Carseland Co-op cardlock now patrolled by Unifor members

By Deirdre Mitchell-MacLean Times Contributor

It’s a fight that originated in Regina, Sask. Unifor Local 594 was locked out of the Co-op Refinery Complex on Dec. 5 after it had been unable to come to an agreement after 22 bargaining sessions that began in February of last year.
In January, Unifor central members and organizers including Jerry Dias, Unifor’s president, took the place of Local 594 for the day to set up a blockade. Dias and 13 other Unifor picketers were arrested.
Now, the fight has moved to Carseland where Unifor members are showing support for their Local 594 colleagues in Regina.
“It was actually the RCMP officers who explained what was going on,” said Jennifer Wiebe, a local business owner and resident of Carseland.
Wiebe says she heard about the blockade from clients who had tried to get gas on Jan. 23 and went out to the cardlock, located west of Carseland near Highway 24.
The union members “denied me access three times that week,” she said. “It wasn’t until United We Roll for Canada showed up on Sunday that they let us all in to fuel up.”
United We Roll for Canada is the same group that took a convoy to Ottawa last February in support of Alberta’s oil and gas industry.
Strathmore Staff Sergeant Dale Morgan said RCMP are on site at Carseland and are currently treating the blockade as a labour dispute.
“The RCMP monitors political activities as they unfold and maintains communication with on-site organizers,” Morgan said.
He noted that while the protest has been peaceful to date, “proper exercise of police discretion should not be confused with lack of enforcement.”
As a labour dispute, the RCMP are ensuring the protection of the right to peaceful protest.
Unifor central did not respond to requests for comment. A Unifor organizer who has been in Carseland did not respond to requests for comment.
“Federated Co-op Limited (FCL) has been in contact with Carseland residents,” Wiebe said. “They’ve been apologizing for the delays and trying to keep us up to date.”
Carseland is one of the southern Alberta hubs for Co-op fuel. Trucks fill up in Carseland and then take gas to other areas in southern Alberta and as far north as Rocky Mountain House.