Alberta provincial employees vote overwhelmingly for strike action

The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) has voted 90.1% in favour of strike action, with over 80% of its 23,500 members participating, the union announced Tuesday.

The vote, held May 8-12, follows stalled negotiations with the Alberta government. AUPE, representing workers in administration, corrections, social services, and wildfire management, is demanding a 24% wage increase over four years, citing inflation and stagnant wages.

The province offered 11.5%.

"When they walked away from the table, they were still asking for twice as much as the nurses got," said Alberta Finance Minister Nate Horner in a media scrum on Tuesday.

"I never thought it'd be this tough to give the biggest wage increases people have seen in multiple decades."

Union president Guy Smith called the mandate “historic,” emphasizing the goal is a fair deal without striking.

“We don’t want to use this mandate, but we will if necessary,” Smith said. The vote is valid for 120 days, allowing a 72-hour strike notice.

Horner called the vote “unfortunate but predictable,” noting the province applied for a lockout option April 30. He insists offers are data-driven. No strike date is set, as AUPE hopes for renewed talks.

AUPE is Alberta’s largest union, representing over 95,000 workers across public, private, and not-for-profit sectors, including government employees, health-care workers, and education support staff.