AUPE 32nd Annual Convention closes with new budget and new standing committee
EDMONTON – The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees concluded its 32nd Annual Convention Saturday, after three productive days that included the passing of a new budget and the addition of a permanent standing committee on the environment.
“Delegates to this year’s Convention displayed both a commitment to keeping our financial house in order while expanding the positive activism that AUPE is known for,” said AUPE President Doug Knight.
“I congratulate all the delegates for their commitment and support,” he said.
The 2008-2009 budget was approved Saturday, Oct. 25 and provides for $30.6 million in expenditures. AUPE projects a modest surplus of $49,475 for the budget year ending June 30, 2009.
The new Environmental Committee, created Friday, Oct. 24, through a resolution brought forward by the union’s Anti-Privatization Committee, will promote the education of members and the public on environmental issues and lobby all levels of government on AUPE members’ environmental concerns.
The president’s opening message to delegates addressed current changes in global financial markets and the impact those changes would have on future bargaining.
“We cannot count on the economic buoyancy of the last few years to drive settlements with employers… we will have to rely on our traditional strengths — solidarity, strong negotiating skills, and an active membership — to succeed at the bargaining table,” Knight said in his address.
The approval of a new budget and creation of a new standing committee capped a progressive Convention agenda that included speeches from best-selling Canadian author Linda McQuaig, and Friends of Medicare Executive Director David Eggen.
McQuaig, in her keynote speech Friday, connected the current unraveling of global economies to the increasing concentration of wealth in the top 10 per cent of income earners, and called for a return to progressive taxation policy.
Eggen, who spoke Thursday, warned delegates that privatization agendas are alive and well in Alberta’s Health Care sector, pointing to the establishment of a private health clinic in Calgary that charges patients thousands of dollars in annual fees as evidence.
Both speakers were well received by delegates and guests, each earning a standing ovation from the floor.