Last week, the Alberta Labour Relations Board published their second new applications report for April 2026, covering the period from 13–21 April.
In the report was an application accusing an employer of unionbusting. Okay, it never used the term unionbusting, but let’s review the details, and you can see for yourself.
Local 1325 of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America filed the application on 17 April 2026 on behalf of workers employed by Impact Builders and Framing Corp.
Located in Edmonton, Impact Builders and Framing specializes in large multi-family, infill, and custom-built construction projects.
According to the application summary provided by the labour board, Impact Builders recently laid off 2 of their workers—Jose Miguel Barrios Lopez and Luis Angel Pedroza de la Cruz.
The union claims that the layoffs were specifically because the workers showed support for unionization. In fact, prior to being laid off, they were scheduled to testify in a hearing with the ALRB regarding an application the union had filed to get workers at Impact Builders certified as a bargaining unit.
This is not the first time Impact Builders has been accused of unionbusting, with Local 1325 submitting an application last October after the employer allegedly sent a letter to all the workers with “incorrect insinuations” regarding the effects of unionizing, including fewer contracts or even pay cuts.
In their most recent application, Local 1325 argued that the employment termination of the 2 workers violates several sections of Alberta’s Labour Relations Code.
No employer or employers’ organization and no person acting on behalf of an employer or employers’ organization shall (a) refuse to employ or to continue to employ any person or discriminate against any person in regard to employment or any term or condition of employment because the person is a member of a trade union or an applicant for membership in a trade union, has indicated in writing the person’s selection of a trade union to be the bargaining agent on the person’s behalf, has testified or otherwise participated in or may testify or otherwise participate in a proceeding under this Act, or has exercised any right under this Act
Labour Relations Code, 149.1.a.i, 49.1.a.ii, 49.1.a.iv, and 149.1.a.viii
No employer or employers’ organization and no person acting on behalf of an employer or employers’ organization shall seek by intimidation, dismissal, threat of dismissal or any other kind of threat, by the imposition of a pecuniary or other penalty or by any other means, to compel an employee to refrain from becoming or to cease to be a member, officer or representative of a trade union
Labour Relations Code, 149.1.c
No employer or employers’ organization and no person acting on behalf of an employer or employers’ organization shall discriminate against a person in regard to employment or membership in a trade union or intimidate or threaten to dismiss or in any other manner coerce a person or impose a pecuniary or other penalty on a person, because the person (i) has testified or otherwise participated in or may testify or otherwise participate in a proceeding authorized or permitted under a collective agreement or a proceeding under this Act
Labour Relations Code, 149.1.g.i
Other than the lawyer, Maurice Dransfeld of the law firm McLennan Ross, the ALRB listed 3 people as representatives of the employer: Chad Hinz, Keith Laroque, and Shawna Shmyr.
Impact Builders has no website; however, their Facebook page lists Laroque as a contact person, but provides no position. I could not find a direct connection for Hinz or Shmyr to Impact Builders, but they were listed as the construction manager and payroll administrator, respectively, for PK Developments, which shares an address with Impact Builders, at least according to PK Development’s website and a notice of bankruptcy from 2020.
Because the ALRB does not archive their new application reports, I have included a copy of this report below.
