An unprecedented general strike may be coming to Alberta.
On Wednesday, leaders from unions representing hundreds of thousands of Albertans stood in solidarity while delivering that message — they are a united front after the governing United Conservative Party used the notwithstanding clause to force 51,000 teachers back to work.
“We will begin the process of organizing towards a potential general strike,” Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan said in a fiery speech.
“To play on the words of wartime prime minister Mackenzie King: ‘Not necessarily a general strike, but a general strike if necessary.’”
No timeline has been set for job action, with the unions saying they’ll conduct a survey on the possibility of a mass walkout.
The unions are trying to organize something that has never been done in Alberta, McGowan said, which is why they did not announce a strike immediately as some had expected or hoped for.
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McGowan rejected suggestions from reporters that he mismanaged public expectations. He said organizing extreme measures like a general strike takes time.
“We make no apologies for saying that we’re starting a campaign to organize a resistance and that resistance will be felt on multiple fronts. We will take advantage of all the tools that are available to us.”
The AFL promised in recent days an “unprecedented response” to back-to-work legislation, including a general strike, and said other unions were pitching in to build a war chest to pay fines.
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Alberta unions threaten general strike, declare intent to bring down UCP government
McGowan spoke on behalf of the Alberta labour movement on Wednesday after the province passed Bill 2, the Back to School Act, and invoked the notwithstanding clause this week.
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Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has awakened a sleeping giant, he said.
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“We now have one common purpose and that purpose is to topple this government.”
Speaking from the Ironworkers Hall in downtown Edmonton and flanked by leaders of the province’s other major unions representing more than 350,000 Albertans, McGowan said the actions of the provincial government have galvanized unions to fight not just for teachers or bargaining rights, but for democracy itself.
“No one is coming to our rescue. It is up to us.”
The Alberta Federation of Labour and other union leaders said they’ll also try to recall legislature members and take other steps to “throw sand in the gears” of Smith’s government.
The unions are part of a collective called the Common Front. They have signed a solidarity pact committing to support each other in the event of a labour action from the provincial governments or employers.
The Alberta government is embracing a MAGA-style agenda, the unions said, by doing things like moving public funds to private schools, under-staffing the health-care system and threatening retirement security by exploring pulling out of the Canada Pension Plan.
“We are committing to do everything we can to throw sand in the gears of this government to stop them from implementing what is clearly a MAGA-style agenda – an agenda that Albertans did not vote for,” McGowan said.
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The use of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms notwithstanding clause was the straw that broke the camel’s back, McGowan indicated.
“This government wants to take that power — the power of collective action — away from workers. We are going to find ways to take that power back,” he said.
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“That’s why this is such a unifying fight for us. And it’s why the possibility of a general strike is now firmly on the table.”
McGowan said unions are not going to pull the pin on Wednesday but instead, are beginning the work of planning for a general strike.
“Over the coming weeks and months, every one of the Common Front unions will begin the process of talking to their members about our new priority, which is to protect our rights and our democracy by toppling this government.”
Those talks have already begun.
The AFL said one of the province’s largest private sector unions, the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 401, on Tuesday surveyed their 30,000 members who work in grocery stores, warehouses and meat packing plants.
Of those who responded, the AFL said 90 per cent said they supported Alberta teachers, 78 per cent would support a general strike and 69 per cent would be willing to personally support it.
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“The sentiment that I am hearing from union leaders, union activists and individual workers from across the province: Alberta workers are fed up.”
The notwithstanding clause — or Section 33 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms — gives provincial legislatures or Parliament the ability, through the passage of a law, to effectively override certain portions of the Charter for up to five years.
Smith said the strike — the largest in Alberta history — was causing irreparable harm and the government had no other choice.
The core dispute with teachers centred around their demands for tangible fixes to address overcrowded classrooms and faltering supports for students with special needs.
Smith’s government has promised to hire 3,000 more teachers and address class sizes and complexities with a panel.
The passage of Bill 2 early Tuesday morning ended the three-week strike over wages and working conditions that left more than 740,000 students out of class. It includes steep fines for non-compliance: up to $500 a day for individuals and up to $500,000 a day for the union.
The AFL said if governments use the clause to solve labour disputes, unions have no bargaining power left.
The Alberta government has not responded to Wednesday’s announcement.
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This is a breaking news story. More to come….
— with files from The Canadian Press
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