cswanson@agricore.com and demand that he bargain a fair collective agreement. Here is a suggested message that you can copy and paste, changing as you see fit:
"Mr. Swanson, As we move forward into a new millennium, stop trying to turn back the clock on workers' rights. Respect and value your employees by agreeing to fair contract language on such key issues as seniority, severance, lay-off, maternity and family leave, salaries, increments, and bonuses. Bargain a fair collective agreement with the Grain Services Union!"
2. Forward this entire message to other people you know and ask them to help out.
Thank you for your support.
Adriane Paavo
Staff Representative
Grain Services Union (ILWU Canada)
2334 McIntyre Street, Regina, Sask., S4P 2S2
(306) 522-6686 (tel.) 565-3430 (fax)
OTHER NEWS
Bissell's director leavingLarry Derkach says he is still humbled after more than two decades working with
the people of Edmonton's inner city.
"What has really been amazing to me is to see people who have very little being
extremely generous,'' he says.
Edmonton Council braces for tough budget choices
Battle brewing over borrowing for capital projects
400 Canadian Airlines jobs on the line
Air Canada buyout means job losses at Calgary head officE
1999 Compensation and Human Resources Outlook Conference:
SETTING THE STAGE FOR SUCCESS: STRATEGIES FOR THE NEW
MILLENNIUM
he Conference Board of Canada’s annual compensation survey will be one of the highlights of
the 1999 Western Compensation and Human Resources Outlook Conference in Calgary on Monday, November 8.
Canadian employees can expect healthy increases in their take-home pay next year, according to the Board’s Compensation
Planning Outlook 2000, presented by Prem Benimadhu, Vice-President of the Centre for Management Effectiveness and
Director of the Compensation Research Centre.
Canada’s economic outlook will be the focus of a presentation by the Board’s Director of Economic Services, Paul Darby,
followed by a presentation by Michael B. Percy, Dean of the Faculty of Business at the University of Alberta, about the public and
social policy issues that affect employers in Western Canada.
The Conference Board of Canada
Tax reductions have been a hot issue in politics recently and the New Democrats have got a solid and fair
alternative to reduce the tax load felt by working families. See the effects of the Tory, Liberal and New
Democrat tax proposals
Not such a capital idea after all - Smith
Talks on regional gov't going nowhere
Buzz Hargrove to Discuss CAW Bargaining
Strategy at AUPE Convention
Staff at Wedman Village Homes Join AUPE
Extendicare Mayerthorpe Staff Joins
AUPE
Laurence Decore remembered by Premier Klein for his contributions to
public life
New Deputy Minister chosen for Children's Services
"Paula Tyler's extensive knowledge and experience will be valuable to this Ministry and to the children, individuals
and families of Alberta in her new role as Deputy Minister."
Iris Evans
Minister, Alberta Children's Services
November is Family Violence Prevention Month in Alberta
Alberta Government urging for quick settlement in port lockout
The Alberta Government is hoping that the British Columbia Maritime Employers' Association
(BCMEA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) can resume negotiations and avert a
planned lockout at the Port of Vancouver that would cost Alberta companies millions of dollars a day.
E-commerce 'road show' set to go
- An upcoming series of seminars entitled Connectivity 2000 will begin a five-city tour around the
province in mid-November to provide information on the impact of electronic commerce on businesses in
Alberta.
Co-sponsored by Alberta Economic Development, Alberta Innovation & Science and the Government of
Canada, these in-depth information sessions will inform businesses and communities regarding enabling
technologies, applications to business development and the delivery of community services to the public via
e-commerce.
The Connectivity 2000 'road show' will run from 7:45 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. in the following locations (and dates)
across the province: Edmonton on November 15, 1999; Red Deer on November 16, 1999; Calgary on
November 17, 1999; Medicine Hat on November 18, 1999; and Lethbridge on November 19, 1999.
Premier leads Alberta government commitment to Climate Change
Central
"Climate Change Central is a unique private-public partnership that will help us tackle a global concern with the
know-how and creativity of Alberta's greatest natural resource¾ its people."
Ralph Klein, Premier
Government to Introduce New Health Information Legislation
Work site fatality in Edmonton results in charges
Charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act and Regulations have been laid against Maple Leaf Metal Industries
Ltd. of Edmonton.
