Zoo’s shift away from union draws complaint

The zoo’s shift away from unionized city employees has drawn a complaint to the Alberta Labour Relations Board.

Eleven on-call labourers have been told they are being terminated and can accept the same positions with the Calgary Zoological Society, rather than as city employees, said Don Monroe of the union for city outdoor employees, which filed the unfair labour practice this week.

Dozens of other zoo staff who belong to the union have been told they can’t fill vacancies unless they join the non-unionized zoo workforce, he said. “What they’re trying to do is get rid of the union,” said Monroe, elected this spring as president of Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 37.

The on-call labourers, who do things like cleaning zoo cages, would get a $4-per-hour pay cut under a new employer, he said. In leaving the union, others would also lose the city pension plan and benefits package, which is more generous than what the Calgary Zoo offers.

The majority of the zoo’s 279 employees are currently workers for the non-profit zoo society, with only horticultural and animal care staff left with CUPE 37. A 2010 review triggered by a series of animal deaths found problems with the zoo having some staff that answered to the zoo CEO and others to city hall.

“The position taken by the society to very gradually start moving over to a one-employer system — you know, it could take decades for that to be completed,” said zoo spokeswoman Laurie Skene. “So it’s not anything drastic that’s meant to affect current city employees.” Skene dismissed allegations the zoo was anti-union, noting that its plumbers and pipefitters have recently unionized. Monroe’s union has requested a hearing with the provincial labour board as soon as possible.