Year: 2009
Location: Edmonton
Profile Born in Edmonton, Carol Anne Dean was President of the Alberta Union of Public Employees (AUPE) during the Klein-era privatizations and cutbacks. Her early involvement was frustrating as the union was rife with internal politics as the leadership directed votes and stirred up interpersonal conflict. She persevered, she says, thanks to the encouragement of many long-time trade unionists at the Alberta Federation of Labour and went on to serve in multiple AUPE executive positions. When she was elected as AUPE’s second female president, she faced off with Ralph Klein’s conservatives as thousands of members lost their jobs. Strikes and reduced memberships put huge financial pressure on a union that was already struggling financially but they survived these times as a leaner organization. Her greatest legacy? She says, “I’d like to think that I made our union more democratic and welcoming to new members.” Leaving the executive, Dean went on to provide workers’ voice to changes at WCB. Her political activism helped her win a term as an Edmonton Public School Board trustee, until she returned to supporting workers as a labour relations officer at the University Hospital, then as a membership services officer for AUPE.
Keywords: Internal union workings; 1990s Privatization; Public Employees; Role of Executive Members of the Union; Strikes; Union Leadership; Union Politics; University of Alberta Hospital.
Interview Transcripts: Interview Transcript (PDF) Interview Transcript (PDF)
See also: Alberta Federation of Labour; Alberta Union of Provincial Employees; Alberta Women and Work