Town of Coaldale chooses confrontation over negotiation

Your negotiating team has worked hard to stay at the table and reach a collective agreement in line with other settlements seen across Alberta, but the employer is ignoring repeated requests to resume bargaining.

The Town of Coaldale’s Chief Administrative Office (CAO) Kalen Hastings has formally requested that mediation ends.

It appears that the employer is not interested in continuing negotiations and may move to lock out the workers.

Let’s be clear.

The figures the CAO has shared with the media regarding the town’s offer are inaccurate. If those numbers were accurate, and if the town had removed rollbacks, we would already have a tentative agreement.

What this means for you

With the mediator booking out, the Labour Code requires a 14-day cooling-off period. After that time:

• The employer will have the legal right to lock you out.
• Members will have the legal right to strike (after a successful strike vote).
• Once the 14-day cooling-off period has passed, either side must provide 72 hours’ notice before any lockout or strike action can legally begin.

This is a critical stage in bargaining. We are concerned that the employer is pushing toward a needless dispute rather than a reasonable settlement. Your solidarity will be key to securing the agreement you deserve. 

Next Steps 

We will hold a Town Hall on August 25 to answer questions and provide more detail about what comes next. Please plan to attend.  

TIME: 4:45 p.m. – 7 p.m., Monday, August 25.

LOCATION: The HUB (gymnasium), 2107 13th St., Coaldale.  

AUPE NEGOTIATING TEAM - TOWN OF COALDALE

Gerriane Timmerman   
gerriane@gmail.com

Ryan Moman   
ryanmoman@hotmail.com

Jesse Vander Heyden   
j.vanderheyden88@gmail.com

AUPE RESOURCE STAFF

Christian Tetreault Negotiations 
c.tetreault@aupe.org