Thursday, February 18, 2021

Welcome Care Calgary Drivers!

We are excited to welcome Care Calgary Inc. drivers to Local 56! Care Calgary is a company that provides transportation for adults with different abilities. It employs about 55 drivers, a handful of whom are owner operators.

The Care Calgary organizing story started in August 2019 when a few drivers approached CLAC about union representation. The drivers were mainly concerned about having fair working conditions. There had been a history of favouritism and the unfair application of rules toward certain drivers.

CLAC representatives launched a covert organizing campaign, a task made even more difficult because each driver operates one vehicle, with no common work hours at a single site. A private online group was created and used at the beginning of the campaign to communicate. Evening meetings were also held at a local Tim Hortons.

The drivers signed petition cards and the Alberta Labour Relations Board (ALRB) directed a vote at the Care Calgary office on October 16, 2019. Every single driver came out to vote. This unified group of drivers was very focussed on the goal of organizing.

The company contested the vote, and the ballot box was sealed pending the outcome of an ALRB hearing. After two days of witness statements, the labour board officer directed the ballots to be counted. On December 4, the ballot box was unsealed, and the ballots counted. The results were clear, and Local 56 became the drivers’ union.

Since then, CLAC reps have been working at building relationships with the new members and the management team. Negotiations for a first agreement recently concluded and were ratified unanimously by the membership.

Welcome Care Calgary Drivers!

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