Spin, spin, spin

One of the things that has been most difficult for a lot of people living here in Artspace is going from an intentional community that can only function properly through open communication, volunteerism and honesty, to dealing with an organization that takes things and spins them around to mean something completely different than they really do.  Like when AUPE non-lawyer, William Rigutto, ranted outside the high rise for some 2 hours, during which he, and others, yelled in the street about financial information shared in confidence during negotiations and made all sorts of wild accusations.  During this time, he questioned why SAIL has a contingency fund which, over time, he re-defined as a profit, and even claimed that SAIL thought of this as profit. 

Because apparently he knows what a company thinks?  Or that he knows what a volunteer board of half a dozen people thinks? 

Some of us were told that, if the audit of SAIL's finances confirmed the numbers board members had been trying to tell AUPE all along, this strike would be over.  There would be no reason for the labour dispute to continue.

Well, the audit did confirm SAIL's finances, and AUPE is still here.  Not only that, but they've gone and tried to spin things to make it sound like the audit confirmed what AUPE has been claiming, instead, then making more accusations against SAIL.

Look.  We may be mostly people on low incomes, but we do understand budgeting, and we do understand financial responsibility.  We certainly know what it's like to live with all the rules and regulations that come with public funding.  We're living in a co-op, for crying out loud.  Everything about living in a co-op is determined by rules and regulations set by others that we must meet.

Instead of accepting what the audit has shown, AUPE has instead released another flier, making claims against SAIL.

Honestly, AUPE.  Do you really think we're stupid?

You guys couldn't even get it right in the headline.

"Financials released, SAIL mislead Artspace and its caregivers."

Hey!  AUPE!  "Artspace" doesn't have any caregivers.  Artspace has SAIL user-members.  About 30 of them.  SAIL hires the care givers, not Artspace.

You know this.  You've been told this repeatedly.  If you're going to accuse SAIL of misleading people, maybe you shouldn't do it by making erroneous statements right in your headline!

Unless this is just a bad use of sentence structure, at which point, get a better editor.  

Then the flier claims that SAIL does have "the ability to provide caregivers with a fair collective agreement."

Well... that's misleading.  Of course they have the ability to provide a collective agreement.  The problem is what AUPE considers a "fair" agreement.

Ah, but then they go on about how SAIL has "gathered" money by "hoarding public funds."  Surplus dollars.  They've got money in the bank, people!  The horror!

Well, first off, I have to say I'm really disappointed that the number is so low.  Unlike the general public, we are aware of the operating costs for SAIL, because we asked.  You know; what AUPE kept yelling at us to do, except most of us had already done it. 

Then they complain about things like how much money was used for paying security, which would never have been needed if AUPE hadn't been so aggressive outside of our homes.  Oh, and then they complained about "professional fees." 

Of course there's going to be professional fees.  They have to pay for accountants and lawyers and auditors and all those other people to do things that a volunteer board can't do themselves.

It's called "the cost of doing business" and is part of running a company responsibly.

Ah, now let's see how else this got spun.  This money, AUPE tells us, is "intended to fund care."

Well guess what, AUPE.  We know full well that for user members to get care, that involves expenses and administration and fees and rent and supplies and yes, hiring professionals and, if necessary, security to protect the people coming in to provide the individual care they need.  Wages are just part of what the funding is supposed to pay for. 

AUPE would have us believe that somehow, SAIL is supposed to negotiate wages on one time (we hope) events like hiring necessary security, and on any "surplus" they might have. 

You can't budget based on "surplus."  Anyone who manages a simple household income knows this. 

Oh, and they're still pushing that "industry standard" line, when 1) there is no industry standard and 2) the SAIL staff were already being paid more than equivalent home care workers.

No, AUPE.  It's not SAIL that has mislead anyone.  Spin things all you want; it doesn't change the fact that the audit confirmed what SAIL had been saying all along.

So why are you still here?

Media coverage - Edmonton Woman's "Freedom to Tweet" article

An excellent article from Edmonton Woman about AUPE's attempt to silence Kathleen Smith for supporting us.

The article starts on page 10.

In a recent tweet Kathleen explained what makes Artspace special: "I walked into #Artspace and was immediately surrounded with warmth & love.  They shared their homes and their lives with me."

Artspace is a housing cooperative that is open to everybody.  However, it has a unique feature: 29 units have been adapted to meet the needs of residents with physical disabilities.  The dispute at Artspace is about the wages workers receive for the assisted living program.

The videos that Kathleen saw show AUPE members on the picket line using air horns, loud speakers and abusive language to the residents of Artspace.

Kathleen says that the residents have "fought their entire lives to live independently.  To not be institutionalized.  And in some cases, they have fought just to be permitted to live.  They have spent their entire lives fighting.  And no one was listening to their stories in all of this."

But Kathleen was listening.

Thank you, Kathleen, for listening.  There is no doubt that the relative peace we are "enjoying" right now is directly because of exposure in social media to what AUPE has been doing to our community.  No amount of calls to the police did it, and what little exposure there was in television or print media had little effect.  It took this blog, and social media attention, to finally get things to tone down, even if they aren't really all that much better; just less blatant.

