AUPE members at the Town of Coaldale rallied on Saturday, Sept. 6, after being locked out of their jobs. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Town of Coaldale employees rally after being locked out

Sep 8, 2025 | 10:16 AM

Workers at the Town of Coaldale have been told that they are not allowed back onto their job sites.

The municipality’s lockout took effect at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 6, 2025.

A total of 43 workers, who are employed by the Town and represented by the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE), took part in a demonstration on Saturday near the Shift Community Rec Centre, and were joined by dozens of supporters.

AUPE VP Curtis Jackson says this is not where he, nor the unionized workforce, wanted to end up, but he feels they were left with no choice.

“We’re absolutely willing to come back to work and come back to the table, but we’ve got to get forward in the negotiations here,” says Jackson. “There are significant rollbacks on the table as far as contract language, sick leave, overtime that our members fought hard for over the years to get included in their already existing contract, and the negotiator wants to take that away.”

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Jackson says most of the Town’s employees speak favourably of their supervisors and managers, but a lot of their frustrations are related to the Town of Coaldale’s Chief Administrative Officer, Kalen Hastings.

He alleges that Hastings has refused to respond to his requests to return to the table and negotiate a new collective agreement, and, instead, has been trying to talk to employees individually. According to Jackson, this is an attempt to circumnavigate and undercut the bargaining process.

READ MORE: Town of Coaldale CAO responds to union’s accusations

The union’s VP says the distance between what AUPE wants and what the Town is offering is not too far. Jackson told LNN that it would cost around $100,000 annually to give all of the 43 workers what they are seeking.

“The distance right now is that we have a CAO that’s refusing to bargain, that is employing divisive tactics, posting job postings on the Town’s website and on Indeed, offering those jobs more than they actually pay the workers right now,” says Jackson. “It’s inflammatory.”

The Town of Coaldale stated on Wednesday, Sept. 3, when it issued the lockout notice, that it expects operations and service levels to continue without disruption, adding that it has contingency plans in place to ensure that essential municipal services remain fully operational.

It is unclear what those contingency plans will include, but Jackson believes that the Town is planning to hire replacement or “scab” workers.

Jackson says the locked-out employees will have picket lines near town hall and the Shift Community Rec Centre every day until a new deal can be reached.

AUPE members at the Town of Coaldale rallied on Saturday, Sept. 6, after being locked out of their jobs. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

AUPE members at the Town of Coaldale rallied on Saturday, Sept. 6, after being locked out of their jobs. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

READ MORE: Town of Coaldale issues 72-hour lockout notice to municipal employees