Town of Coaldale: Critical Strike Vote on September 2

Your negotiating team is standing firm – we refuse to be intimidated by the employer’s hostility and underhanded tactics. We overwhelmingly rejected their forced vote, and they did not take the loss well. The CAO retaliated by removing retroactivity, punishing us financially for standing up for ourselves. Most importantly, the CAO ended mediation despite our objection and best efforts to resolve negotiations respectfully.

We are committed to our wage proposal. We know that we are asking for less than $100,000 per year more than our employer is offering, a negligible amount for a town that had a $14 million surplus in 2024 and has $157 million in reserve. If they can afford to pay the CAO $246,000 a year and pay 26 exempt managers to manage 43 full-time workers, they can afford to pay us fairly. In municipalities across the province, employers and workers have reach fair deals without rollbacks.  

By terminating mediation on August 18, the CAO started the 14-day clock to lock us out. We believe the CAO is looking forward to using a lock out as another attempt to coerce us into taking an unacceptable deal. Again, we refuse to be intimidated.

We responded to the employer’s latest move. Unfortunately, we have been put in the position where we feel compelled take a strike vote. We are targeting September 2 for the vote, pending the Board’s decision. Please be prepared for this critical vote and to hit the picket line if we must.  

Now, more than ever, we need to stand in solidarity and fight for the wages and working conditions we deserve.  

Please reach out to a member of the negotiating team with any questions or concerns.

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