It's a shame that, rather than admit their errors and take corrective action, AUPE has instead chosen file their SLAPP suit against you.

This is a powerful quote.

"One of the things I discuss online a lot," she says, "is freedom of expression in this country and how important it is.  And how much of an issue I have with those that think that freedom of expression or any charter rights only applies to people we approve of because that's not the way it works.  We all think we're fighting the great evil, but when we're actively seeking to deny others their rights, we're hurting ourselves.  And people need to wake up and start getting that message."

How very true.

Thank you, Kathleen, for standing up for Artspace, and thank you, Edmonton Woman, for such a well written piece.  You even got the description of Artspace right!

For those new to this page, here is the security montage video Kathleen is referring to in her interview.





This video was given to the media, months ago.  AUPE dismissed it, partially because, as they claimed, the footage was old, and did not reflect the reality of the picket line.

In response to that claim, here is a playlist of videos from August 2nd.

[update: AUPE videos are no longer available: as part of the agreement at the end of the labour dispute, AUPE removed videos and other online content related to the dispute.]





This next playlist of videos are from August 6; you can read more about it here.

Then there's this post, about events on the mornings of Oct. 16 and Oct. 22nd.

While this post includes video that shows some of what goes on in the wee hours of the morning.

AUPE cannot deny the reality these videos show.

You can still fix this, AUPE.

You can still save at least a few shreds of dignity.

Just walk away.

Why Are You Here?

Yes, I know, we've just written a post about this, but it remains the question that is asked the most often, and it makes even less sense now than just a week ago.

AUPE, why are you here?

What's of great benefit for Artspace members is that our volunteer boards - whether it's the co-op board or the SAIL board - are very open and transparent.  For those members that take the time to ask questions, they answer them.  And why wouldn't they?  After all, they are all volunteer members of our community, elected by their fellow co-op members; their friends and neighbours.

Among the complaints and accusations AUPE has made against the SAIL board is that the finances had not been audited in years, therefore there was no accountability of taxpayer dollars funding SAIL, and very publicly making all sorts of wild accusations of fraud and dishonesty, implicating our entire community - and even visiting family members - in the process.

The only accurate claim they made was that there had not been any audits in years.  The SAIL board gave AUPE their financials, in what we now recognise was a rather naive belief that AUPE would see the numbers and recognise that there was no way SAIL could afford their demands.  We're used to dealing with people who are open and honest in their dealings; not an organisation that would accuse them of having hidden sets of books, or insinuating that financial documents were shredded, burned, etc., then yell out twisted versions of the financial information, shared in the confidence of negotiations, on the street.

Of course, they did so knowing that an audit was started and without waiting for its conclusion.

So what would happen if the audit confirmed SAIL's financials, and that they could not meet the demands made by AUPE?  One member was told by Desiree Schell that, if the audit showed SAIL could not afford the demands, then that would be it.  The strike would be over, because there would be no reason for them to be here.

Well, the audit was completed, and it confirmed SAIL's position.  There is no secret, hidden or missing money.  SAIL's funding is what it is, and they can't afford AUPE's demands.

SAIL sent that audit to AUPE.

A while ago.

Yet not only are they still here, but AUPE is still trying to make complaints against SAIL.  They're still trying to continue with the now even more frivolous "bad faith" complaint against SAIL.

They're still coming out here in the wee hours of the morning, waking people up with their shouting, then coming back in the afternoons and, when they're not picking and choosing who to abuse and accuse, doing this.




Except for the last couple of afternoons; they seem to be trying to hide from this security camera and moved over to the Eastern raised bed gardens.

As if that changes anything.

All of this for 15 employees, only a few of which are full time.

That's right.  Fifteen, not 29.  After the new contract with AHS, with reduced care hours being funded, half the staff were laid off, based on seniority.  So along with former SAIL staff that quit before the strike began showing up to take part in the siege of our community, we have former SAIL staff that got laid off 2 months ago.  The rest are AUPE imports.

There is nothing for AUPE to gain by being here.

Every day they show up here is another day of AUPE making itself look worse.

So why are they still here?

No sense

With all the stuff that's still been going on lately, many of us around here - and not just people who live here, but visitors, friends, family, etc. - are still asking one question.

Why are the picketers here?

At all.

It's not like they're accomplishing anything, other than give all unions a bad name.  As one person put it,

... all i know is that when we were on strike we were told the cops could arrest us for not continually walking, and for walking anywhere but on a designated area of the sidewalk outside the building we were picketing. this is ludicrous. ... and we complied because we didn't want to get in any trouble.

This, coming from someone who is a strong union supporter, and who loves their own union.

When it comes to what's happening here, there doesn't seem to be any "designated area" at all. They spend most their time in front of the West garden bed, but they'll also be in front of the driveways to the high rise parking (above and below ground), in the street, on the sidewalk across the street, in the curve of the street, where it turns to the side lane, and on the cul de sac at the back of the high rise, which is in front of people's private homes.  People who have no connection to Artspace, other than being geographically close.  They get to hear people shouting at the replacement workers in the wee hours of the morning, as well as have a bunch of people hanging out in front of their homes.

