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Supposedly only temporarily banned from starting their legal strike by Alberta’s United Conservative Party (UCP), Edmonton Public School workers didn’t show up at work anyway Friday and instead joined a huge rally by public sector union members on the steps of the Alberta Legislature. 

This sets the stage for a significant fight between the UCP, which is openly hostile to public-sector unions and appears determined to use legal maneuvers to prevent any and all strikes in the public sector regardless of court rulings saying unionized workers have that right, and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), a large national union apparently prepared to tangle with the government over its response.

When many of the 3,200 members of CUPE Local 3550 joined the already planned rally by unionized nurses, teachers, health care support workers, medical professionals and many others to protest difficult contract negotiations with public sector employers and repeated interference in the collective bargaining process by the province, CUPE Alberta President Rory Gill threw down the gauntlet. 

“Today, we have made the choice to protect our constitutional right to strike,” he told a cheering crowd of about 4,000 people.

“All of you here, whether you’re nurses, teachers, education workers, municipal workers, social services, whatever you do, private sector workers helping us all out, we’ve all made the choice today that enough is enough! Hear us say, We’ve had it,” Gill continued

“We are here for the people of Alberta,” said Gill, clad in jeans and a T-shirt despite a cold fall wind hard enough to make the protesters’ flags snap. “We know this government is not. We don’t know who they’re for, but it’s not for Albertans!

“All of us here today, the labour movement, civil society, ordinary people, we’ve had enough of disrespect. We’ve had enough of disorganization. We’ve had enough of undermining our precious public services. We’re not gonna take it anymore,” he said.

Back on October 17, 92 per cent of Local 3550’s eligible members voted 97 per cent in favor of striking, and served legal strike notice on the school board the next day. The strike was set to commence today.

The local’s educational assistants, who help with the instruction of children with disabilities, are paid an average of $27,000 a year, Local 3550 President Mandy Lamoureux told the CBC. But they have seen pay increases of only about $1 per hour over the past decade. The cost of living has increased 34 per cent in the same period. 

Nevertheless, on Tuesday, the Alberta Government appointed a “Disputes Inquiry Board (DIB),” which stalls a legal strike for 30 days, supposedly to help the parties find another way out of an impasse, but historically often deployed by the province to prevent unions from using the only mechanism available to them to bring pressure on recalcitrant employers. 

In mid-September, the government did the same thing when CUPE members employed by public and Catholic school boards in Fort McMurray overwhelmingly voted to strike and gave notice, instantly defusing their strike threats to their employers’ advantage.

At the time, Gill said he had no doubt if the Fort Mac workers issue another strike notice after the 30-day delay, as they are technically permitted in law to do, the government will find something else to block them from striking. The belief the UCP intends to block all strikes in the public sector is widespread in then Alberta labour movement, and was part of the reason the rally was organized. 

Alberta public sector unions like United Nurses of Alberta (UNA), the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE), the Health Sciences Association of Alberta (HSAA) and CUPE are also thoroughly fed up with “secret mandates” provisions inserted into Alberta labour law by UCP 1.0 when Jason Kenney was premier, allowing the government to surreptitiously and probably unconstitutionally manipulate the collective bargaining process.

This is widely seen as part of Kenney’s successful policy of suppressing overall wages in Alberta to ensure the “Alberta Advantage” applies only to private-sector employers, which has been continued by the UCP under Premier Danielle Smith. 

A report by economist Jim Stanford published last spring showed how working people in Alberta are experiencing unprecedented reductions in incomes, purchasing power, and living standards.

“These challenges have been made far worse by deliberate wage-suppressing policies of the Alberta government,” Dr. Stanford wrote. 

As Gill said at the time the Fort McMurray DIB was appointed, “this government does not believe in workers’ rights, no matter what they say about supporting the little guy.” He pointed to how the UCP constantly hectored the federal government for not interfering in the collective bargaining process in such federally regulated industries as airlines, railroads, and ports. 

Friday’s large public protest was billed a “rally for respect” by its organizers. Negotiations are continuing between employers and AUPE, CUPE, HSAA and UNA for about 250,000 employees in health care, education, and government. In every case where negotiations are under way, the government has been directly involved – either as a covert interlocutor or, in the case of Alberta civil servants represented by AUPE, as the direct employer.

Leaders of all major Alberta public sector unions, plus Alberta Federation of Labour President Gil McGowan and national leaders from CUPE and the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions made brief remarks at the rally. 

Gill told the CBC that Local 3550’s decision yesterday to join the protest would be a one-day affair. 

Nevertheless, he promised the crowd, “we are going to protect our right to strike, to free collective bargaining. We’re going to protect public services. … Thank you all for being here today – get ready for more!”

The post Edmonton public school workers defy ‘strike ban’ appeared first on rabble.ca.

October is a favourite month of the year for many, and there’s no wondering why. Football is back, as is pumpkin-flavoured everything, and –of course– Halloween is here. 

Unfortunately, Halloween can also be extremely wasteful. From plastic wrapped, fast-fashion costume items, to mini candy wrappers, it can feel as though the holiday can’t be met without increasing your carbon footprint. 

Luckily, there are ways of reducing your waste this Halloween – without sacrificing any of the fun that comes with the season. Read on to learn how to keep your Halloween green!  

Shopping local, seasonal produce

Who doesn’t love fresh produce? Beets, carrots, parsnips… they’re all in season and perfect for cozy soups. Plus, filling your home with pumpkins and gourds is the best way to decorate with a low eco-impact. 

