It's been two years now since we last gathered together for a convention.

Two years. In the big scheme of things, that may not seem like a long time. But, at the AFL, we've learned that a lot can happen in a short time.

Over the past two years the Alberta labour movement has won a number of significant victories. And we have been presented with some difficult challenges.

I'd like to start this morning by taking a look at some of the victories. These are examples of unions in action -- examples that inspire us and remind us what the labour movement is all about.

The first victory that I'd like to touch is also one of the most memorable. It came when a handful of laundry workers from Calgary decided that they had been pushed too far.

Most of us remember the situation -- it was November 1995 and the Calgary Regional Health Authority had just announced plans to privatize laundry services at city hospitals.

The announcement came as a something of a surprise -- especially to the laundry workers at the General and Foothills hospitals who, only months earlier had taken huge wage rollbacks in exchange for a promise of job security.

Of course, this kind of thing had happened countless other times in Ralph Klein's Alberta -- the government always seemed to be promising one thing and delivering something else.

But this time, this particular group of workers decided that they weren't going to take it.

So they stood up for themselves and walked off the job. At the time they probably didn't realize this, but by doing what they did, they acted as an inspiration to all trade unionists -- not just here in Alberta, but around the country.

This was real David and Goliath story. On one hand we had a group of workers who, in most respects, had very little power and influence. On the other hand we had the dual powers of big business and big government.

But despite the imbalance in power, the laundry workers led a wildcat strike that paralyzed all of Calgary's hospitals.

At the height of the strike, more than 3,000 hopsital workers from half a dozen unions had joined the picket line. We came within a hairs breadth of turning it into a province wide strike in the health sector.

As a result of the strike, the Alberta government did something they said they would never do -- they blinked.

Before the strike, they said they would never back down on the cuts. But by the end of the strike, they had agreed to cancel $53 million in planned cuts. And they agreed to put a temporary moratorium on contracting out -- which was the issue that sparked the walkout in the first place.

The Calgary strike was one of the Alberta labour movement's most dramatic victories of the past two years -- but it wasn't the only one.

At about the same time as the hospital strike, we took on the issue of right-to-work.

This was a popular idea with a number of the most conservative government back benchers. Put simply, they wanted laws that would made it easier for employers to bust unions.

Obviously that was not something that we could support. So -- with the help of many of the people in this room -- we took it on and managed to convince the government that right-to-work laws were in no ones best interests.

As a result of our work on right-to-work, we were also successful in defining right-to-work for the public. Many more people now know what right-to-work really is and what it would mean for working people.

Our work on right-to-work was also significant because we were able to convince at least a few government and business types that if they really want to build this province they need the cooperation of labour.

In addition to the fight against Right-to-Work, the labour movement -- and the AFL in particular -- also played an important role in convincing the government to scrap its plans to privatize Employment standards.

And when the government sent up a trial balloon about privatizing the WCB -- we were there to help shoot it down.

We also played an important part in convincing the WCB to hold off on plans to hand more of its health service to private clinics.

And when the government wanted to privatize the administration and regulation of pensions in Alberta, we convinced them to back down.

More recently, the labour movement was even able to celebrate a political victory -- albeit a relatively small one.

During the provincial election campaign we renewed our commitment to the New Democrats and put a progressive voice -- or rather I should say two progressive voices -- back the Legislature.

Pam and Raj have already demonstrated why it's so important to have New Democrats in the government assemble -- one of the first things they did once the Legislature reconvened was introduce amendments to the Labour Code that called on the government to outlaw the use of scabs during strikes.

With only two New Democrats in the House, the amendment was easily defeated. But the government is being forced to at least talk about labour concerns. That's definitely a step in the right direction.

Finally, on the subject of victories, I'd like to spend some time talking about something that's going on right now -- something that's happening on picket lines and grocery-store parking lots in communities right across the province

If you haven't guessed, I'm talking about the Safeway strike.

