Spruce Grove library workers have unionized

Earlier this month, the Alberta branch of the Canadian Union of Public Employees published on their website that workers employed by the Spruce Grove Public Library had officially unionized.

The two dozen or so workers will be represented by Local 30 of CUPE, which represents municipal workers in Edmonton, Fort Saskatchewan, and Thorsby.

This unionization process took a while to happen.

Local 30 originally filed an application to be the certified barraging agent for these workers back in May. Everything looked good. According to a report prepared by the ALRB, the labour board found that the application was timely, the group of workers was appropriate for collective bargaining, and the application was supported by at least 40% of the workers who’d be affected by it.

However, the report excluded four library employees, which the union objected to. That objection is what held up the certification process.

These workers were all supervisors:

• Community services supervisor
• Children & youth services supervisor
• Collections supervisor
• Circulation & patron services supervisor

CUPE argued that these supervisors should be considered as employees, but the library, as an employer, disagreed for they:

• Have “authority to direct work”
• Play a “role in the employer’s discipline process”
• “Evaluat[e] employee performance”
• Help establish “workplace policies and procedures”
• Are independent decision makers

The matter came back to the board last month, and the ALRB published a decision on 6 November, siding with CUPE.

The rationale they provided was multi-faceted. For example, while they participate in the hiring process, they don’t decide which workers to hire, and they have very little say on the promotion process.

The ALRB also concluded that these supervisors have very little role in the disciplinary process beyond the coaching level.

As well, the independence these workers have was limited, with most decisions still needing to be made from higher levels of management.

A fourth conclusion was that the supervisors have little influence in the relationship between the employer and the workers they employ. They don’t even have access to employee files and don’t establish terms and conditions of employment.

While the supervisors do, well, supervise library workers, the board found that they don’t supervise any lower level of management.

The supervisors don’t have the final say in approving time off or overtime.

Finally, the board found that while the supervisors play a role in setting policy, it was more of a feedback role.

As a result, the board agreed that these supervisor positions were employees within the meaning of section 1(1)(l) of the Alberta Labour Code, which states:

In this Act, “employee” means a person employed to do work who is in receipt of or entitled to wages and includes a dependent contractor, but does not include a person who in the opinion of the Board performs managerial functions or is employed in a confidential capacity in matters relating to labour relations

Because these supervisors were considered employee, the ALRB ruled that any ballots they cast in the representation vote can now be included. And while 4 ballots may not seem like much, it can make a big difference when there are only two dozen employees.

The workers will now need to form a bargaining committee and begin negotiating on their first collective agreement.

According to the announcement, this is the 11th group of library workers to unionize with CUPE.