemic fatigue, this latest scare should remind us to remain vigilant in our health measures. Last month, Edmonton city council passed a bylaw that makes wearing a mask mandatory for all public, indoor places... Despite this bylaw not applying to most of our members, we're encouraging everyone to always wear a mask at work.

The result was what we’ve been warning members about since this mess started: the conditions making your job worse will continue to fester. Yes, our pay was increased to barely match inflation, but in the context of the whole contract, this amounts to little more than a band-aid being applied to a severed artery -- it’ll take slightly longer, but we’re still bleeding out.

Our Local is inspired by the bravery of Shades of Colour (YEG) to not let the legacy of Pride be co-opted by one of the institutions that helped necessitate the need for Pride to exist in the first place, and we wholeheartedly support their ongoing efforts to provide a sense of safety and belonging for many in the LGBTQ+ community. Black & Indigenous Trans Lives Matter!

The labour movement knows well the oppression that government and police are willing to inflict on those demanding justice. Not long ago, our own union was painfully reminded that constitutional rights only exist as long as they don’t inconvenience the powerful. If we had dared to defy this authority, police boots and fines would be there to remind us of our ‘place’ in the world.

The year ahead will provide many challenges. After rejecting every one of our proposals throughout negotiation, our contract arbitration will not likely meaningfully address our demands. As soon as that resolves, it will not be long before we start developing demands for our next round of negotiations. The reality of this process is that our union only has as much leverage as our membership is ...