For some people, it may seem too soon to talk about victory in strike. But the unions involved have -- in my eyes -- already won a victory.

When the strike began at the end of March, Safeway managers probably thought it would be over in days.

Based on the company's "take-it-or-leave it" approach to negotiation, it's clear that they didn't think their employees would take a stand.

But Alberta union members had a little surprise for Safeway's CEO Steven Burd.

As it turned out, the people on the picket lines have proven much tougher and much more resourceful than the company probably ever imagined they could be.

UFCW 312A president Jack Westgeest probably said it best when he said -- and I quote from Labour News: "The company didn't think employees had six weeks of strike in them. But the under-estimated us."

Well, the company under-estimated their employees -- and they underestimated the Alberta labour movement as a whole.

Since the beginning of this strike, the picketers have been winning the battle.

I am fiercly proud of the courage and determination that they display day after day. And I'm am also fiercly proud of how the rest of the labour movement has responded.

Over the past six weeks, hundreds, maybe thousands of union members, from all sorts of unions have joined the picket lines and attended rallies. This support has played a tremedously important role in keeping morale high.

Just as importantly we have sent a message. We have made it clear to Safeway that as long as they refuse to treat their employees unfairly, and as long as they refuse to reach a fair settlement – then we will not buy their products and we will not shop at their stores.

In this way, we've been leading by example. We've stayed away from Safeway and other Albertans have followed.

So, even though the strike hasn't been settled, I see all this as a success -- a victory on the road to another, bigger victory.

But in the same way that the Safeway strike is a symbol of our strength as a labour movement, it's also a symbol of many of the challenges that lie ahead of us.

Safeway is not the only employer that's making big profits yet refusing to share them with employees. And it's not the only employer moving towards more part-timers and contract workers at the expense of full-time employees.

Despite the so-called economic recovery that we are experiencing here in Alberta – there still is tremendous downward pressure on wages in all sectors of the provincial economy. And there's still a growing trend towards part-time and contract work.

In the booklet that we released in March -- called Crumbs from the Table -- we showed that wages in Alberta falling and that the vast majority of new jobs part-time.

Here in Alberta -- home of the supposed Alberta Advantage -- jobs are being created. But they are not good jobs.

Between 1990 and 1996 full-time employment in the province increased by 5.6 per cent -- but part-time employment increased by 39 per cent.

At the same time, average weekly wages continued to fall when inflation is taken into account.

The blame for all this can be placed squarely on the shoulders of employers who used the last recession as an excuse to squeeze wages and undermine job security.

Two of the biggest offenders in this regard are also two of the biggest employers in the province -- the provincial and federal governments.

We've just recently emerged from an era of unprecedented provincial cuts and lay-offs. And now we're living through a similar round of federal cuts.

Over the past 12 months alone, 10,000 ad-mail carriers at Canada Post have lost their jobs. Thousands of others have also been thrown out of at the CBC and other federally financed agencies and departments.

On the provincial level, even tough the Alberta government is no longer announcing thousands of lay-offs every week they certainly haven't transformed themselves into friends of labour.

They still refuse to even consider banning scabs during strikes. They're still taking about privatizing services and introducing punitive "bonus" and "incentive" programs for employees. This, in fact, may be one of the major topics up for discussion at the provincial government's so-called Growth Summit, scheduled for September.

It's clear that the Klein government is still looking for ways to weaken the labour movement and reduce public sector wages and benefits. And there are still many back benchers that would like to see some kind of right-to-work legislation.

To make matters even worse, we now have employers like Finning that are willing to use special "security guards" and "security consultants" to push their workers around on the picket line. We haven't seen these kind of tactics in Alberta since the 30's.

This is the world we're dealing with. Declining real wages, the elimination of full-time jobs, hostile employers, hostile governments.

It's a pretty bleak picture. But it's exactly at times like these -- when working people are being robbed of dignity and security by greedy employers and an uncaring economy -- it's exactly at times like these that unions become most important.

