Over 4000 AB firefighters without new contracts

Last month, Mediation Services released its June 2024 Bargaining Update report.

This monthly report includes collective agreement settlement information received by Mediation Services for the month of the report.

In June 2024, Mediation Services received settlement information regarding 41 bargaining relationships encompassing 3,909 workers. There were 30 private sector and 11 public sector settlements, covering 2,728 and 1,181 employees respectively.

Included in the report is a list of collective bargaining agreements that are currently in negotiations or will be starting negotiations soon.

I knew there were a few unions in Lethbridge that have been waiting for a few years on new contracts, so I thought I’d check to see if there had been any progress on those, specifically the transit operators and the firefighters.

And sure enough, they’re still there.

Transit workers are still in bargaining, and their previous contract expired at the end of 2022. Lethbridge firefighters and paramedics are in mediation, and their previous contract was up at the end of 2020.

As I was looking at the data, I noticed that there were a few other contracts listed in this report for International Association of Fire Fighters, the union that represents the firefighters and paramedics in several Alberta communities.

In other words, Lethbridge firefighters and paramedics aren’t the only ones who’ve been waiting for years for a new contract. Take a look for your self.

Employer	Expiry	Workers	Status
City of Edmonton	25 Dec 2018	1286	Arbitration
City of Lethbridge	31 Dec 2020	223	Mediation
City of Red Deer	31 Dec 2022	209	Mediation
City of St. Albert	31 Dec 2019	117	Arbitration
R.M. of Wood Buffalo	31 Dec 2020	172	Mediation

That’s over 2,000 firefighters, paramedics, and other workers who have been without a new contract for years. The bulk of them, working in Edmonton, have been waiting for over 5.5 years for a new contract.

The IAFF and the municipal governments have been holding closed negotiations, which means very little information regarding proposals has been published. Anyone I’ve reached out to has refused to provide me with any details.

Either way, it’s ridiculous that these emergency responders have had to wait for years on new contracts.

That’s not all. There are several other municipalities who haven’t given their workers a new contract in several years, but for some reason weren’t included in the June 2024 Bargaining Update.

Here are some more I was able to find, according to the Collective Agreement Wage Table – Municipalities report for June 2024.

Employer	Expiry	Workers
City of Airdrie	31 Dec 2020	36
City of Calgary	31 Dec 2023	1,570
City of Grande Prairie	31 Dec 2023	88
City of Leduc	31 Dec 2020	80
City of Lloydminster	31 Dec 2021	36
City of Medicine Hat	31 Dec 2022	78
City of Spruce Grove	31 Dec 2022	55
County of Grande Prairie	31 Dec 2023	44
Rocky View County	31 Dec 2023	145
Town of Canmore	31 Dec 2020	23
Town of High River	31 Dec 2022	NA

That’s an additional 2,155 workers who have been waiting since at least last year for a new contract, bringing to total to 4,162.

On top of that, firefighters employed by the City of Chestermere, the City of Fort Saskatchewan, Strathcona County, and the Town of Okotoks will all see their current contracts expire by the end of this year.

That’s an additional 300 firefighters, paramedics and other workers who potential could join their fellow IAFF members by the start of 2025, unless the municipal governments start getting their acts together.