FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 3, 2000
Government turns blind eye on Conrad Black's EDMONTON: The Alberta government and the Alberta Labour Relations Board are turning a blind eye on Conrad Black’s on-going campaign to trample the rights of workers at the Calgary Herald and bust their unions, says Audrey Cormack, president of the Alberta Federation of Labour. Cormack’s comments were made after Herald management served lock-out notice on 105 press operators who are members of the Graphics and Communications International Union (GCIU) Local 34M. The notice was delivered yesterday – just 15 minutes after the company presented the union with a contract offer. "The company originally said the workers would have until Saturday to consider the proposal – then they turned around and slapped the union with a lock-out notice," says Cormack. "It should be clear to everyone now that Conrad Black’s priority in this dispute is not reaching an agreement or restoring labour peace – he’s out to bust all of the unions at the Herald." The press operators will now join another group of 150 Herald workers (members of another GCIU Local and the Communications Energy Paperworkers Local 115A) who have been walking the picket line for six months. Cormack says the dispute with the first two striking unions could have been ended and the lock-out of the press operators could have been avoided if the government and the LRB had stepped in to ensure fairness in the negotiating process. "Working people in this country have a legal and democratic right to organize and bargain collectively. And employers have a legal and moral obligation to negotiate with their workers," she says. "Unfortunately, Conrad Black has decided to ignore both the rights of his workers and his obligations as an employer. The situation has been made worse by the government’s ongoing refusal to do anything about it." Cormack says she is particularly disappointed with Human Resources Mininster Clint Dunford who has previously described his role in labour disputes as that of an "impartial umpire." "If he’s an umpire, he’s the worst umpire I’ve ever seen," says Cormack. "Umpires are supposed to get in the game and promote fair play – but Dunford is simply sitting on his hands. By doing nothing, the government is essentially siding with the employer. The time has clearly come for Dunford and the LRB to start doing their jobs – and that means standing up for the rights of working Albertans."
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