United Nurses of Alberta (UNA)

List of UNA Oral Histories

Note: For a complete history of nursing in Alberta and Saskatchewan developed by UNA and the Saskatchewan Union of Nurses: http://www.100yearsofnursing.ca

The United Nurses of Alberta represents more than 30,000 Registered Nurses, Registered Psychiatric Nurses and allied workers in Alberta.

Born in 1977 when it was decided that nurses needed a bargaining agent distinct from their professional association, UNA has grown into an effective advocate for nurses as well as the nursing profession itself. It has also been a leader in the fight for a fair and efficient public health care system in Alberta and Canada.

UNA represents nurses in bargaining, in their profession, and in disputes with employers and professional licensing bodies. As a result of its efforts, which have included a number of dramatic industrial disputes in its early days, Alberta’s nurses enjoy salaries and other terms and conditions of employment that are amongst the best in Canada.

UNA is deeply committed to member democracy, as it strives to represent members in their own workplaces through individual locals based on the identity of employers. As of 2012, there were more than 165 locals throughout Alberta, as nurses are represented in virtually every hospital and health centre. Locals range in size from well over 2,000 members to fewer than a dozen, but regardless of size, each has its own local executive and bylaws.

UNA is affiliated with the Canadian labour movement, playing a leading role in the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions, and through its national body, with the Canadian Labour Congress and the Alberta Federation of Labour.

Visit the United Nurses of Alberta Website at https://www.una.ab.ca

For a complete history of the Union go to https://www.una.ab.ca/files/uploads/2017/11/history2017.pdf

List of UNA Oral Histories

In the voices of participants, this video documents the history of the United Nurses of Alberta from its founding in 1977 to the turn of the 21st century.

This video documents Red Deer nurse Susan Parcels’ successful legal action, supported by the United Nurses of Alberta, to require that benefits provided for sick leave apply as well to maternity leave.