Workers across Alberta have begun the process of organizing a general strike after the province legislated an end to the teacher’s strike using the notwithstanding clause, according to the Alberta Federation of Labour.
Teachers across the province were on strike from October 6 until the government passed Bill 2 early Tuesday morning, forcing teachers to be back in classrooms the next day. Teachers were calling for better pay, more per-student funding in public education and smaller class sizes.
“Although this legislation will end the strike and lift the lockout, it does not end the underfunding and deterioration of teaching and learning conditions—our schools will not be better for it,” the union wrote on their website.
The provincial government’s use of the notwithstanding clause quickly sparked outrage across organized labour. On Wednesday afternoon, the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) shared findings from one union’s survey of 30,000 workers which found that 90 per cent of its members supported the teachers and 78 per cent were willing to support a general strike in the province. As such, the federation said it would prepare to launch a general strike if necessary.
“We will use all the tools at our disposal to make Danielle Smith and the UCP pay the price for attacking teachers, public education and our democratic rights,” AFL president Gil McGowan said in a press conference. “We will mobilize around recall campaigns. If they won’t shrink the size of our classrooms, we’ll shrink the size of their caucus!”
The Alberta Teacher’s Association (ATA), at the same time, is preparing to legally challenge the bill, which they called an egregious assault on the collective bargaining rights of teachers and, by extension, all workers. The union said they will likely be supported by organized labour, civil society and ordinary citizens in this fight.
“Our message to the government is simple: we are still here,” the ATA wrote on their website. “Our struggle to achieve our legitimate objectives will continue by other means until you deliver the concrete, enforceable and accountable measures to improve classroom conditions.”
Public opinion was more supportive of teachers during the strike. An Angus Reid poll released on October 14 showed that 58 per cent of Albertans said their sympathies lay with teachers and a whopping 84 per cent of Albertans agreed that class sizes were too big.
Support extends beyond Alberta
As the AFL prepares to join teachers in the fight for collective bargaining rights, labour organizations outside the province have also voiced their support for Albertan teachers and their disappointment with Bill 2.
Tuesday night, hours after Bill 2 was passed, Canadian Labour Congress president Bea Bruske shared on X (formerly Twitter) that Canadian unions met in an emergency meeting and voted unanimously to push back against the legislation.
“The UCP has launched an all-out assault on the Charter rights of Alberta’s workers,” Bruske wrote in a post. “At a time when we should be strengthening our economy and communities, this government has chosen to crush workers’ voices instead.”
Bruske joined McGowan at the press conference where he shared that the federation will organize a general strike if necessary.
Teachers associations across the country have stood in support of Albertan teachers after the passage of Bill 2. The Canadian Teacher’s Federation (CTF) wrote to Prime Minister Mark Carney asking the federal government to review the applicability of the Notwithstanding Clause when provincial or territorial governments use it to deny citizens fundamental democratic and human rights.
“The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms enshrines the fundamental right to freedom of association and collective bargaining, both essential pillars of democratic labour relations in Canada,” CTF wrote in the letter. “The rights that Canadian workers have fought for over many decades need to be strengthened, especially in times of a shifting global economy and uncertainty, rather than being made optional on a whim.”
The labour movement in Alberta and in Canada more broadly are standing up for Alberta teachers and their rights to collective bargaining.
“Danielle Smith has awakened a sleeping giant,” AFL president Gil McGowan said. “When she took the unprecedented step of using the Notwithstanding Clause to strip Alberta teachers of their democratic and constitutional rights, she galvanized unions in this province – and in this country – like never before.”
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