Year: 2004
Location: Edmonton
Profile: Graham “Brent” Gawne was an Edmonton-based lawyer who handled many legal cases for the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees from 1981 onwards. In his interview, Gawne traced the evolution of labour legislation in Alberta in the 1970s and 1980s, emphasizing its punitive character towards workers and unions.
Gawne noted that Peter Lougheed, as Leader of the Opposition, promised public employees that if he formed government, he would grant public sector workers full union rights, including the right to strike. But in office he denied the right to strike to all provincial government employees, beginning with Crown agency employees in 1972, then extending that prohibition to almost all other public service workers in 1977, adding healthcare workers in 1982 whose right had been unclear earlier. In the 1980s the government also weakened the ability of workers to organize by removing the threat of an imposed union on employers that resorted to unfair labour practices during certification drives. Legislation also weakened worker protections against discriminatory practices. Gawne lost many cases against Alberta judges who were largely pro-employer. But, unlike in the United States, unions proved able to persuade conservative governments that “right to work” legislation would harm worker-employer relations.
Keywords: Alberta Labour Relations Code; Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms; Crown Agency Employee Relations Act; Ilegal strikes; Individual Rights Protection Amendment Act; International Labour Organization (ILO); Labour Relations Amendment Act; Public Service Employees Relations Act (PSERA); Right to Work legislation.
Transcript: Download PDF
See also: Alberta Union of Provincial Employees; United Nurses of Alberta