The prosecution results from an Alberta Human Resources and Employment investigation into a workplace fatality that occurred
on February 24, 1999. A labourer employed by Maple Leaf Metal Industries was fatally injured when his clothing became
entangled in a conveyor, which caused his asphyxiation.
Labour Force Statistics, October 1999 (November 5)
Fletcher's Fine Foods Buys Gainers Property
Province applauds $150 million research investment in Alberta by
Canadian pharmaceutical companies
Minister to discuss agriculture and other cross-border issues with U.S.
Shirley McClellan, Minister of International and Intergovernmental Relations, will be travelling to Washington,
Montana and Idaho to advance Alberta’s interests on agriculture and other cross-border issues with key legislators and
business leaders, November 8 - 10.
Derek Redman appointed Lethbridge Community College Board Chair
Global Visions Film Festival
Edmonton Nov 4-7
Mexico's Marcos meets match,Filmmaker's portrait of revolutionary a tribute to her
When Sub-commandante Marcos rode out of the jungles of Chiapas more than a
half decade ago, he became the most charismatic revolutionary of his time.
Dressed in a black balaclava which revealed only his eyes, and with a
battered forage cap on his head, he was the poster boy for the world's
latest peasant uprising. It was, pundits said, the first post-modern
rebellion and Marcos made use of the world's fascination with both celebrity
and the Internet.
A multilingual intellectual, he was more than articulate enough in a
half-dozen languages to make the sufferings of the indigenous and poor of
Mexico into an international cause celebre. The pipe clenched between his
teeth gave him a professorial air, and he became an iconic
Che-with-a-woolen-mask.
The French fashion magazine Marie Claire would send a crew from the
boulevards of Paris to the humid jungles of Mexico to shoot Marcos on
horseback, Marcos in a tent, Marcos consulting with natives, Marcos being
... well, Marcos.
He was the Scarlet Pimpernel of the Mexican bush.
And in A Place Called Chiapas, the latest documentary from Canadian
filmmaker Nettie Wild, Marcos is both admired and questioned.
While it's clear that Wild's sympathies are with him and the Zapatistas,
it's equally obvious that Wild isn't afraid to ask the kind of questions
that can turn the charismatic Marcos into the querulous Marcos. It is a
tribute to the Vancouver filmmaker, who has travelled the world making
tough, single-minded and smart documentaries, that Marcos finally agrees to
a one-on-one interview with Wild after he rejected the first of her
requests.
ARTS FUNDING CUTS KILL THEATRES
Edmonton's Stage Polaris goes under
Polaris' death particularly sad in theatre city
Alberta Theatre Projects in financial trouble
ABOLISH THE SENATE
McLellan skeptical of elected Senate support
'No consensus in the country for changes'
Alberta continues push for Senate reform
PRIVATE HOSPITAL GROUP SUES PAM BARRETT AND ALBERTA NEW DEMOCRATS---DEFENSE FUND LAUNCHED
It’s Official - HRG Suing Barrett and the Alberta New Democrats
ND President Les Steel announces Pam Barrett Legal Defense Fund
ACTION ALERT!
HELP SAVE LITTLE MOUNTAIN NATURAL AREA IN
EDMONTON!
Natural area
too costly, says council
Little Mountain would have cost city $2M-$3M
STOP THE
DEPORTATION OF EDMONTON NANNY LETICIA
CABLES
Immigration won't deport nanny, for now
Philippine woman in Edmonton can stay
until courts decide on review: Caplan
Deportation cloud looms over nanny
Stay means 'I can go outside, but I'm not able to work'
Filipina nanny Leticia Cables says a chance to
breathe fresh air without the fear of deportation isn't
freedom at all.
In a court affidavit, Cables claims her primary employer encouraged her to work
for more than one employer at a time -- a violation of her work visa.
Cables also claims her employer and his wife paid her as little as $240 per
month, even though they reported her earnings as more than $1,000 per month to
Revenue Canada.
Seifner, who is representing Cables free of charge, has also launched formal
complaints with the employment standards branch and the Law Society of
Alberta.
Personal records not protected in health bill --
MLA
Just general data will be shared, bill's author says
Bill to allow private health contracts blasted
But Klein says it will mean more choice, and better service
Premier Ralph Klein's plan to protect medicare while allowing
private health contracts is bound to fail, critics insisted Friday.
"We need legislation that says private for-profit hospitals will
not be allowed to exist," Heather Smith, president of the
United Nurses of Alberta, said.
