Nearly 4 years ago, in October 2022, I wrote an article about workers in Fort McMurray’s non-profit sector who were trying to unionize.
Local 2157 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees applied for union certification for a group of 32 workers employed by Centre of Hope, a non-profit organization that provides a daytime drop-in centre for those living in homelessness in the area.
The Alberta Labour Relations Board approved that application, a majority of workers voted in favour of unionizing, and the ALRB awarded the certification in March 2023.
Workers formed a bargaining a committee and negotiated their first collective agreement with Centre of Hope, which was ratified in June 2024. By that time, the bargaining unit had expanded to 40 workers.
That agreement so no scheduled wage increases; although, there was a negotiation wage reopener clause that stated “The employer will attempt, through application to funding bodies, to increase the funding to the programs to allow for wage increases that are equivalent to the Consumer Price Index (inflation) for Alberta in the year previous.”
Either that funding never came through, or they used it for something else.
Every month, Alberta Mediation Services publishes a bargaining update that includes wage settlement details on collective bargaining agreements they received for that month.
The August 2026 Bargaining Update included an update on a new collective agreement for these workers, the second agreement since unionizing.
Unfortunately, this agreement is for just one year, and the wages listed in it are the same as those listed in the 2024 agreement, with one exception: Housing First programme coordinators will receive a $1 wage increase on their third anniversary of working for the organization.
The new agreement includes the same wage reopener clause.
Here are some other changes in the new collective agreement.
Temporary workers are now defined as those who are “hired for a temporary role for greater than 1 month but less than 18 months”. There was no definition in the previous agreement.
The turnover times between day shift and night shift have changed from 07:00 and 19:00 to 08:00 and 20:00.
A new clause regarding lieu time has been added to the agreement:
18.08 Lieu time will be banked to a maximum of 32 hours and will be taken within 3 months of being earned. Lieu time will be taken at a mutually agreed upon time and will not be unreasonably denied. If mutual agreement cannot be reached then lieu time will be paid out.
There was a slight change in vacation entitlements:
| Vacation length | Length of service Old | Length of service New |
|---|---|---|
| 10 days | Up to 1 year | Up to 1 year |
| 3 weeks | 1–5 years | 1–5 years |
| 4 weeks | 5–10 years | 5–9 years |
| 5 weeks | 10+years | 9+ years |
As well, as of the new agreement, Centre of Hope will front load 10 days of vacation for 8-hour workers and 8 days of vacation for 12-hour workers at the start of each fiscal year. They also agreed to ask funders to allow workers to carry forward paid vacation time into the next fiscal year: up to 5 days for 8-hour workers and 4 days for 12-hour workers.
Sick leave has changed slightly. Previously, workers received 6 days in April and 6 days in October. Now, they are just given 12 days per fiscal year.
Bereavement leave has been expanded slightly to include the death of “an Indigenous Elder designated as such by the employee’s Indigenous community”.
Meal allowances have increase for workers who have to travel on work business.
| Old | New | |
|---|---|---|
| Breakfast | $15 | $20 |
| Lunch | $20 | $25 |
| Supper | $25 | $30 |
| Daily max | $60 | $75 |
Centre of Hope has agreed to provide waterproof seat protectors for workers who must use their personal vehicles to transport clients, something that was not in the last contract. Should the covers not provide adequate protection, Centre of Hope has agreed to cover cleaning costs.
The agreement is effective as of this past April, even though it was not ratified until July, 3 months later. It expires next March.
