When we stick together, we have the power to sway governments

Friends,
 

I recently had the honour of standing, united with leaders from AUPE, CUPE and UNA to insist on a meeting with the new Premier and her reappointed Health Minister. It was an impressive show of solidarity as representatives of approximately 122,000 frontline health-care workers spoke with one voice. The message garnered a lot of media attention; however, it fell on deaf ears at the legislature.
 

We included a time frame for a response which has been exceeded with no word from the Premier or the Minister. It’s too bad because we have a plan to fix the health-care crisis for all Albertans. The focus is you and your solutions to the staffing issue. We must be doing more to improve working conditions so we can retain the people we have. And it means no more failed, expensive experiments with privatization. We must be expanding the public system.
 

The rejection of our offer to help fix the crisis in health care means we must continue to raise awareness of the issues we are facing on the frontline. We have been raising the alarm for a long time now and the shift in public opinion is turning. Recent polls show health care is top of mind for Albertans as we head into an election year. We will be working to keep it that way.
 

As we are seeing in Ontario, when we stick together, we have the power to sway governments. We must be always on our guard to maintain and improve the protections we have earned and that are our rights – safe workplaces and job and retirement security. These are things we must be constantly vigilant about. A few weeks ago, the board of LAPP met and I’m happy to report our pension plan is secure and funded. But the previous UCP Premier and that finance minister went after public sector pensions, and we need to be prepared for this Premier and the same finance minister to do the same.
 

Just as we have swayed public opinion to make health care the number one issue in Alberta so must we stand up for the principles and values of our union.
 

In solidarity,
 

Mike