Friends of Medicare chair Christine Burdett said Friday the government's original
Bill 37 failed because it did not prohibit private for-profit hospitals.
Burdett said Klein offered assurances then, too, but strong public opposition to
private hospitals forced the government to withdraw the bill. She said his new
assurances mean nothing to Albertans unless this key issue is addressed.
AUPE HEALTH SERVICES SECTOR PLOTS A UNIFIED
STAND IN COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
For the first time in the Alberta Union of Provincial Employee's (AUPE)
history, negotiating teams for over 200 bargaining units representing
Auxiliary Nursing Personnel, Mental and Community Health and Support
Service Workers will meet to produce one collective bargaining mandate.
As the Alberta Government enjoys a thriving economy with billion dollar
surpluses, AUPE members also expect to be recognized for their
contributions in helping the government eliminate the deficit and build this
surplus.
UNION OUTRAGED BY ARBITRATION AWARD
The ALBERTA UNION OF PROVINCIAL EMPLOYEES is
condemning a contract settlement imposed on health care workers in the
Alberta government by a Compulsory Arbitration Board.
Members of AUPE Local 10 who work in provincially-run institutions
such as prisons and the Michener Centre in Red Deer were given an
award yesterday by Arbitrator John Moreau that essentially imposes a
"pattern of settlement" established almost two years ago for other Locals
in the Government Service.
Front-Line Health Care Staff Hiring Hits Target Early
The Alberta government is close to exceeding its target of hiring 1,000 additional front-line health workers this
year for the province's emergency wards, acute-care hospitals, long-term care and home care programs.
Figures for only the first three months of the 1999-2000 fiscal year show that 950 new full-time front-line
positions have been filled by the province's 17 regional health authorities. The Calgary Regional Health Authority
and Edmonton's Capital Health Authority reported filling 389 and 344 additional positions respectively.
Health Care Crisis in Alberta News Stories
Why Strengthening Medicare is Good For Business
Barrett Responds To Premier Klein's Intention to Bring Back Bill 37
MacBeth Calls for Moratorium on Expansion of
Private Health Care
Alberta to allow contracting
with private firms for medical
operations
Ralph Klein, Alberta's Premier, said his government will
allow regional health authorities to contract with private firms for
medically necessary operations -- including overnight surgery stays --
as long as it doesn't violate the Canada Health Act. Under legislation
to be introduced next spring, Alberta's health minister will decide
whether any contracted surgery or other services would contravene the
federal law.
Health needs public money not private care, surgeons say
Waiting lists for joint replacement at centre of debate
Keep Hospitals Public and Non-Profit Urges Barrett
Allowing hip replacements in for-profit facilities a dangerous move
Going down the private hospital road
The Edmonton Journal Editorial
Klein considering private health companies
Firms would help reduce waiting lists
Tories determined to push through health-care bill
The Alberta government will push through controversial private hospitals legislation next spring no matter
the outcry because people are suffering, Premier Ralph Klein said Saturday.
"The time has come," Klein told reporters at the party's annual policy convention.
"The situation is quite critical relative to the waiting lists that we're experiencing. We've got to find new ways to deliver services."
Klein said the province will look at contracting out work for specific surgeries like hip replacements, noting that health
authorities are already contracting out day surgeries and long-term care.
Education Crisis in Alberta News Stories
School prayer puzzle
unresolved in Alberta
The debate over prayer in schools
isn't over in Alberta. One board is bringing
back the Lord's Prayer despite its official
status as unwelcome in the classroom.
The Foothills School Division on Wednesday
decided to keep the Christian prayer out of
the classroom, but agreed to provide a forum
for Christian children to pray each morning.
Fifty enter public board race
Love, Tilston not running
Fifty hopefuls seek election to Calgary school
board
Province fired previous board last August
Calgary voters will have a near-record field of candidates -- but few recognizable
names -- to choose from in the upcoming public school board byelection.
On Monday morning, 50 people put their names on the ballot for the Nov. 29 vote,
including three from the former board: chair Teresa Woo-Paw, vice-chair Lynn
Nishimura and Peggy Anderson.
Grad students' paycheques missing again
Frustration mounts over U of A's computer problems
$30 million investment established to attract top
technology researchers to Alberta universities
Second bank gives $1 million to U of A
New power supply keeping up with Alberta's robust growth
EPCOR NEWS STORIES
Epcor waits until spring so historic site can be
studied
Preliminary report won't be released
Epcor president Don Lowry is waiting on a final archeological report to determine
how best to exhibit artifacts found at the Rossdale power plant a month ago.
