muscles in illegal but effective job actions, and began to pick up unprecedented numbers of new members through mergers and organizing. The period began with the election of Dan MacLennan as AUPE president. Under MacLennan's leadership, AUPE began to turn the corner on bargaining and reaped the benefits of a reputation for standing up for its members. MacLennan emphasized media savvy, and AUPE became effective as a force for social and legislative change in Alberta. In 1997, AUPE made up for previous rollbacks, concluding 79 agreements covering 30,000 members. In March 1998, members at the University of Alberta Hospital and Glenrose Hospital in Edmonton walked off the job for six hours — enough to win a settlement. In early 2000, Edmonton's auxiliary nursing care employees went on strike for two days and won a significant settlement. Other successes followed, and even though AUPE faced fines and dues suspensions for its actions in defense of its members, its financial situation began to improve. In 1999, AUPE had merged with the Canadian Health Care Guild, bringing another 7,000 members into the fold. A "window of opportunity" opened wider in 2000 when the province predicted a sixth consecutive multibillion-dollar budget surplus. And in 2001, AUPE established the high-water mark for bargaining for all unions in Alberta. This included contracts for about 14,000 health care employees. Membership that year grew past 45,000 and the union began to rebuild its defense fund. By the 26th annual convention in 2002, membership was approaching 50,000 and AUPE was bargaining for over 19,000 health care employees. In March 2003, AUPE faced what seemed to be another setback when the Alberta government introduced Bill 27, the Labour Relations (Regional Health Authorities Restructuring) Amendment Act, which forced amalgamation of health region bargaining units. AUPE officers and staff were mobilized to handle "run-off votes" in a number of regions, and, when the dust had settled, AUPE won them all, adding approximately 7,000 new members. By the 28th annual convention in 2004, total membership was over 58,000. AUPE was in good shape as it prepared to bargain that year at more than 30 tables for over 40,000 members. By the end of 2005, AUPE's membership surpassed 62,000. MacLennan resigned in 2006 to pursue a new career in the private sector. He was replaced by Doug Knight, who was elected in a by-election at the October 2006 AUPE annual convention. Knight had worked