As for the folks outside, they don't even bother to walk around at all.  Usually, we have this - at least in the afternoons. 

It's not like the police are doing anything, as in this example, when an officer came for an unrelated manner.  

For some reason, AUPE isn't even being held to the same standards of behaviour as other unions, never mind basic human decency.

They're just sitting around, blocking the sidewalk.

If they're not sitting around, they're standing around.  They certainly don't walk continually.  And were would they be walking?  It's not like they're in front of the SAIL office to begin with. 

Let's take a look at the purpose of picketing; 

The purpose of picketing is to exert pressure on the employer by persuading other people not to do work for, or do business with, the employer. 

Well, the first problem with this is that they're not targeting the employer; they are targeting our home, the Artspace co-op.  With the SAIL model, most of this doesn't even apply.  The closest to meeting the above requirement is when they verbally abuse the replacement workers.  Yelling "garbage" and "scab" at the replacement workers isn't persuasion.  It's intimidation.

However, a picket line must be peaceful and cannot be used to forcibly prevent people from entering an employer's premises.

We can all see for ourselves how that's not been what's going on.  Especially since they've been blocking people from entering and exiting their homes.

Usually, striking or locked-out employees are only entitled to picket where they normally perform the work that's an integral and substantial part of the employer's operation and which is under the control and direction of the employer. 

Again, they're not picketing where they normally work.  People's private homes don't count, and the office is not where they are picketing.

Other operations of the employer may not normally be picketed. For example, if you operate your business at more than one location, your striking or locked-out employees are only permitted to picket the location for which their union is certified and at which they perform their work for you. They are prohibited from picketing your other locations if they do not normally perform work at those locations.

Once again, this doesn't apply.  SAIL has only one location; the office in unit 103.  It does not operate their business anywhere else.

As an exception to this general rule, picketing may also be conducted at other sites, with permission from the board, in circumstances where an employer attempts to have "struck work" performed these other sites. In other words, if you move work, normally performed by striking or locked-out employees, to another location in order to continue service or production during the strike/lockout, that location may be subject to picketing.

SAIL is not having "struck work" performed anywhere else; SAIL business is done in the SAIL office.  That the employees leave the office to enter people's private homes doesn't change anything; they are providing home care in the same way as other care workers who do home care, and those private homes are not part of the employer's work site.

Think of it this way; AHS funds home care all over the province.  Home care workers travel from home to home to provide this care.  Let's say that these home care workers decided to go on strike.  Who is the employer?  AHS (or, in the case of contract workers, the contracting company).  Not the people receiving care.  So the place to picket would be an AHS office, or the office of the contracting company.

With SAIL, there is only one employer location.  The SAIL office.

Similarly, striking or locked-out employees may be entitled to picket the place of business of an "ally" employer. 

SAIL does not have any "ally employer."  The closest to it would be AHS.

The board will declare another employer to be an ally of the struck employer in circumstances where the ally assists the employer in a lockout or in resisting a lawful strike. 

Does not apply.

Ally picketing is restricted to the site at which the ally performs work for the benefit of the employer who is directly involved.

Again, this does not apply, yet they are targeting our private homes.

Finally, where more than one employer carries on business at the same site (referred to as a "common site"), the board generally restricts picketing so that it affects only the employer involved in the labour dispute or the ally of that employer. 

Yet their actions are affecting an entire neighbourhood and community.

This restriction is relaxed, so that regulated picketing at a common site can occur and will affect third parties to some degree, in circumstances where the union has no other way of picketing at the workplace of the striking or locked-out employees.

AUPE could have picketed the SAIL office; they chose not to.

So here we have all these examples of how picketing is supposed to be done, none of which is actually happening.

Instead, they keep coming back, day after day, week after week, month after month.

For what?

There's just no point for them to be in front of Artspace at all.  We don't have any influence on the labour dispute.  Even the volunteer SAIL board members have no control over the funding, so they can't do anything, either.

They are accomplishing nothing out there.

They are in front of our private homes, so there is no persuading of people not to enter the place of business; even with the replacement workers, they're just harassing them.

There are no products of the employer to persuade people not to deal in or handle.

There is no one to convince not to do business with the employer.  The closest to is would be to ask the user members to refuse SAIL services, which doesn't work when the services involved are things like getting out of bed, eating or even personal hygiene.  As mentioned before, this isn't a coal mine or a factory, where production can be halted, or where people can go shop elsewhere.

So what are they accomplishing?

Well, there are a few things they are accomplishing.

They have alienated a lot of potential supporters.

They have given all AUPE members a bad name.

They are giving all unions a bad name.

AUPE probably cost the SAIL staff their jobs.  If SAIL were forced to accept AUPE's demands, which they can't afford, they'd go under, and the staff would lose their jobs.  If AUPE succeeds in bankrupting SAIL through frivolous litigation, again, the staff would lose their jobs.  There's no win here.  For anyone.

