Many Alberta health-care workers are breathing a sigh of relief now that their unions have ratified new collective agreements in the previous two months. In December 22,000 Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) members, mainly health-care workers, ratified a new contract. The 30,000 United Nurses of Alberta (UNA) members were not far behind, voting in favour of a new collective agreement in late January. These agreements came after more than a year of tense negotiations. The stability of having a contract is undoubtedly an enormous relief to any worker going through the hell of working in health care during the pandemic. However, the contracts did not meet with universal acclaim.
With the new contract, nurses will get a 4.25 per cent raise over a four-year period. AUPE workers are receiving a 2.75 to 3.25 per cent raise over three years. Some workers likely see these wage increases as an improvement, especially after years of a wage freeze, while their wages were eroded by inflation. Others are not so content.
One UNA worker complained, saying, “If there was ever a time to stand up for ourselves this was it.” They added, “I wouldn’t be surprised if Jason [Kenney] is laughing at us right now.” The worker explained that the conditions were very favourable for nurses to fight for more, and that this contract has severe limitations. For one, UNA’s contact does little to improve working conditions, a key issue for many nurses. Also, both contracts have wage increases significantly below inflation, as another worker pointed out on Facebook. Compared to the beginning of 2021, inflation has reached 5.1 per cent and is expected to continue “soaring” in 2022. In other words, AUPE and UNA workers are taking an effective pay cut. On top of this, the first pay increase for AUPE comes in at the end of the year—on the exact same day as the contract’s job protections expire. This gives the UCP government just enough time to lay off workers before they can enjoy their raise.
The same UNA worker mentioned above also explained that nurses elsewhere are winning four to six per cent wage increases per year, saying this deal feels “like being punched in the gut.” This is again totally on the money. For example, nurses in Chicago won an agreement with a 12 to 31 per cent wage increase over four years. Besides helping keep pace with inflation, this raise will also significantly reduce nurses’ workloads by helping retain staff. The Chicago nurses’ contract also requires their hospital to hire 300 more nurses. They won all this after going on strike for a single day. In a related struggle in the same county, other healthcare workers won an 8.5 per cent raise over four years after an 18-day strike. Yet another example comes from Kalispell, Montana. Nurses walked off the job for three days, winning their first-ever union contract, with seven per cent pay increases and enhanced benefits. One more example is the 50,000 workers across six states and 22 unions, who bargained together and won eight per cent wage increases over four years.
However, the most interesting example comes from Québec. Much like Jason Kenney, the Quebec premier, François Legault, is no friend of the workers. Nurses in Quebec face similar conditions to Alberta nurses, who are now “hanging by a thread.” These include the introduction of private sector nurses, mandatory overtime, general overwork, and the horrors of pandemic work. In addition, Quebec nurses also recently signed a new contract. It includes six per cent wage increases over a three-year period. The contract requires the government to create more full-time positions and hire more nurses to reduce nurses’ workload and give them more stability. Still, despite being better than the Alberta nurses’ contract, the Quebec nurses’ contract falls far short. The wage increases are still below inflation, and the improvements to working conditions are not enough to fundamentally change the horrifying conditions nurses face every day. Recognizing this, only 54 per cent of Québec nurses voted in favour of the deal. In other words, 46 per cent preferred to fight!
These examples show that AUPE and UNA workers could have won a much better deal. This is especially true for nurses. With the worldwide shortage of nurses, nurses cannot be easily replaced, putting them in a very favourable bargaining position. There’s also massive public support for health-care workers. In any public sector union struggle, public opinion plays a key role, so this is another advantage for the workers. As one nurse wrote on Facebook, “If there was any year that I feel we could have made a stand it was this year … The public and community show of support has been amazing!”
A common argument on social media is that the UNA and AUPE contracts are acceptable because the UCP “cannot be reasoned with.” It’s true. They cannot be reasoned with. But the common element, in the majority of victories for nurses elsewhere, is that union leadership was willing to encourage their membership to reject a bad deal, and if necessary lead a strike. No worker wants to go on strike. But bosses walk all over unions that don’t strike when necessary and don’t prepare for a strike even though they hope to avoid one. A prepared union is a powerful thing. When a boss sees a union that is mobilized, united, and ready for battle, they shake in their boots—or Louboutins. Often, they back down. Even if they don’t—the more prepared the union, the shorter the strike. So it’s necessary to prepare to strike in advance, even while hoping to avoid it.
If the tens of thousands of health-care workers in Alberta went on strike, you can bet the government would be forced into a better deal. This is especially true because, unlike health-care workers, the UCP are hated by the majority of the population. The government is incredibly weak, riven by internal conflict, and overwhelmingly unpopular.
The health-care struggle is also not happening in isolation. Class struggle is contagious. Just like the Concordia faculty strike in Alberta is now spreading to other universities, a health-care strike could spread to workers in other industries. If this happens, a massive health-care strike could even be the gust of wind that blows down the UCP’s house of cards. However, despite these incredible possibilities and the woeful contract on offer, AUPE and UNA leadership did not mobilize for a strike. Instead, UNA leadership encouraged their members to accept the contract.
To successfully prepare, leaders must actively involve the rank and file—mobilizing them, democratically discussing and voting on all major decisions. Union members should be encouraged to take an active role in the union, carrying out the decisions made at meetings. This active participation from the rank and file will give them the understanding and confidence necessary to fight.
This confidence is what was missing for UNA and AUPE workers. Without it, it’s natural to vote for what you see as the best you can get. It also makes sense that many health-care workers lack confidence: they are being encouraged by their union leadership to take an effective pay cut, all while exhausted by the ongoing health-care catastrophe. That’s why union leadership must take a fighting approach, mobilizing the rank and file, and educating them on how to win. If union leaders are unwilling to take this approach, rank-and-file workers tired of getting a raw deal must replace them with new, militant leaders.
More struggles are on the horizon. AUPE will be in negotiations again in 2023, and UNA in 2024. The Alberta Teachers’ Association is still in bargaining. Many post-secondary unions are currently also in negotiations or already on strike. Unless these negotiations are backed up by a credible threat of strike action, union workers will continue to see declining living conditions. On the other hand, any union that stands up and fights will be an inspiration to the entire labour movement.
