CUPE members, working with the Nova Scotia Federation of Labour and the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC), are pulling out all the stops to ensure an NDP victory in the June 9 provincial election.
The Better Choice Nova Scotia 2009 campaign is aimed at getting labour’s message out to unionized workers about the genuine change that Darrell Dexter and the NDP represent for working famillies in that province.
CUPE has several activists booked off and working on the campaign. Through phone calls, direct mail and presentations to local unions, we hope to make history by electing the first-ever NDP government east of Ontario. Dexter and the NDP have been leading consistently in the polls since shortly after the last election in June, 2006.
Cape Breton nursing home worker Mae Smith, who received training from the CLC to work on the campaign, says she is excited to be part of a potentially, history-making election. “I have been getting such good responses on the phone from the CUPE members I am calling. Many people are switching their vote to the NDP. It also feels great to be connecting with them on issues that are important to union members like myself, like pensions, P3’s, job security and so on.”
Rodney MacDonald’s Conservative government has been battered by a series of scandals and mishaps. They currently have 21 seats in the House, the NDP has 20, the Liberals have nine and there is one independent (a disgraced Tory cabinet minister).
With 52 seats in the legislature, the magic number for forming a majority is 27.
