An official with the Town of Coaldale is responding after its union made a series of allegations against its Chief Administrative Officer. (Photo: Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Town of Coaldale CAO responds to union’s accusations

Sep 8, 2025 | 10:28 AM

The Chief Administrative Officer at the Town of Coaldale has responded to accusations made by the head of its union.

Kalen Hastings was the target of attacks by Curtis Jackson, the Vice-President of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE), after the Town’s unionized workforce was locked out of their jobs on Saturday, Sept. 6.

You can learn more about the lockout from AUPE’s perspective and read Jackson’s comments in the article below.

READ MORE: Town of Coaldale employees rally after being locked out

Hastings has provided the following comments to LNN:

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Responding to AUPE’s Accusations

1. “The Town has not been responding to AUPE’s requests to return to the table.”

The Town has been at the table repeatedly—six rounds of in-person bargaining, two full days of formal mediation, and three comprehensive offers. Every one of those offers contained meaningful wage increases and stronger benefits. Our last proposal, Comprehensive Offer #3, would have delivered an average increase of 17% in total compensation over four years — and this does not include the applicable annual grid movements of 3%. Unfortunately, AUPE publicly labeled the Town’s offer “insultingly bad” and continues to defend the unreasonable pre-condition of “no rollbacks.” The Union is also repeating the slogan “they say rollback we say fight back.”

2. “The Town is trying to speak with employees individually instead of through AUPE’s bargaining team.”

The Town submitted all of [its] offers through the Union. It was only after they were in possession of these offers that we decided to disseminate them to employees as information. It was important for us as the employer to ensure our staff were given all of the information about the offers we had made.

3. “The Town is posting jobs with better pay than current employees receive.”

The hourly rates you see in our job postings are not “better deals”—they are taken directly from Comprehensive Offer #3, the same offer unionized staff voted on and rejected by a margin of 39 to 9. Had AUPE accepted that offer, every employee would already be earning the same rates that are now in our postings. In addition, one aspect that has been overlooked is that Comprehensive Offer #3 also introduced a new 4-step grid with 3% annual grid increments. These are above and beyond the average 17% general wage and market adjustments that formed part of our final offer, and is a significant factor behind one’s wage growth. When you add in the cost of benefits and pension, taxpayers must tack on another 25% to fully capture the cost of these positions.

4. “The Town is not giving Council full information on bargaining.”

Every comprehensive offer has been authorized by Council, and Council has been kept fully briefed at each stage. In fact, Council went further by authorizing a Labour Board-supervised employee vote to ensure staff had the opportunity to consider the Town’s last offer independently and without delay. The suggestion that Council is “kept in the dark” is simply not true—Council has been directly engaged throughout the process, and the resolutions they’ve made at the Council table substantiate this point.

5. “The Town is planning to hire scabs or replacement workers.”

Council is committed to ensuring that services continue at the levels set by Council, even in the midst of a lockout. That responsibility to taxpayers cannot be compromised because AUPE insists on wage demands that Council has determined are not feasible. To achieve this, we will rely on a combination of strategies, including the expertise of our exempt staff, contractors, and yes—replacement workers. As a municipality, we have the right to post job ads for these roles, and we have done so openly at www.coaldale.ca/employment.

The wage rates in those ads are not inflated—they come directly from Comprehensive Offer #3, the same package that AUPE rejected.

Had AUPE accepted the offer, unionized staff would already be enjoying these exact wages. Instead, those jobs are now being filled by applicants eager and grateful for the opportunity. In fact, since the postings went live, the Town has already received over 600 applications for front-line roles. That shows the rates we offered—called “insulting” by AUPE—are considered fair and attractive by many in our community and region.