Workers at St. Therese Villa in Lethbridge rallied on Sept. 19, 2025. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Workers rally at St. Therese Villa in Lethbridge

Sep 19, 2025 | 1:07 PM

Dozens of employees at a long-term care centre in Lethbridge are demanding a better deal.

Workers at the St. Therese Villa rallied on Friday, Sept. 19, 2025, and were joined by several supporters.

They are represented by the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE), and the union’s Vice President, Curtis Jackson, says he was impressed by the strong turnout and the passion of those in attendance.

“This is our first rally at St. Therese, so this is new to them, but they’re out, they’re out in mass, I would say,” says Jackson. “It’s a bigger first rally than I’ve seen at many other places, so I’m really inspired by these workers who are willing to raise their voices and fight for what they deserve.”

According to Jackson, staffing levels and wages are the main sticking points in contract talks with Covenant Health, which have been going on since spring 2024.

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He says the employees are often short-staffed and overworked, and find themselves having to “do more with less.”

“Our workers here at St. Therese are very focused on client-based care, client-centered care, so when they’re working short and their working conditions aren’t up to par, they end up just doing more and burning themselves out.”

Jackson tells LNN that the most recent offer from Covenant Health was a 7.5 per cent pay increase for the facility’s Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs) over four years, which he calls “woefully” behind what other bargaining units are seeing.

He says Registered Nurses (RNs), represented by the United Nurses of Alberta, recently got a 20 per cent raise over four years.

“LPNs do about 84 per cent of the scope that Registered Nurses do… if we’re looking at that deal, we’re saying that if we’re doing 84 per cent of the work, we should make at least 84 per cent of the wage that an RN makes,” says Jackson.

Jackson clarifies that the staff at St. Therese Villa are not on strike, and they have not voted on authorizing a strike at this time. Instead, the rally is meant to bring attention to their cause.

LNN has reached out to Covenant Health for comments.

Workers at St. Therese Villa in Lethbridge rallied on Sept. 19, 2025. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)