By Raphaël Boutroy, Communications Staff
AUPE members in St. Paul recently started a chain reaction of direct action, where they showed support for their negotiating teams and protested when the government was in town.
Alberta's Minister of Justice, Mickey Amery, visited the courthouse in St. Paul this June. Members were determined to make their voices heard while he was in town. Some even contacted the Minister directly to tell him members were waiting for his visit.
However, on the day of the event, members were asked to leave and to take down the balloons and the signs they put up. They were forced to take these down despite the Minister himself saying they could.
“By working together and showing up for each other, we are sending a clear message to employers across the province that we are united.”
“I think Minister Amery didn’t realize what he had agreed to,” says AUPE Vice-President James Gault. “From what I was told, he stood quietly in the corner while the members he had given his permission to be there were removed. It was his doing, and he wouldn’t own up to it.”
Members allowed sheriffs to remove the red balloons but stood their ground with the signs they had made.
More than that, some quick-thinking members gave the sheriffs – themselves part of AUPE Local 003 – red Time for Action bracelets. The sheriffs proudly wore our bracelets while on duty at the Minister’s visit.
“Direct action can make people a little nervous, but these members showed that direct action works, even when things don’t go quite as planned,” says Gault.
These members in St. Paul figured out how to walk the line. They kept their action visible and purposeful all while respecting the event being held by the Minister. Members made a difference by working together and showing decency for one another.
The Sheriffs were not the only ones to get involved in this direct action. AUPE members at the St. Paul hospital also wore red to show their support.
“By working together and showing up for each other, we are sending a clear message to employers across the province that we are united,” says Gault.
With more rallies around the corner, it is time to take note of what was done in St. Paul and prepare for your own action. With 82,000 members in bargaining, we have a unique opportunity to use our collective power to make our lives better, both in and outside the workplace.
“Many of us are already struggling,” says Gault. “If we don’t fight for better collective agreements now, we will fall even further behind. But we will only get what we deserve at the bargaining table if we fight for it.”
Get involved with your Chapter to help organize direct actions like the one in St. Paul. Talk to your coworkers and work to make your union voice heard.