All of that doesn't count the damage they've done to people who live here, resulting in everything from increased in medication, to hospitalizations.

Every day they are out there, they make it worse.

For themselves.

It just makes no sense!

Making a Statement

On the last day of AUPE's convention, one of our members went to the Shaw Conference Centre to try and show delegates that there is a story here that they aren't being shown.

For a bit of background, Ken is one of our founding members.  He was among those who fought to have Artspace and SAIL created, so that people like him could live independent lives.  Thanks to him, all of us at Artspace enjoy affordable housing while being part of a dynamic community.  He has a lifetime of achievements, is a world traveler and athlete, and a real hero.  You can learn more about him on his website, backwheeler.ca

This is his statement about how things went on Saturday.

I went down to the AUPE convention with the two sign to try to get the Delagets to read them as they left the conference and maybe be      curious enough to go to my website to get educated about what is really happening here SO I FIRST SAT ON THE PUBLIC SIDEWALK JUST TO  THE LEFT OF THE FRONT ENTRANCE TO THE SHAW CONFERENCE FOR ABOUT 20 MINUTES THEN THE DELA GETS STARTED COMING OUT I NOTICE MOST OF THEM WERE WALKING TOWARDS THE MacDONALD AND WESTEN  HOTELS, SO I WENT TO THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE SHAW AND SAT FOR ABOUT TEN MINUTE OF COURSE THE AUPE STAFF WERE VIDEO TAPING ME ALL  THE TIME I EVEN WENT UP TO THEM SO THEY COULD VIDEO THE SIGNS WHICH THEY DIDN'T LIKE  THEM I WENT FOR A WALK DOWN TOO THE MACDONALD TRYING TO GET THE DELA GETS A CHANCE TO READ THE TWO SIGNS, BUT THE STAFF CAME WITH ME KEEPING THE DELEGATES AWAY FROM ME AS FAR AS POSSIBLE EVEN REDIRECTING THEM TO AVOID SEEING THE SIGNS I THEN SAT AND LET THEM PASS  THE STAFF NEVER SAID ANYTHING TO ME AND I SAID NOTHING TO THEM.

I HAD FUN!

KEN

Here is Ken, with the signs the SAIL staff tried to prevent other convention goers from seeing.

You can read Ken's bio here.

Here is another statement from Ken recorded back in July.

Another hospitalization

On this blog, we have written many times about the effects AUPE's actions against our members is having on people's health.

This is not about the labour dispute.

This is about the behaviour AUPE chose to encourage, condone and engage in while picketing our home.

Not the place of employment.

Our home.

Since they read this blog, we know they have read about members who've had to increase their pain medications and other prescriptions, due to the stress and anxiety they are causing.

We've talked about the damage caused by their using noise as a weapon.

They even know that a member has been hospitalized, twice, and had to leave his own home on doctor's orders, due to the disturbances the picketers are causing.

Now, they've done it again.

On Thursday the 16th; the first day of AUPE's convention, and the first day their activities here escalated, with increased noise and overall disturbances, another of our members had to go to the hospital.

This person has given permission to mention this, but out of respect for this person's privacy and medical condition, no details can be given.  The only thing that can be said is that this is the result of AUPE picketer behaviour triggering a medical event.  We have no idea how long this person will have to be hospitalized.

This sort of behaviour is disruptive enough at the best of times, but what is different here is that AUPE has chosen to target our private homes.  They have chosen to target a community.

We are not a factory or an office building.  We are not some remote place that people go to to work, then leave at the end of the day.

This is where we live.

The picketers come here, sometimes for a few hours, sometimes for most of the day, and then they get to go home.

We don't have that option, because this IS our home.

We live here.

This is our home, and what AUPE is doing is right outside our doors and windows.

There is no escaping it, because even when there are no picketers, there is still their presence, just in the constant presence of their vehicle.  Plus, we can never be sure just when they will show up, how many or how long.

Like all communities, we have people from a wide variety of backgrounds and histories.

Everyone has their story.  Everyone has their things to deal with.

We have our user-members, who need some outside help that gives them the ability to lead independent lives, on their own terms, in their own homes.

We have non-user members who also live with disabilities of varying kinds and degrees, but don't need outside help just yet, or have self-managed care instead of SAIL's services.

We have people with invisible disabilities, or no physical disabilities at all, but still have issues to
deal with.

We all have our stories.  We all have our histories.

Some of us are abuse survivors.  For some, we have lived with physical abuse.  Others, psychological abuse.  Still others have lived with both.

So when we see what is happening outside our home, we recognize it for what it is.

Abuse.

Abuse of our members and our community.

We've written about the broken plate analogy before.

Everyone has their broken plate.

For some of us, it's just a few hairline cracks.

For others, our plates have been cracked and broken, but we have managed to glue the pieces together and keep on going.

Some have had their plates shattered, and are still trying to find all the pieces, are mixing the epoxy, and slowly putting the pieces back together.

There is no shame in scars or wounds.  They are part of who we are.  They make us stronger.  They show we are survivors.

