The Town of Coaldale and Alberta Union of Provincial Employees are voting on potential work stoppages. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Town of Coaldale & union voting on potential work stoppages

Sep 2, 2025 | 12:49 PM

Residents of Coaldale could potentially see their municipal government’s employees off the job.

The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) and the town have been in contract negotiations for nearly one year, and the union recently rejected the town’s final offer, calling it “insultingly bad.”

The Town of Coaldale is voting on Tuesday, Sept. 2, on a potential lockout, where it would be able to lawfully withhold work from unionized employees. At the same time, the union’s membership is casting ballots on whether to strike.

If either vote were to pass, the party would have to issue a 72-hour notice before any work stoppage could happen.

Town of Coaldale CAO Kalen Hastings believes their final offer to AUPE was more than fair, and claims that the union had been making “unreasonable” demands.

Nighttime construction on Hwy 3 in Lethbridge starts April 17

Apr 17, 2025

SASHA launches #BuyABed fundraiser to support vulnerable Lethbridge residents

Apr 04, 2025

$20K grants available: TELUS STORYHIVE Pan-Asian Edition opens applications April 1

Mar 18, 2025

Hastings explains that the offer included an average wage increase of 17% over four years, as well as:

• 12 paid sick day/year
• 12 paid statutory holidays/year
• Four weeks of paid vacation after two years of service
• One paid personal day per year
• Five paid parental leave days upon the birth or adoption of a child
• A $1,000 annual Health Spending Account
• 100% employer-funded health and dental benefits
• Participation in the LAPP defined benefit pension program
• Standby pay of $60 (weekday), $90 (weekend), and $125 (statutory holiday)
• 2.5X the normal hourly rate of pay on statutory holidays
• $3/hour shift differential for working evenings and weekends
• $250/year winter boot allowance
• $250/year safety boot allowance
• A two per cent vacation pay boost for casual and seasonal employees (from 4% to 6%)

The offer included a few rollbacks, including:

• Overtime rates move from double time (2X) to time-and-a-half (1.5X)
• A partial payout of unused sick leave hours be discontinued, but that the annual number of sick days remain at 12
• Call-outs (for on-call staff) be paid at 1.5X the regular rate of pay as opposed to 2X the rate of pay
• The Group RRSP Program (1%) – a benefit not included in the previous Collective Agreement – be discontinued

The Town of Coaldale says it is standing firm in negotiations because every municipal salary, wage and benefit is funded by residents and businesses.

“Council has a duty to protect those dollars and ensure services are delivered responsibly,” reads an open letter from the Town. “Yet, AUPE has consistently disregarded the private sector as a relevant stakeholder and comparator in our labour negotiations— even though it is the private sector, through taxes, that ultimately foots the bill for public-sector wages.”

AUPE, however, feels that the municipality should be in a position to accommodate more of their demands, if it were not for their “serious concerns” about the town’s financial management.

AUPE Vice-President Curtis Jackson says they recently learned that the Town has “far more out-of-scope workers” than other municipalities of its size, many of whom reportedly have larger salaries.

He claims that the Town of Coaldale paid these out-of-scope staff an average of $122,221 per year, for a total of nearly $3 million, but that regular front-line workers only received an average of $54,095.

“The people of Coaldale deserve to know why management has so many highly paid out-of-scope staff while paying its front-line staff so little, despite them providing essential services to the community,” says Jackson.

Jackson alleges that Hastings is “determined to have a confrontation with front-line workers,” and that he “isn’t giving the council all the facts.”

The union’s VP asserts that it “defies reason and logic” for the Town to put so vital services at risk for so little.

AUPE is set to host a community information event along 20 Avenue and 13 Street near the Coaldale Sportplex. It will take place on Friday, Sept. 5 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.