The unionists are members of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE). They include licensed practical nurses (LPNs), nursing attendants (NAs), and other employees at 159 hospitals and long-term care facilities across the province.

The health-care workers won pay raises of 16 percent for LPNs and 8 percent for NAs over two years, with an additional 6 percent for those with more training. The original offer by the provincial health authorities was 3 percent per year for three years.

The starting wage for a LPN rises to $14.57 an hour, from $12.45. With the settlement, LPN entry-level pay rates remain well behind those in other provinces. In British Columbia, LPNs start at $19 an hour, and in Manitoba it's $15.20 an hour. The starting wage for a registered nurse in Alberta is $21.54 an hour.

The union now faces a $400,000 fine for contempt of court for organizing a strike decreed illegal--the largest penalty of its kind in Alberta history. In his comments, the presiding judge bemoaned the fact that the bosses never pressed for jailing union president Daniel MacLennan. He argued that unless severely punished, such labor defiance would spread.

The employer is also attempting to suspend union dues collection for six months, and is pursuing other court actions that could lead to decertification of the union.

"We're prepared to go to jail" rather than give up the fight, declared Veronica Archambault, a striking AUPE member at Calgary's Bethany Care Centre, which has more than 260 workers.

"In 1990, nursing attendants made $12.35 an hour, and today they make $12.23 an hour" said picket Laurie Miller, an LPN for 18 years at Bethany Care Centre. She added that her earnings last year were less than what she made in 1987. Strikers explained that they were fighting for across-the-board wage increases.  
 
Bosses threaten immigrants
Strikers carried picket signs that said, "If I am of no market value, what are the residents worth?" They were responding to slanders in the big-business press implying that union members were selfishly endangering the patients' health and safety.

Bosses at the Fanning Centre threatened strikers who were immigrants with deportation if they supported the walkout.

"We'll stay out until everyone has amnesty," explained picket captain Elaine Potter. "This is a vicious attack on the union--we have to stick together," added striker Néstor Fernández. The AUPE adopted a position of total amnesty before a settlement could be reached.

A number of members of the 30,000-strong Canadian Union of Public Employees refused to cross picket lines at several Edmonton hospitals. The United Nurses of Alberta (UNA), with 17,500 members, was readying to provide support. In 1988 the UNA had defied the law for 19 days, fighting to defend health care. Strikers voted by at least 60 percent for a mediator's report.

Union officials have yet to release the vote results except to say there were at least 60 percent in favor in all four bargaining units. Many workers voiced opposition to the fact that the government had divided them into four such units. "They have tried to weaken us by this division," added Potter. Union executives from two of the four units recommended acceptance of the settlement.

Health-care workers discussing the settlement have mixed opinions on the outcome. On the picket line, strikers expressed reservations about dropping across-the-board increases. Many believed they should have fought harder for all, while others felt this was the best offer that could be won under the threat of fines and an imposed arbitrated settlement.

"I think this is the best settlement under the conditions, but I'm not happy that the NAs didn't get as much as the LPNs," explained Potter in an interview. The NAs do many of the same jobs as the LPNs but the bosses use the excuse that they don't have as much training.  
 
Thousands protest privatization
The health-care strike came just a month after thousands demonstrated in the streets across Alberta to protest the provincial government's passing of Bill 11, which opens the door to increased privatization of health care.

AUPE member Kathy pointed out that "Klein wanted this strike to end quickly because he may have been concerned that we would be campaigning for Medicare, not just wages." Ralph Klein is the premier of Alberta and leader of the Conservative Party in the province.

These labor mobilizations are part of a broader increase in struggles throughout the region. In March, farmers in neighboring Saskatchewan occupied the provincial legislature and organized other protests against the devastating impact of the capitalist crisis on their livelihoods.

Journalists and distribution workers at the Calgary Herald are in their seventh month of a strike to defend seniority rights and their right to a union itself.

Production workers at the Herald have now joined the picket line, after being locked out by the bosses three weeks ago. A number of them pointed to the links between the health-care workers strike and the fight to defend public health care.

Herald striker Mark, a member of the Graphic Communication International Union, explained, "It's one thing to pass Bill 11, but it's another thing to implement it. The fight is not over."

Ned Dmytryshyn is a member of International Association of Machinists Local 11 in Delta, British Columbia. Derek Owens is a member of the Young Socialists in Vancouver.  
 
 
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