AUPE Convention 2023 is a wrap, but the real hard work starts now!
Every year, members gather at Convention to set the tone, direction, and pace of the union. Convention is where we celebrate what we’ve accomplished together and decide how we move forward.
Just as President Guy Smith said on the first day of Convention 2023:
“This year is different. Times are different. The needs are more urgent. This isn’t an address – it’s a call to action.”
Delegates’ response to that call to action was clear: AUPE members are ready to take on the challenges ahead and win big.
Some of our employers mistake our dedication and compassion for weakness – but members across all sectors have had enough. We are coming together like never before to demand wage increases, job security, proper staffing levels, improved benefits, and mental health support at the bargaining table.
At Convention, we heard AUPE’s Standing Committees and Provincial Executive are already taking important strides in tackling issues such as the climate crisis, social justice, establishing a living wage, working short, improving domestic violence leave, protecting our pensions and fighting for human rights. Locals and their leadership are also hard at work putting their strategic plans into action.
“This year is different. Times are different. The needs are more urgent. This isn’t an address – it’s a call to action.”
Delegates also elected the union’s new Executive Committee, including President Guy Smith, Executive Secretary-Treasurer Justin Huseby, and Vice-Presidents Sandra Azocar, Bobby-Joe Borodey, James Gault, Bonnie Gostola, Darren Graham, and Curtis Jackson. The large number of diverse candidates meant delegates had many perspectives to choose from, a sign of a strong and vibrant democracy.
What does this all add up to? President Smith has the answer.
“AUPE members are building workplace power to strengthen our solidarity and act together to achieve our goals,” he says.
The theme at this year’s Convention was Union Power Starts With Us All! We saw those words in action through a strong show of democracy and debate on the Convention floor. Now, the task is for each member to take that energy to our worksites and communities across the province.
“Approximately 82,000 AUPE members will enter bargaining for new collective agreements in 2024,” says Smith. “Never before have we had the opportunity for nearly the entire union to build a critical mass of collective power."
We are about to enter a historic moment in AUPE’s history. The stakes are high. Facing our employers at the bargaining table won’t be easy—it rarely is—but that is why it is important to build each other up, so that we are prepared to take action when and if it becomes necessary.
“We must go forward, boldly, for our coworkers, our families, and for all Albertans,” says Smith. “United, we are strong.”
So, let’s roll up our sleeves, get the job done, and show our employers what AUPE members are made of.