Yellow vests protests

• Canada’s oil and gas sector is in the throes of profound change driven by shifting consumer demand and global commitments to dramatically lower greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
• But are industry and politicians sincere in their affection for oil and gas workers?
• Or, are energy workers merely a convenient vehicle to shield the industry from change that many Canadians believe is inevitable?

Picket lines

• We found the company used expanding pipeline capacity and Canada’s emission reduction policies to justify its push to force workers to take concessions.
• The lockout came to an end in June 2020 when Local 594 members ratified an agreement with FCL.

“Just” transition?

• Just this month federal Conservatives, conservative provincial governments and protesters came out strong against the increase to the Trudeau government’s signature climate policy — the price on carbon.
• The Liberal government has faced significant backlash against its other climate policies as well, including the oil and gas emissions cap.
• Conservatives position themselves as the voice of fossil fuel workers, who they cast as victims of carbon pricing and other federal environmental policies.
• Shuttered factories and their laid-off employees are victims of Liberal anti-oil policies, industry proponents insist.

Questions unanswered

• Time and again governments, local police and courts advanced the interests of industry over those of unionized workers.
• Or, will the inevitable winding down of extractive fossil fuel industries lead to acrimonious labour relations and social injustice?
• The path designed by powerful oil and gas interests is not one that puts workers or communities first.

• Emily Eaton receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
• Andrew Stevens receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the University of Regina (U of R fund: Unifor Scholar in Labour Relations).