Last week, the Alberta Labour Relations Board published their final new applications report of April 2026. It covered all the applications they received between the 21st and 26th of April.
In it was an application for union certification.
Local 955 of the International Union of Operating Engineers filed the application on the 23rd in behalf of workers employed by McAsphalt Industries Limited.
Based in Toronto, McAsphalt Industries Limited specializes in asphalt products and services. They have facilities throughout Canada, including one in Acheson, where these workers are employed.
IUOE 955 has applied to the ALRB to have a new bargaining unit certified, which would represent all workers employed at the Acheson location, except those working in clerical position. They claim the proposed bargaining unit would cover 33 workers.
To apply for union certification in Alberta, unions must demonstrate that at least 40% of the workers to be represented by the proposed bargaining unit support unionization. In this case, that would be just 13 workers.
The ALRB has scheduled a hearing for tomorrow, during which McAsphalt will be able to present arguments, if they have any, as to why these 33 workers should not unionize with the Local 955.
Should the labour board approve the application, they will hold a certification vote, and the workers will be able to democratically choose whether to unionize. Assuming the 13 workers I mentioned earlier follow through and vote in favour of unionizing, they would need to convince just 4 more fellow workers to join them.
If a majority of the workers vote in favour of unionizing and the ALRB certifies their bargaining unit, one of their first acts of business will be to elect their bargaining committee and begin negotiating their first collective agreement.
Because the ALRB does not archive their new application reports, I have included a copy of last week’s report below.
