Calling the resignation of former Premier Alison Redford ‘a victory for the labour movement,’ Alberta Federation of Labour President Gil McGowan told CUPE Alberta delegates to continue the battle for their pensions.
McGowan credited the ‘unprecedented success’ of lobby efforts by front line public employees in building a climate against Alison Redford among Conservative MLAs.
“The reason Redford was so unpopular with her caucus has a lot to do with the work we’ve done on the pension issue,” said McGowan. “MLAs say they have never gotten as many angry phone calls and emails from citizens on an issue as they have on the cuts to pensions.”
However, McGowan said that while Redford’s resignation creates a new political context, CUPE members need to keep pressuring the government to negotiate pension changes instead of imposing them.
“We need to be clear, we won the battle, but we still need to win the war,” said McGowan. “We have to let MLAs know that if the next Premier takes the same position on pensions as Alison Redford, they will suffer the same fate as Alison Redford.”