Documents show the head of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, Guy Smith, is pulling down a whopping salary, significantly larger than Premier Jason Kenney, the Western Standard has learned..After a base salary of $177,000 for the year ending June 2019, Smith also received other compensation amounting to $110,000, bringing his total wages to a tad under $288,000..In comparison, after taking a 10 per cent wage cut last year, Kenney now takes home about $186,000 a year, while cabinet members get $181,000 and rank-and-file MLAs get $121,000..Even at $121,000, Albertan politicians make more than their closest provincial rival, Ontario, at $116,550..Five other members of the union’s executive take home more than $200,000 a year..The AUPE website says they represent 95,000 Alberta employees. In extrapolating under an assumption of an average $60,000 per year income from these employees, that union is bringing in about $71,250,000 per year in union dues alone, says Western Standard columnist Cory Morgan.. Screen-Shot-2020-11-18-at-3.30.48-PM .The AUPE has also built a new $50-million headquarters in Edmonton..The AUPE was one of five Alberta unions to have launched a “Stand up to Kenney” campaign hopes to see province-wide protests and a possible general strike..Earlier this month, hundreds of health care workers staged wildcat walkouts.. POLL: Many Albertans say they will ignore Christmas COVID lockdown .The walkout took place by AUPE hospital workers in Calgary, Edmonton and around the province..Health Minister Tyler Shandro announced earlier this month the AHS was shedding 9,700 jobs by shifting them to the private sector..There will be 2,000 laboratory jobs, 4,000 housekeeping jobs, 3,000 food service jobs, and 400 laundry jobs cut..The province said about 70 per cent of lab results are already contracted out, as is 68 per cent of laundry..Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.TWITTER: Twitter.com/nobby7694
