Town of Coaldale Applies to Labour Board for Single-Employer Lockout Poll

Posted on September 2, 2025 by Sunny South News

Town of Coaldale 

On Friday, August 29, the Town of Coaldale submitted an application

to the Alberta Labour Relations Board (ALRB) to conduct a single-employer lockout vote – the final legal step required before the town can serve lockout notice to unionized municipal employees.

The town’s decision to apply for a lockout vote comes in the context of nearly a year of bargaining with AUPE, as well as AUPE’s own application to hold a strike vote.

A single-employer lockout vote is the employer’s equivalent of a union’s strike vote. Conducted under the supervision of the ALRB, it authorizes an employer (in this case, the Town of Coaldale) to lawfully withhold work from unionized employees once a mandatory mediation and cooling-off period of 14 days has ended.

The town’s decision to apply for a lockout vote comes in the context of nearly a year of bargaining with the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE), the recent rejection by unionized staff of the Town of Coaldale’s latest and final comprehensive offer, AUPE’s unreasonable demands and, most recently, AUPE’s application to hold a strike vote. 

The union’s pursuit of a strike mandate, combined with its rejection of a very generous offer, underscores the widening gap between AUPE’s expectations and the economic realities borne by those who work in the private sector.

In exchange for a few modest rollbacks, that offer would have seen union staff make an additional

• 17% over the next 4 years, as well as receive:

• 12 paid sick days;

• 12 paid statutory holidays

• 4 weeks of paid vacation after 2 years of service;

• 1 paid personal day off / year;

• a $1,000 annual health spending account;

• 100% employer funded health and dental benefits;

• participation in the LAPP pension plan

 standby pay of $60 (weekday), $90 (weekend), and $125 (statutory holiday);

• 2.5X the normal hourly rate for working on a statutory holiday;

• a $3 / hour shift differential for working evenings and weekends;

• a $250 per year winter boot allowance;

• a $250 per year safety boot allowance; and

• 5 paid days of parental leave after the birth or adoption of a child.

“After months of negotiation, mediation, and, most recently, the rejection of a generous offer that would have seen unionized employees make, on average, an additional 17 per cent over four years, it is clear that AUPE and its members are unwilling to moderate their demands,” said Kalen Hastings, Chief Administrative Officer for the Town of Coaldale. “Their decision to pursue a strike vote only confirms this. The lockout poll ensures we are on solid legal ground to take the next step. More importantly, it puts taxpayers on notice that the Town of Coaldale is prepared to draw a line and protect the long-term financial health of our community.”

“This isn’t where anyone wanted things to end up,” said Town of Coaldale Mayor Jack Van Rijn. “But we are in this position because, from the outset of bargaining, AUPE sought to impose a ‘no-rollback’ precondition that council never agreed to. Imagine if an employer started a labour negotiation by trying to impose a ‘no-wage increase’ precondition. AUPE’s insistence on no roll- backs, combined with their misleading press releases, rallies, and recent push for a strike vote,

shows they were always steering toward confrontation, not compromise.”

With the application now before the Labour Board, the Town will be in a position to serve formal lockout notice as early as Tuesday, September 2.