AHS GSS: Bargaining committee files complaints at Labour board

Locals 054, 056, 057, 058, 095, and Lamont Health Care GSS

After the employer cancelled May dates for collective bargaining, your bargaining committee at AHS general support services has filed an application for a cease-and-desist order, and an unfair labour practices complaint at the Alberta Labour Relations Board.

In March, your bargaining committee rejected a Memorandum of Agreement from the employer, which would have further postponed bargaining in exchange for temporary job security and Covid provisions. Our message was clear—we want AHS to get back to the bargaining table. Now, the employer is cancelling bargaining dates and claiming that they need to “focus on the pandemic response.”

For all their talk of focusing on the pandemic, the employer has used their time to begin the process of “contracting-out” our family in ancillary retail food services. On April 27, the employer advised that “AHS is contemplating a contracting-out initiative of its ancillary retail food services.”

That’s why your bargaining committee filed these complaints. We refuse to let the employer disregard their commitment to collective bargaining while they slash jobs.

We’re tired of being called “heroes” by the same people planning to privatize our jobs and throw us to the curb as soon as the pandemic is under control. We’re the ones who have kept this province together over the past year, and we deserve respect. That means more than an empty “thank you.” It means the employer taking their responsibilities to us seriously.

Your bargaining committee will make sure to keep you informed about any developments as they emerge.

In order to keep you up to date, we need effective ways of communicating with you. Create your own personal MyAUPE account on www.aupe.org to receive all AHS GSS bargaining news and important union updates. You’ll also need a MyAUPE account to participate in this year’s annual general meetings and elections, so sign up to get more involved in our union.

The most important thing for us to do here is to stay united, and to make that unity clear to the employer. Let’s get back to bargaining, and work out a fair deal. We shouldn’t have to bring complaints to the ALRB to get this done.

If you have any questions, concerns, or comments, don’t hesitate to reach out to your bargaining committee.

AHS GSS Negotiating Team

Local 054

Julie Woodford - juliew.chp006@gmail.com

Charity Hill (A) - charity.johanson@gmail.com

Local 056

Tammy Lanktree – local56.bargaining@gmail.com

Local 057

Darren Graham - chairlocal057@aupe.ca

Wendy Kicia (A) - wendykicia@hotmail.com

Local 058

Anton Schindler - waterdude69@gmail.com