"We're looking at what we have to do to preserve that. Dig it out? Put it under
Plexiglas? We don't really know. That's why we have experts down there," said
Lowry, emerging from an Epcor shareholders meeting with city councillors Friday.
Coun. Brian Mason said he has been assured by Epcor that all information about
the dig would be made public eventually.
But one local historian said there's no reason for any of this information to be held
back.
"It's just more Epcor arrogance," said Tony Cashman. "They set new standards
for arrogance."
Cashman said it's remarkable that wood remains have survived 200 years
embedded in the wet soil. And while it might not look like much, the site is a
significant part of Edmonton's history.
THE PRIVATIZATION OF EDTEL
WATER WATCH CAMPAIGN
Canada and International News
on the campaign against the privatization of Water.
Radical Edmonton Network News and Announcements
Poverty and Homelessness in Edmonton
City of Edmonton Studies Privtization of Municipal Services
Anti-Fascist Rally in Leduc October 23
Change for Children Association
Hello all: Just a short note to invite all of you to visit www.changeforchildren.org It's not complete yet, but it's up, and already contains substantial information. Please drop by and send us your thoughts, criticisms, and suggestions. Look for more updates soon. Ricardo.
Change for Children Association
10545 - 92 Street Edmonton, AB T5H 1V1
ph: (780) 448-1505 fax: (780) 448-1507
www.changeforchildren.org Cherie Klassen - Administrative Coordinator
Ron Berezan - Education Coordinator
Ricardo Acua - Projects Coordinator
Regulatory Options for Livestock
Operations
Since early 1998, Albertans have had the opportunity to participate in discussions on how
best to sustainably manage the growing livestock industry in the province. A discussion
paper and questionnaire, entitled Regulatory Options for Intensive Livestock
Operations, were distributed to stakeholders and 18 open houses were held in various
locations.
Following the first consultation process, a Stakeholder Advisory Group was formed to
provide specific recommendations to the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural
Development regarding changes that may be made to the current system. Using the results
of the public consultation process, as well as the advice of an expert committee on
standards, the Advisory Group has now prepared a framework it believes will be
acceptable to all stakeholders.
Many stakeholders had indicated they wanted to see a complete package of the
proposed Act, Regulations and the Standards Document that has been developed as a
result of consultations and discussions. Enclosed is the full package, as well as a
questionnaire for you to fill out. This paper marks the final round of consultations by the
Stakeholders Advisory Group on these issues. After feedback is gathered, the Advisory
Group will make recommendations to the Honourable Ty Lund, Minister of Agriculture,
Food and Rural Development, on how to proceed.
Please complete the questionnaire and return it in the self-addressed, business reply
envelope by November 1, 1999. Information sessions will be held during the month of
October, 1999. These documents are also available on the Internet, on Alberta
Agriculture's website at the following address: http://www.agric.gov.ab.ca/ilo. If you have
any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Maureen Barnes, Alberta Agriculture,
Food and Rural Development, at (780)427-4369.
BEVERLY SMITH CAMPAIGNS FOR HOMEMAKER RIGHTS
Beverly Smiths HomepageCampaign by Alberta Homemaker to get tax breaks for stay at home mothers
UN to hear Calgary mother's
complaint
Canadian laws slight stay-at-home
parents, she says
Minister to meet activist
homemaker
20-year war of words
Hedy Fry, the Status
of Women Minister,
has asked for a
meeting with Beverly
Smith, the Calgary
homemaker who has
been writing to
federal politicians for
20 years, claiming
that Canada
discriminates against
stay-at-home
parents.
Ms. Smith's contends
there is tax
discrimination against
parents who stay at
home and take care
of their families.
Tension in the OilpatchA CBC Radio News investigation on the growing friction between the oil and gas industry and
landowners in Alberta.
Wiebo Ludwig puts his story on the Net
He's confined to his farm but has had 1,800 hits on his site
Alberta's Socreds may have ended Wiebo Ludwig's hopes of leading their party
but he still has a way of getting his message out to the world -- on the Internet.
His Web site at www.wiebo.net includes photos of their farm and area oil well
flares, an appeal for donations for their legal defence fund and a detailed diary of
their life from 1990 to the end of 1998.
