President of CUPE Alberta, Rory Gill, released the following statement on the results of the provincial election.

“Although we’re not where we hoped to be today, and although we believed we would have been able to find an easier way forward with an NDP government, we know we must stand united and continue to fight for what our members and Albertans deserve.

Our union and our movement worked hard to make a change in this election, and while this result hurts, it clearly shows that we can’t stop imagining and organizing for a better world.

We saw thousands of members come out yesterday across the province demanding that their concerns be taken seriously; demanding that their rights be honoured; demanding better wages and respect in their workplaces.

We know that there is a crisis in education in Alberta and we’re not going to wait for the UCP to continue to destroy it, privatize it and offer our members disrespectful sub-par wages.

We have a clear plan on how to solve the crisis in education and we are ready to come together this summer and make sure that we continue to protect education and protect our members while the UCP continues to implement its anti-worker, anti-union and anti-Alberta agenda.

Our members are united and CUPE Alberta will continue to stand up for the people we serve.

This better world is no further away this morning than it was yesterday because all of us are here and all of us are ready to build it. We will build this power every day, united in the goal of making a world where we all have worth and none of us are left behind.”

Picket lines only work when we refuse to cross them. If you encounter a @psac_afpc picket line at your workplace, don’t cross it. Contact your local union, and then contact your manager. Find a picket line near you at workerscantwait.ca. #WorkersCantWait

PSAC members and CUPE members are united in the struggle for fair wages, respect, and strong public services. @psac_afpc members show up for Albertans every day – let’s show up for them now and show our solidarity.

Find a picket line near you at workerscantwait.ca. #WorkersCantWait

Approximately 150 delegates from CUPE Alberta Convention participated in a noisy rally in downtown Fort McMurray to support Wood Buffalo municipal employees embroiled in a difficult round of bargaining.

“The rally today was to express frustration with the city and their bargaining position,” said CUPE 1505 President Craig Milley. “They’ve given workers five pages of concessions. They talk about how they value front-line workers, but they don’t live up to those words.

The Local has been in mediation for over a year and Milley says the City is being untruthful when speaking about negotiations.

“The city needs to start bargaining fairly, without the small print and hidden concessions. They need to treat all employees as equals.”

The Executive Vice President of the Canadian Labour Congress addressed CUPE Alberta’s convention with news of successes at the federal level.

“In just the last two years, the CLC has won major victories for workers, including 10 paid sick days and pay equity language in the federal sector,” said Vipond. “We have lobbied for and won dental care and we are a few days away from pharmacare. Canada finally has a National Childcare Policy.”

Victories aside, Vipond noted there is still a lot of work to do. The affordability crisis is hurting workers harder than most and noted that the labour movement is working to change this.

“We have been lobbying hard for the federal government to implement measures that will curb corporate greed, tax appropriately and lift the burden of the rising cost of living off our shoulders,” said Vipond. “We are working towards federal policies that will better protect workers’ incomes, including improvements to Employment Insurance and a national pharmacare program.”

Speaking out about governments who ‘refer to front-line workers as heroes while refusing to recognize their real value’ CUPE Secretary-Treasurer Candace Rennick encouraged delegates to fight for better wages and working conditions for all, and in particular for the lowest paid.

“Raising the wage and benefits floor, is the best way to ensure that the quality of public services improves,” said Rennick.

Rennick said the first step towards improving the lives of Alberta workers has to be changing the government in the provincial election on May 29^th.

“We sure need big change in Alberta—we need Rachel Notley as premier.”

“Danielle Smith revealed her vision of what health care should be. She said maybe Albertans should start paying for visits to the doctor. She mused about charging patients a portion of the cost of major surgeries” said Rennick. “She is not a person to trust—not with our health, and not with our lives.”

After the election, Rennick told delegates to work hard to gain ground at the bargaining table. And she pledged that CUPE would provide the financial support to achieve those goals. Rennick pointed to her first budget as Secretary-Treasurer as setting the stage for those battles.

“Every new available dollar has gone to increase staffing positions and programs across the country,” said Rennick. “National programs and services that you count on are strengthened. Support for provincial divisions is going up and new staff positions are being put in place in every region of the country including Alberta.”

Rennick also mentioned the CUPE Safe Union Spaces Working Group addressing harassment and gender-based discrimination and violence within CUPE.

“Making our union safer for all—is a collective responsibility that involves all of us. It is an ongoing responsibility, one that won’t have an endpoint, but one that will make us stronger.”