Alberta’s 2023 Election First to Feature New Rules Around Union Activity

The Alberta legislature building in a file photo. The Alberta provincial election is the first to have new rules around union activity. Shutterstock

Alberta’s current election is the first being held under new regulations that put in place significant changes to the payment of union dues.

The new regulations, under Bill 32, the Restoring Balance in Alberta’s Workplaces Act, 2020, state that when setting dues, unions must indicate what amount or percentage relates to core union activities, such as administration and collective bargaining, versus “non-core” activities. The latter refers to political activities and other causes such as social issues, charities, or groups supportive of a specific political party.

Moreover, members must elect to “opt in” if they choose to pay that amount or percentage of union dues that relate to non-core activities. Employers cannot collect that portion of dues unless a member opts in.

It may not be clear if the new rules are having any effect on the current election. But John Mortimer, president of non-profit group LabourWatch, says union funding has been a factor in some previous Alberta elections.

Mortimer said Alberta’s new rules are the first among Canadian provinces to start offering what many other industrialized countries already have—workers’ right not to have their dues used for a non-work purpose.

“Alberta happens to be the first part of Canada that has made a move towards what every other country either does by statute, [like] Australia and New Zealand, which is protect workers from being forced to pay for activities that are not related to work,” Mortimer said.

He’s hoping other provinces follow suit.

Union Reaction

The Epoch Times contacted a number of labour organizations for comment but only heard back from two, both stating no one was available.

However, several unions have made it clear they’re not impressed.

In December, the Alberta branch of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents some 40,000 workers in the province, announced that it would challenge the legislation in court.

CUPE said in a news release that the rules infringe on unions’ freedom of speech and freedom of association. It added that the rules are an attempt to stop CUPE from taking positions on issues of public concern like health care or education funding.

“I’d like to not pay taxes for the so-called war room, … but the UCP doesn’t give anyone the option to opt-out of those projects,” CUPE Alberta President Rory Gill said.

The Alberta Union of Public Employees (AUPE), the province’s largest union, represents more than 95,000 workers. In a June 2022 membership update, it called the new rules an “unnecessary and unjustified interference in the democratically approved processes of the union.”

AUPE said that “we take our legal obligations seriously,” noting, “After carefully assessing all our financial information and legal obligations, we can report to you that none of your ongoing dues will be spent on non-core activities.”

“As such, there is no election required and as of August 1, 2022, we expect that your employer(s) will continue to deduct and remit dues in the same amounts as have been deducted and remitted to this point.”

However, AUPE added that it also gets “significant revenue” from sources other than ongoing union dues.

Earlier this month, the UCP wrote letters to Elections Alberta alleging that the Alberta Federation of Labour, CUPE (Alberta), and the Alberta Teachers Association have contravened provincial election financing legislation by running ads to benefit the Alberta NDP.  The NDP and the unions have denied the allegations.

Hard to Enforce

Mortimer said Canada’s rules around union membership and activities are out of step with most developed countries.

“In Europe, nobody, nobody has to become a member of the union, but they can still hold down a unionized job. Why? Because forced union membership, according to the European Court of Human Rights, is a human rights violation,” he said.

While he sees the Alberta rules as a step in the right direction, he also said it’s going to be difficult to enforce, since many unions get revenue from sources other than membership dues.

“If they [unions] don’t tell workers and workers don’t know … unless the labour board’s got people out there investigating, I don’t know that this is going to make any difference at all,” he said.

For his part, Gill said in CUPE’s news release that the new rules amount to “a kind of low-level union busting.”

“The UCP doesn’t like the political direction CUPE has been given by our members in open votes. So they are trying to use legislation to shut us up,” said Gill.

While some union leaders have accused LabourWatch of being anti-union, Mortimer argued that the non-profit offers advice that’s hard to get—such as how to avoid joining a union, or how to leave if you want to, as well as the rights and responsibilities of union membership.

However, he added, overall union membership is in decline.

“Statistically, all over the world, they’re in decline … and it’s because workers don’t want their product and their services.”