Who else will stand up for young workers who can't find decent, full-time work? Who else will stand up for older workers threatened by the prospects of lay-offs or forced retirement? Who else will stand up in denfense publicly funded and publicly delivered services like education and health care?

That's the challenge that lies ahead of us.

More than at any time since the end of the Second World War, working people need the leadership and the protection that the labour movement can provide.

We may not be able to turn the tide completely. But I'm convinced that if focus on the fundamentals -- activism, organizing, education and tough bargaining -- we'll be able to make a difference.

But there's one big proviso.

Before we can make any plans for dealing with hostile employers and hostile governments, we have to take a long hard look at ourselves. We can't deal effectively with the external challenges that face us until we confront and deal with our own internal challenges.

That's why this convention will be so important -- we'll be discussing the future of the Federation.

We'll be talking about what the federation should be doing over the next two years. We'll be talking about solidarity and cooperation between unions. And, probably most importantly, we'll be talking about how the federation is funded.

It is my firm belief that the labour movement is strongest when unions work together with common goals. I also believe that the movement is healthiest when we have strong, vibrant institutions at the centre -- institutions like labour federations.

Without a strong labour federation at the centre of things we can't really call ourselves a labour "movement" -- we're just a group of different labour organizations with differenent histories and different priorities.

But when we have a strong federation, we become more than the sum of our parts.

Over the past two years, I feel we've done just that -- we've made the Federation a real force to be reckoned with.

Thanks to the hard work of many of the people in this room, the AFL has been more successful than ever in fostering cooperation between unions. We've been successful in political arena. And we've been extremely effective in raising the profile of the labour movement in the media and injecting union concerns back into the public debate.

But, as I see it there are two obstacles to our continued success. First, there's the issue of raiding.

It has come to my attention that some non-affiliated unions have been raiding some of our affiliates. This is troubling because it runs entirely counter to the principles of solidarity that the labour movement is built upon. It's also troubling because, we had been trying to build links and foster cooperation with the unions involved.

But let me make one thing perfectly clear -- this federation simply will not tolerate this kind of behaviour. Raiding weakens the labour movement and any union -- and we will do everything in our power to stop it.

The second obstacle to our continued success as a federation is money.

Research, organizing schools, forums and rallies, printing booklets and leaflets -- all these things come with a price tag.

That's why tomorrow, our executive council will be asking you to endorse a per capita increase.

Obviously, you know where I stand on this issue. I believe a poorly funded federation is a weak federation -- and a weak federation almost always leads to a weaker labour movement. That's someting none of us want.

I realize that some unions have concerns about the per capita purposal -- and I understand those concerns. I also know that there are delegates who equally strong feelings on the other side of the issue.

So -- one way of another -- tomorrow's debate will be an incredibly important one. I urge you all to spent some time thinking about it tonight. Your decisions will have an important impact on the future of this federation.

But no matter what we decide on the per captia issue, I remain optimistic.

I'm optimistic because the labour movement in Alberta is really making a difference.

As a result of things like the laundry workers strike and the Safeway strike -- people in this province are finally starting to realize that the labour movement has some valid points to make.

People are starting to realize that there really is a problem with declining wages and disappearing full-time employment.

They're starting to realize that large corporation almost always put the interests of their stockholders and top managers before the interests of working people or communites.

And they're starting to realize that the so-called Alberta Advantage is not really an advantage -- and that the end of the recession hasn't meant a return to prosperity for most working Albertans.

Once people start making these realizations there is at least a chance for some profound changes.

For 15 years now the pendulum has swung far to the right -- it has swung towards the interests of big business and conservative governments.

Now that more and more people are seeing the disavtanages of this approach, the pendulum's motion is slowing.

It is our job to help make sure that it swing back -- back towards a more caring society.

As usual, unions will lead the way.

I am confident that the decisions we made over the next few days will lay the groundwork for a stronger, more vibrant labour movement.

And I am confident that we will continue to take the lead in the fight for jobs justice and equality.

Thank you.