Whatever stage we are at, what AUPE has been doing is coming to our homes - what should be our places of safety; our sanctuaries - and taking a hammer to all our plates.

To those of you from the convention that are visiting this page for the first time, let me ask you;

Have the upper levels of AUPE  told you that they are picketing private homes?

Have they told you that they have targeted a community?

Have they told you that, while they mouth platitudes about "rights" and "dignity" and "respect," they are causing real, physical, medical harm to the people who live here?

That they are denying people the right to live in peace, in their own homes?

That they are engaging in harassment and misconduct against an entire neighbourhood?

That your executives have been here to not only support, but even participate in, actions that are causing harm to people?

AUPE can blather on all they want about how it's all about getting a "fair contract" and "benefits".

We who live here know better.

It's about greed.

It's about money.

It's about privileges.

It's about power and control and entitlements.

For AUPE.

Not even for the SAIL staff.  They're just pawns.  If AUPE succeeds in destroying SAIL - which increasingly seems to be their real goal - either by forcing them to accept demands they can't afford and going into bankruptcy, or through frivolous complaints to the labour board (though they did withdraw one of the complaints, it was done at the last minute, which means it still cost SAIL money in legal fees to prepare), to the point that legal fees alone will force SAIL into bankruptcy, those staff will all lose their jobs.

The powers that be in AUPE don't seem to care.  That much is obvious to everyone, except maybe the SAIL staff themselves (though they were warned the end result might be the loss of their jobs, before they voted to strike), and any other True Believers.

To those members of AUPE who are just learning about all this now; think on this.

What AUPE is doing to the Artspace community is causing real harm, and has now put another person in the hospital.

What the picketers here are doing is also causing harm to you; even if you've never been here and never heard of what's been going on.

Because what they are doing here reflects back on you, as well.

AUPE is claiming that this blog is all part of some sort of vast misinformation campaign.

See for yourself.

Decide for yourself.

Then ask yourself; is this what you are?  Is this how you want to be seen?

Because what is being done here is reflecting back on you.

This is being done in your name, too.

The only people hurting AUPE in this are the AUPE members coming here to Artspace, picketing our homes and targeting our community.

What will it take for AUPE to finally acknowledge the mistake they've made?  Will someone have to die, first?  Or would that just be twisted around and blame cast somewhere else, too?

Make no mistake about it; there is only one place responsibility for this damage can be attributed to.

AUPE.

You.

Not just the executives who made the decisions.

You.

Not just the picketers who have so gleefully engaged in this behaviour.

You.

The responsibility also lies in every AUPE member who sees what's happening here and says nothing.

Does nothing.

We know that there are AUPE members who condemn what's being done here in their name.  We also know that many of you are too afraid to speak out.

Yet, as long as you continue to be afraid and refuse to speak out against what is happening here, you too are responsible for the harm that's being caused.

Another of our members is in the hospital.  One of the strongest people I know; with the kindest heart and an amazing intellect.  Thoughtful.  Supportive.  Loyal.  Dedicated.

Because of you.

Can you live with that?

War? What war?

Yesterday, we wrote about how the documents for AUPE's 38th annual convention mentions SAIL repeatedly.

There was something else written by VP Glen Scott that had a lot of us rather shocked.  It's on page 25 of their document, right after he talks about SAIL.

As most of us will agree the last 12 months have flown by and time does not stop, so I would like to make a few comments on some of the things I and the rest of us will be looking at in the next year. I am very proud of the way our organization has responded to the challenges we have faced.

 Okay, that part actually had us shocked in an amused way.  Based on what we've been seeing, AUPE has little to be proud of, and their tactics in responding to challenges seem to involve a lot of aggression, bullying and, if all else fails, the filing of vexatious litigation.

I am also aware that while it’s great to pat ourselves on the back, we can do this knowing that the public agrees with us on many of the issues we have taken on.

Do, they, now?

I have attended several focus groups and AUPE-run polls

AUPE run polls?

Somehow, I don't expect an AUPE run poll to be trustworthy.  How about a poll run by an independent polling company, instead?  I'd really love to know what the poll questions where, and what demographic was included in these polls.

on a regular basis and the facts – not opinions but facts –

Uh, huh.

In my personal experience, when someone has to go out of their way to say their position is based on facts, not opinions, the opposite it usually the truth.

By the way, isn't the whole point of focus groups and polls is that they measure people's opinions?

show we are not only winning the ground war when we are attacked,

Wait... ground war?

we are winning the air war

... air war?

What the heck?

Is that how AUPE really views things?  That this is all a war?

Do they believe that anyone who doesn't do what they want - whether it's a tiny non-profit like SAIL, or a large charity organization like Shepherd's Care - is attacking them?

with all Albertans.

So... they are at war with ALL Albertans?

And they think they're winning?

What is this war?

What do they think they are winning?

We need to continue to do this and remind legislators that we are not the enemy

Hey, I don't recall anyone else using war-talk like this, so if anyone is thinking along the lines of "enemy", I don't think it's our legislatures.

but friends with average Albertans.