Farmer’s markets are an ideal shopping destination for local produce, but we appreciate that all that great veg can be a hefty haul back home in your shopping buggy. We have found that a produce delivery service such as Mama Earth Organics, or another local CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box program is a great excuse to find out what’s available in your area. 

In our experience, these providers often have the best access for local, seasonal, and organic produce whilst also minimizing food waste as nothing languishes on store shelves. Furthermore, when enough people in a neighbourhood sign on with a given service, total kilometers driven for groceries can be reduced as the van only goes door to door. Many people also find that having deliveries spares the consumer temptations of shopping in store, which further reduces waste. 

If a subscription service is not your bag, and you don’t have a farmer’s market nearby, we suggest venturing out to a local pumpkin patch this Halloween to find your jack-o-lantern. On top of reducing your carbon footprint, a locally-grown pumpkin will typically stay fresher and firmer longer than a big-store bought pumpkin. 

Growing your very own Great Pumpkin 

If you’re a long-term planner and this year’s Halloween already has you thinking about next year, plan on growing your own pumpkins for the absolute pinnacle of sustainable decor. 

Growing pumpkins is very easy if you have the space, but be aware that that have a tendency to take over a small allotment with their large leaves. Direct sowing seeds with a generous top dressing of compost is the easiest way to go. Train the vines up a structure to keep the pumpkins up off the ground, minimizing flat dirty sides that can start to rot before harvest. If you plan on saving seeds for next year’s pumpkin crop, be aware that they cross-pollinate easily with other Cucurbita plants and therefore offspring plants might not be identical to the parent. 

And, hey, speaking of pumpkins… 

Jack-o-lanterns: The dos and the don’ts 

Is it just me, or has your For You page on social media also been flooded with so-called “tips” about jack-o-lanterns that, well, have seemed more like tricks than treats. The worst one I’ve seen, by far, is an influencer encouraging her audience to spray WD-40 over their pumpkins to keep them looking fresher longer – completely destroying the option of composting the pumpkin after October 31. 

While painting your pumpkin, glue-gunning beads or bedazzles, or spraying WD-40 all over it may sing a siren song to your DIY crafting heart, we recommend keeping it simple. By not adding any additional non-organic sprays or accessories, you’re making it easier for yourself to properly dispose of your pumpkin come November. 

Speaking of which, what do you do with your jack-o-lantern in the days after Halloween? We recommend searching your local farms and petting zoos – many will happily accept your unwanted pumpkin carcass to feed to their animals. If no farm or zoo is accepting near you, smashing them up and throwing them in your compost is always preferred over general trash. 

Decorating, with eco-consciousness 

While we’re not even half way through the 2020s, thanks to social media and the lavish lifestyles influencers encourage, this decade may just be defined by our overconsumption. 

So this Halloween, opt to decorate with what you have. Trust us, you don’t need the latest trendy-coloured styrofoam, light-up pumpkin! You really don’t! 

Oh – and if you didn’t already know – skip the fake cobwebs this year. Or at the very least, keep them inside, as these polyester knitted sheets can also be a hazard to wildlife. It’s not uncommon for birds and insects to get stuck in the giant webs, where they die or get injured trying to escape. 

If you’re in the mood shop for new Halloween decor, we recommend opting for a second-hand goods store instead. On top of saving money and feeling good about not contributing to mass-production in the holiday plastics industry, you’ll find something more original, with more character… and who knows? Maybe even haunted! 

If you’re feeling crafty, rooting around the garden shed, you are likely to find the makings of a proper scarecrow. Rubber boots, twine, old jeans and a plaid shirt stuffed with fallen leaves take you most of the way there. Whether you opt for a pumpkin head or something spookier is up to you. 

What to wear… what to wear… 

By now, we all know that fast-fashion is one of the worst contributors to the environment in 2024. We all do our best to avoid shopping from the brands that we know bring more harm to the world than good. And yet somehow, when it comes to Halloween costumes, we tend to forget all about it. 

Strange, when you think about it, because it’s no secret that much of what you’ll see in a Wal-Mart, Spirit Halloween, or Party City are made out of cheap, plastic-based materials which are designed for single use. 

Instead of contributing to the garment waste issue this Halloween, consider the following ways to find your costume instead: 

• Hunt for second-hand costumes at your local thrift store. I have found so many amazing finds at the thrift store around Halloween. You’d be surprised how many nearly mint-condition costumes people give away. 
• Kick it old-school and make your own costume. This option is for the crafty folks: make some paper-mache masks, break out the sewing machine to make yourself a cape, or crochet a fairy crown. Heck, cut two holes in a sheet and call it a ghost! The best costumes are the ones you put work into yourself. 
• Throwing a costume-swap (this, to me, sounds like the most fun option. I mean, we’re all binging scary movies all month long anyway! Why not invite a few friends over to join the movie marathon and swap old costumes?) 

Happy haunting! 

So whether you’re enjoying a cozy night in this Halloween, braving a corn maze or haunted house, or stalking through the neighbourhood in search of goodies, we hope you found this list to be a helpful guide to keep the holiday spooky and eco-friendly. 

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

This article was written in co-operation with Harrowsmith Magazine. For more stories on sustainability, nature, gardening, home cooking and more, visit www.harrowsmithmag.com/ today!

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