The Web site been active for about three weeks and it logged up to 1,800 visits
last week, says Wiebo Ludwig, whose bail conditions restrict him to the Trickle
Creek farm northwest of Grande Prairie.
"Part of the reason we're doing it is to give people some sense of the story behind
the stories," he said Tuesday.
Ludwig is facing 18 charges related to oilpatch vandalism and is currently on bail
awaiting trial.
According to the Web site, they have spent $150,000 fighting the oil industry in
the past few years and face "crippling legal costs."
Ludwig's bid to lead Socreds ends abruptly
Executive pulls his party membership and blocks any run
Court won't let him travel so Ludwig drops bid
to become Socred leader
He must stay on farm until trial for vandalism
Wiebo Ludwig running for Socred
leadership
Charges unlikely in Ludwig shooting
case, RCMP say
Outdated gas plants among worst polluters
EUB releases paper inviting public, industry input
Ludwig trial moved to Edmonton
Too much 'hostility' in Grande Prairie
Delay of hearing into oil
company practices angers
accused family
Seven charged in well fire
Residents ready to take on big business
Proposed sour gas wells have the public up in arms against the energy industry
Public concerns over sour gas development in the Drayton Valley area are mounting as the number of proposed sour gas wells
close to populated areas grows.
Report raises oil and gas concerns
Government needs to restore funding for adequate inspections by AEUB
Alberta urged to respond to
environmental fears
The Alberta government must put more muscle back into
regulating the oil and gas industry to address growing public unease over pollution,
says an environmental think-tank.
Over the past several months media attention has focused on oilpatch sabotage in
northwestern Alberta but has largely ignored the root problem - increasing concern
over the industry's impact on the environment and people's health, suggests the
Pembina Institute.
To read a copy of the report online go to: Pembina Institute
AEC cuts flaring from oil and gas wells
Activist and family charged with
endangering life in oil patch bombing Again
Ethical mutual fund considers
dropping AEC from portfolio
Call to ban flaring in the
oilpatch
Health risks
An environmental group wants Alberta to toughen proposed regulations
to virtually ban flaring, the burning of unwanted natural gas, a move that
would cost petroleum producers billions of dollars to implement. The
Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers dismissed the call as
impractical and uneconomic. The Calgary-based Citizens' Oil & Gas
Council wants strict regulations to apply to new and old wells and
plants, eliminating "grandfathering" that would excluding existing sites
from meeting higher standards.
Oil-patch battle spurs restrictions on flaring
Alberta plans reforms amid pollution controversy
Eco-terrorism is a global issue: SmithThe so-called industrial terrorism that has taken place in the Peace Country over the past few years is at least in part due to
globalization, says an international expert on the topic.
Dr. David Smith, a education professor and director of the Centre for the Study of Pedagogy and Culture at the University of
Alberta, told an audience of about 100 at Grande Prairie Regional College Wednesday that violence against industry is not
specific to our region.
"This is a big issue all over the world," said Smith, who was born in China during the Maoist revolution and later grew up in
central Africa during the twilight of British colonialism. "In Mexico, it's the Zapatistas' struggle, motivated by their desire to
protect their land from resource development in a situation where local citizens lose most of their rights.
"Because of the dominance of the petrochemical industry in Alberta, we need to be pressing governments to make resource
development environmentally responsible," he added. "We also need to work on diversification and explore other forms of
labour and market initiatives."
Part of globalization, and one of Smith's major concerns with the process, is where the rights of the market take precedence
over the rights of citizens.
New oilpatch guidelines get mixed
review
New voluntary guidelines for environmental and safety
practices in the energy sector were lauded by industry but lamented by
environmentalists who charge they'll be ineffective without enforcement.
Critics said the initiative, formally launched by the Canadian Association of
Petroleum Producers on Tuesday, is powerless without legislative backing.
"I don't have great faith in voluntary programs of any kind because I don't think in
the long run they're effective," said Dave Sheppard, a rural Albertan, whose land in
southwestern Alberta is surrounded by oilpatch installations.
"I think you need a regulatory body to require that kind of reporting."
WCB's average premium rate to increase for first time in five years
Problems will persist without regular inflation adjustments, says AFL
SHOW SOLIDARITY WITH STRIKING HERALD WORKERS DON'T BUY THE NATIONAL POST
