EDMONTON-In the aftermath of the rejection of a tentative agreement by Telus workers, the AFL sent a letter to Telus CEO Darren Entwistle urging the company to return quickly to the bargaining table. While the vote was a setback, the AFL says, the parties need to use it to make one last push for an agreement.

“The closeness of the result tells us the two parties are not very far apart,” writes AFL President Gil McGowan in his letter to Entwistle. “I strongly believe that one more honest attempt to find a deal will result in an agreement that would garner majority support from TWU members.”

“It is time to put egos aside,” says McGowan. “Set aside the personal acrimony from this dispute and know that an agreement is in sight. It is time to get it done.”

McGowan indicates that attempting to “punish” TWU members for voting no will only prolong and deepen the crisis at Telus. “Saying that the time for talking is over is exactly the wrong message to send right now.”

McGowan also renewed the promise from the labour movement to support the TWU members on the picket line. We need to respect the choice of the members. Our job in the labour movement is to continue to offer whatever support we can to help them through this lock out and to help them get a fair deal.”

“Alberta’s labour movement continues to stand with TWU,” McGowan concludes.

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For more information contact:

Gil McGowan, AFL President at 780.915-4599 (cell) or 780.483-3021 (wk)