You mean like the people living in Artspace that have been deliberately targeted by AUPE picketers, even though we have nothing to do with the labour dispute?

Those average Albertans?  Or do we not count?

If this war mentality is really AUPE's worldview, than that would explain why they have been so aggressive here at Artspace, right from the start; why they were working on their "bad faith" complaint before the strike even started, or why they were telling the SAIL staff they would be going into a strike right from the day they voted to join AUPE.

It's one thing to feel like being in the middle of a battle - many Artspace members do - but quite another for an AUPE executive to openly admit that they are engaging in a war - both a ground war and an air war - against Albertans, while at the same time claiming to be their friends.

What is this war AUPE is waging, Glen?

And why is it being waged against Artspace members?  Because no one here attacked AUPE.  It was AUPE that chose to attack us.

Video of the Day; the disruption continues

Still going through the old videos methodically, by date, and have finally reached May 12; five days into the strike.

There is some video already up for that day on our Youtube channel.

This video is another longer one; almost half an hour.  There are several camera views of events that took place starting around 4:20pm, until about 5:40pm.






Some interesting things to note is that they are targeting the security guards more, again, though there's still a lot of abuse aimed at the replacement workers, too.

How any of this was supposed to persuade anyone to their "side," we just can't figure out.

There's one face that is notable among the picketers.

This is a screencap from the AUPE website.  Jason Heistad.

Another Executive member of AUPE, not only at Artspace, but actively participating in the verbal abuse and harassment.

Just a reminder that all of what you are seeing here is happening at our private homes.  Even the replacement worker vehicle is being blocked in the driveway of our above ground, private, Artspace parking lot.

When they block the security vehicle on the street, it's in front of the driveways in and out of the private, Artspace underground parking.

SAIL Inc., the employer, has the one unit for an office at the opposite end of the high rise from where this is happening.  There are a few parking spots near that unit's private entrance for SAIL staff.  It is only because there was no safe way for security to escort the replacement workers directly to SAIL's private entrance that they had to go through Artspace parking and use the high rise back door.

So all this noise and yelling and disturbance is not directed at the employer at all, nor is it anywhere near the place of employment.

This was all going on outside our private homes.

Even by this time, only 5 days into the strike, there were letters, incident reports and statements going in to the SAIL and Artspace boards, documenting the negative effects all this was having on people's health.

Meanwhile, this is still before things started to get really loud and disruptive!  No bull horns, yet.

Video of the Day: trespassing again

More videos have been uploaded.  There are getting to be so many of them, we have started to organise them by dates and creating dedicated posts back dated to when the events recorded actually happened.  In the process, some date errors were caught (two posts with incidents reported in June were accidentally posted in May), so please to go into the archives listed on the right and revisit the early days of the strike.  These back dated posts are being put up in chronological order.

One more from May 11, this time in the evening.  It's the last one for now, unless more video is found or submitted in the future.





Four days into the strike, and Malka is already earning the nicknames he got before people learned his name.

From the labour relations guide, page 44.

Picketing must be peaceful and carried out without trespassing or other unlawful acts.  Violent or unlawful acts can involve legal consequences and may affect the employees’ continued employment.

That lot's been empty for many years, and often frequented by the homeless, transients and others.  There isn't much anyone can do about that, besides the camps being cleared out every now and then and regular patrolling by the police.

As a picketer on strike, however, it's a different issue.  The lot is clearly marked as private property, and trespassing is expressly forbidden.  Even if Malka somehow managed to miss the signs, he was still told by a security guard that he was trespassing.  In typical fashion, he turned and twisted that into something else entirely.

So he knew full well that he was trespassing, and did it anyway.

Anti-Bullying hypocrisy

If you've taken the time to check out the videos, you'll have seen the level of bullying, harassment, intimidation, etc. that AUPE picketers have engaged in on the picket line.

Just a few examples...






More available for viewing on our Youtube channel.

Meanwhile...

... AUPE has a campaign against bullying, harassment and mobbing.

The hypocrisy is truly remarkable.

Another Familiar Face - Oh, the irony! (updated)

AUPE has been unusually tight-lipped about their SLAPP suit against those who dared support us online.  Perhaps, after the media attention their actions have gotten, they are hoping that if they just keep quiet, people will stop talking about it, and they can continue using the civil court system to try and intimidate people from talking about what they have done to our community since May 7.

They have, however, made a couple of public statements.  Here's one, from their website.

Let's take a closer look at this.

In late August, AUPE filed a statement of claim against three parties in regard to defamatory statements they made about our members and staff.  We did not take this action lightly, but the statements were serious enough that they required a response.

Well, they just confirmed that they filed the statement back in August, but for some reason, they sat on it until the end of September.  If these statements were so egregious as they claim, why did they wait for so long?

We consulted external legal counsel on this matter and obtained an opinion that legal action was merited.  The larger decision was weighing the need to defend our members and staff from damaging and untrue accusations against the possibility that we face further attacks for doing so.

External legal counsel, eh?  Must be nice, having unlimited funds to hire outside lawyers.  Oh, wait.  "Counsel."

