The ULFA Executive has joined unions from across Alberta in signing the Common Front Alberta Solidarity Pact. This pact commits ULFA to supporting unions against any attacks by the government preventing the right to strike. We are committed to standing in solidarity with organized labour, and know the value of this support from our own job action this time three years ago. The Solidarity Pact is as follows:
Common Front Alberta Solidarity Pact
Commitment to Collective Defense
The undersigned unions commit to the principle of collective defense and agree that an attack by the Government of Alberta, the Government of Canada, or a private-sector employer on any partner union is an attack on all partner unions. All partner unions commit to taking decisive action to assist any attacked partner union or group of unions through concerted and coordinated actions.
We are particularly concerned about the right to strike, which is central to workers’ bargaining power and the ability to maintain and improve the standard of living for all Albertans. Partner unions will view any effort by the Government of Alberta or the Government of Canada to strip or limit the right to strike from one union or a group of unions as an attack on all unions and workers.
The Rationale
Workers have long understood that the best way to build and maintain bargaining power is to work collectively in unions. The interests of workers can sometimes only be defended by individual unions coming together to work collectively as a multi-union common front.
The current conditions in Alberta require a commitment to solidarity and collective defense among and between unions. Those conditions include provincial and federal governments that do not respect the right to strike.
The Alberta government has adopted many policies which, taken together, can be seen as a deliberate wage-suppression strategy. These Alberta government policies include:
- An ideological hostility to strikes.
- A more than 6-year minimum wage freeze.
- The use of secret bargaining mandates in public-sector negotiations.
- Legal changes that make it harder for workers to join unions and bargain collectively.
- A refusal to budget for wage increases, even in the context of high inflation, large surpluses and crippling staff shortages.
- Policy changes that make it easier for employers to avoid paying overtime and easier for them pick “employer-friendly” unions over real unions.
These Alberta government policies have already had the effect of decreasing Alberta’s standard of living, with our province experiencing the slowest rate of wage growth in the country over 2019-2024 and average Alberta hourly and weekly inflation-adjusted wages falling behind both British Columbia and Quebec. Alberta is also the only province where average wages have not caught up to the spike in inflation experienced in all provinces in the last two years.
Any further attacks on collective bargaining or the right to strike will decrease the bargaining power of Alberta workers and further grind down wages and living standards. Common Front Alberta was created to fight back against governments and employers who don’t respect workers and who don’t want to see workers get ahead and prosper.
