For immediate release: Mar. 31, 2003

WHAT: Annual General Meeting of 12 AUPE Locals/Chapters
WHO: More than 400 AUPE members from throughout Central Alberta
WHEN: 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, April 2, 2003
WHERE: Red Deer Lodge, 4311 - 49th Avenue, Red Deer

RED DEER – Twelve Alberta Union of Provincial Employees locals/chapters will have approximately 400 members attending a joint annual general meeting at the Red Deer Lodge Wednesday evening.

"We held our first Central Alberta joint AGM in Red Deer a year ago and it was a huge success," said AUPE President Dan MacLennan, who will attend the meeting Wednesday night.

"This year’s meeting will be even bigger, and we anticipate that it will be even more of a success from the standpoint of building union solidarity and dealing with the challenges facing us," MacLennan said.

MacLennan will speak to the members on the impact of the government’s Bill 27, a law passed by the Legislature on March 26 that bans strike for many more health care workers, allows employers to break provisions of a collective agreement with employees of the Alberta Mental Health Board and massively restructures union locals in health regions.

After dinner, delegates will break into groups to elect local executives, said Kathy Kadyk, a Membership Services Officer in AUPE’s Red Deer Regional Office.

Media are welcome to attend. MacLennan will be available to speak to media on AUPE's position on Bill 27, or any other issues of interest.

"Last year’s meeting gave members from throughout the region the chance to meet one another, compare notes and discover that they share many of the same problems even though their workplaces are very different," Kadyk said. "As a result it was very popular, and even more members were enthusiastic about taking part in a joint AGM this year."

At the meeting will be representatives of AUPE members who work in correctional services, government administration, social services, the Michener Centre, mental health services, front-line nursing, hospital support, gaming and liquor inspection, and ATB Financial branches, among others.

The meeting gets under way at 6:30 p.m. at the Red Deer Lodge, 4311 – 49th Ave.
AUPE is Alberta’s largest union, with more than 50,000 members throughout Alberta.

For more information, contact:
Dan MacLennan, President, AUPE, 780-930-3301 or 780-910-8392 (cellular phone)
Kathy Kadyk, Membership Services Officer, AUPE Red Deer Regional Office, 403-343-2166 or 403-302-1966 (cellular phone)
David Climenhaga, Communications Director, AUPE, 780-930-3311 or 780-717-2943 (cellular phone