Also, what "damaging and untrue accusations" were made about their members and staff?  We only know about Kathleen's tweets, one blog post from someone in Ontario that actually came to Artspace and talked to a number of people who live here (identified as a politician, except he doesn't hold any political office), and a single quote, without context, from this blog.  None of which named anybody, nor made any untrue statements.

In the face of this risk, we chose to defend the reputation of our members and staff.

Gosh, what a noble sounding way to defend their actions.  Such risk taking!  The multi-million dollar union, suing a stay-at-home mom with a twitter account, a guy in Ontario that hopes to run for office, and a non-existent Jane Doe.

Who knew AUPE was so fragile?

Defending its reputation in the courts obliges AUPE to remain silent about the nature of the false accusation.  

They claim these public tweets and posts are false and damaging their reputation, but then say they have to "remain silent about the nature of the false accusation."

How convenient.


Let's take a look at some of these tweets, seeing as how they're, you know, out there in the twitterverse.

 @_AUPE_ Members were blocking people from leaving the residence. Move out of the damn way. Those are PRIVATE CITIZENS #UnitedWithKikki

No AUPE members are named, and it's true; they were blocking all sorts of people who had nothing to do with the labour dispute. Plenty of videos to back that up.

 .@_AUPE_ Should let public know how members are harassing & abusing private residents at Art Space: youtu.be/OpAGhXrqQs4 #UnitedWithKikki

Again, no AUPE members named, and it includes a link to a video, proving the statement.

 .@_AUPE_ how bout private citizens being blocked by Art Space residents who aren't associated w/SAIL? youtu.be/z-S3qSOq-q8 #UnitedWithKikki

Another true statement, linking to a video to back it up.

 . @_AUPE_ members who harass, bully, threaten the disabled residents at the complex: youtube.com/watch?v=OpAGhX… #UnitedWithKikki . @_AUPE_ worse than blocking. They scream sirens at 8 a.m., verbally attack disabled residents, threaten. #ableg #UnitedWithKikki

Once again, a true statement, with a video link to back it up.

 . @_AUPE_ lawyer screaming threats of subpeonas at disabled residents:youtu.be/k6hakuNxoog #artspaceundersiege #ableg #UnitedWithKikki

Another true statement backed up with a link to video - including the lawyer part, since at the time, that's what we all thought he was, how he was identified in numerous media articles, and even how AUPE represented him on twitter.

 . @_AUPE_ Vids show blatant harassment. AUPE attacking private, disabled residents. youtube.com/watch?v=OpAGhX… #ableg #UnitedWithKikki

Another statement backed up with video link.

 @_AUPE_ encouraging continued harassment of private, disabled citizens at their homes is DISGUSTING. #ableg #UnitedWithKikki
 Happening at #yeg Art Space-not story @_AUPE_ telling media or public. Threats, bullying: artspaceundersiege.blogspot.ca #UnitedWithKikki

Here we have a personal opinion (that said actions, backed up by previous videos, are disgusting), with a link to this blog to back it up.

 .@_AUPE_ Yr members have created unlivable state in neighborhood. Feel proud of members attacking disabled people? #ableg #UnitedWithKikki

Another descriptive statement, describing how many Artspace members, visitors, family members and even neighbours felt, followed by a question.

How are any of these defamatory attacks on AUPE members and staff? They describe what is actually shown in the videos. What Artspace members say they feel like.

The key thing about defamation is that, if it's true, it isn't defamation*, and there is plenty of video evidence, as well as incident reports from Artspace members (some of which are posted here on the blog; visit the archives links on the right, to read them yourself).
[*update: edit on poorly phrased sentance structure]

AUPE's official statement closes with;

As a result AUPE will not be commenting on the specifics of the attacks while the matter is before the courts.  But members should be assure that in this case the law is being used as a shield, not a sword.

Uh huh.

More on that below...

Meanwhile, there was another public statement from AUPE, this time to the Edmonton Journal, in response to their Editorial.

Here it is, with commentary.

Friday October 3
Law a shield, not a sword
Re: “Use hammer sparingly,” Editorial, Oct. 1
There are hundreds of tweeters and bloggers commenting on the SAIL strike/lockout. The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees has sued three individuals out of the hundreds who have commented. We welcome the free exchange of ideas and views, and of course we recognize that we are also engaged in the exercise of free speech when we picket. AUPE is very much in favour of free speech.

Uh huh.  Sure they do, and sure they are.

But only when that "free speech" is in support of them, not in opposition to them, it seems.

But almost all the bloggers and tweeters, as well as respectable media outlets and the journalists who write for them, are aware there are limits to free speech.

That one should have come with a spew alert.  I think a lot of people were wiping coffee off their monitors after reading that one.

One of those limits is very important: you cannot make a false accusation that attacks a person’s integrity and lowers their reputation in the community.

Agreed, if the accusations are false.  As we've demonstrated, however, these are not false accusations they are suing for.  They are tweets and comments that are either backed up by photo, video and witness accounts, or personal opinions and observations.

The only ones lowering AUPE's reputation in the community where the people on the picket line, engaging in the abusive behaviour.

There is recent precedent for an organization to take legal action to defend itself against false accusations. The Alberta Teachers’ Association, for instance, took such action to defend itself against accusations made by a critic on Twitter this summer. A few years ago, a Red Deer lawyer successfully defended his reputation against attacks from a provincial cabinet minister.

And what does this have to do with the price of tea in China?

Defending its reputation in the courts obliges AUPE to remain silent about the nature of the false accusation. As a result AUPE will not be commenting on the specific attacks on its reputation while the matter is before the courts.

Well, that's a first.  They certainly had no problem bringing up their labour board complaints against SAIL, even after those complaints were withdrawn.

But readers should be assured that in this case the law is being used as a shield, not a sword.

Right.  We're supposed to believe that, are we?

We've had members sharing an interesting conversation they had with their pastor, long before the strike started and about an unrelated matter, about the secular justice system.  Basically, the discussion was about how the courts are the sword, while the Word is the shield.

If we were to apply this to the current SLAPP suit against people who merely talked about what is actually happening here at Artspace, AUPE is using the sword of the courts, while claiming to take on the role that belongs to God.

Sorry, AUPE, but you are not God.

Meanwhile, this is who wrote the letter, which is so much like the statement on the AUPE website.

Mark Wells, supervisor of research, education and communications, AUPE

It's not the first time this Mark Wells has written to the journal about what's going on here.  In this letter from May 24th, he basically slanders the reputation of one of our members (yes, we have video of the incident he's talking about, too).

He's also identified in the old letter as merely an AUPE "spokesperson."  Did he get a promotion or something?

Hey, Mark.  You want to talk about defamation and false accusations?  Why don't we take a look at what that really looks like.





This is the first of 8 clips showing...

Oh.  Hold on.

Of course Mr. Wells knows what it looks like.

He's in the videos.

That's right.  Among the trio of men engaging in this elaborate street theatre in front of Artspace back on August 2nd is...

Ladies and Gentlemen, meet Mark Wells, who has been identified by several people.

In the above photo, you can see him with AUPE's non-lawyer, William Rigutto, on the left in the yellow t-shirt.

The other guy in a yellow t-shirt is this guy.

That's from the David Eggen endorsement page.

Here are a few more screen caps from security video taken on August 2nd, but really, go check out the video above, so you can hear for yourself.

As you can see (and hear, if you've watched the videos), he's not just an observer, but an active participant.  And, gosh, he looks so HAPPY while doing it!

In this image, you can't see the piece of paper he's holding up, but on the video, you can see him continue to record the person driving the car he's helping block, well after he's stopped holding up the paper.

The passenger of that car was a board member.

I say "was" because she got out of the car, in hopes that they would allow the driver to go into the underground parking, once she left.

They didn't, and continued blocking that car for some time longer.

Ah, but that's not all about Mr. Wells.

Some of our members know him by another name - Mark Daley, which is the name he goes by on Facebook.

On his Facebook page, he says he works for AUPE.

But that's not the strangest thing about Mr. Wells/Daley.  We also found this.

That's right.

The guy that has written to the Edmonton Journal in defense of his employer, AUPE, is also a photographer and journalist.

That might explain how AUPE's letters get published so very quickly.

Talk about irony!  The AUPE "supervisor of research, education and communications" actually engaged in the very behaviour the exposure of which lead to the negative attention AUPE has been getting in social media.

Just a few things from the videos;

The sign he's wearing?  It says "SAIL - all subsidy, no accountability."

Of course, there IS accountability for SAIL's funding, so that's a defamatory statement right there around his neck.

In the video, they also accuse SAIL, named SAIL board members and named Artspace members, basically of fraud and embezzlement.

They also throw out accusations such as SAIL paying for the phones some people were using to record their performance.

They claim SAIL paid hundreds of dollars for pizza and entertainment for Friends of SAIL meetings.

They suggest that Artspace has shredded SAIL financial documents.

They suggest SAIL is paying a non-Artspace member illegally to make a documentary about their actions.

They threaten to subpoena the bank accounts of all Artspace members, looking for money they suggest SAIL has given us.

They threaten to subpoena all our video recordings - which would be pretty counterproductive, since not only are many of these videos already online, but they show AUPE picketers engaging in all the behaviours we've been talking about.

And so on.

Seriously.  Grab a drink and a snack, settle in and watch the videos.

If there's anyone who should be filing for defamation, it's Artspace members against Wells/Daley, Rigutto and Zimmerman.

Lucky for them, no one in Artspace has millions (pdf) in union dues to tap to pay for lawyers.


Update: Oct. 10

This post was published late Oct. 5th.  A supporter found something interesting on Oct. 6th and sent in this image.

The person had been checking out something they remembered seeing on Mark Daley's facebook page (the post in this image) when things suddenly changed.

They just happened to be looking at the same time Mark changed his profile name to Athabasca Poem.

He also removed public reference to his place of employment, and I believe that above post from May 24 is no longer viewable to the public.

We've always known that AUPE has been all over this blog, but the proof doesn't get more blatant than this!