ALF V1

LAPP’s 97 per cent funding level repudiates Tory fearmongering about impending financial collapse

Expansion of the Canada Pension Plan is the most efficient and effective way to ensure the financial security of Albertans in their old age

EDMONTON – Despite months of protests, and despite all opposition parties uniting against the proposals, the Government is moving forward on controversial public‐sector pension legislation today.

The union leaders representing the vast majority of the workers who will be affected by the legislation will be on hand at the Legislature Rotunda today at 3:00 p.m. to show their opposition to the legislation that is being debated. The legislative session is expected to go late into the evening as opposition MLAs try to impede the legislation.

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MEDIA CONTACT:

Olav Rokne, Communications Director, Alberta Federation of Labour at 780.289.6528 (cell) or via e-mail [email protected]

The Government is gutting the pension you paid for.

Updated Information as of February 24, 2014

Updated Leaflet - Alberta Labour Coalition on Pensions

Take action at http://www.truthaboutalbertapensions.ca/

Speech by Gil McGowan, AFL President
March 20^th – Day of Action

There are hundreds of people here today – but you’re not alone.

As we speak, thousands of public-sector workers are filling the streets outside hospitals, schools and municipal buildings across the province.

Calgary, Red Deer, Lethbridge, Fort McMurray, Medicine Hat, Peace River, Camrose, Hinton … the list goes on.

Public-sector workers are engaging in these protests because they’re sick and tired.

They’re sick and tired of unjustified attacks on the pensions they’ve paid for.

They’re sick and tired of a government that seems determined to bully, not negotiate.

They’re sick and tired of enduring cuts and wage freezes even as our economy booms.

And they’re sick and tired of a Premier who claimed to be our friend, but stabbed us in the back.

Let’s spend a moment talking about our departed Premier.

Some of us had been framing these rallies as Redford retirement rallies because we felt she should be thinking about her own retirement plans instead of attacking the retirement plans of public-sector workers.

Obviously, she beat us to the punch. However, I want to make one thing very clear: Premier Redford may be gone, but the problem still remains.

The provincial government still has a plan to gut your pensions.

And this is still the same government that has been trampling on the collective bargaining rights of public-sector workers and that has threatened to punish and muzzle workers with laws that restrict your constitutional right to free speech.

Perhaps most importantly, Premier Redford may be gone, but, as a result of her bullying, my-way-or-the-highway approach to government, she’s left a trail of broken political relationships and alienated Albertans.

The PC’s have alienated their own supporters; they’ve alienated voters and, of course, they’ve alienated public-sector workers.

If the Progressive Conservatives (PC’s) ever hope to re-build their brand and continue their political dynasty, they’re going to have to rebuild those relationships.

My hope is that the new premier will do what Alison Redford refused to do…and that is to treat public-sector workers with respect … and to negotiate rather than dictate.

That’s why, this morning, I wrote a letter to interim Premier Dave Hancock. I asked him to turn a new page. I asked him to join us in building a new relationship. I asked him to negotiate on wages, pensions and funding for services, instead of making unilateral decisions.

Finally, I reminded him that he and his government don’t have a mandate to gut pensions. Alison Redford never had that mandate and Dave Hancock certainly doesn’t.

That’s where all of you come in. We need to keep the pressure up.

All of us need to get on the phone. We need to write letters, send letters and make visits to MLA offices.

We need to make sure our MLAs understand that Redford’s retirement is not really the issue. The issue is retirement security. The issue is fairness. The issue is respect.

They have to understand that public-sector workers in this province simply won’t stand for unjustified attacks on the pensions they’ve paid for or wages they’ve earned no matter who’s in the Premier’s chair.

So let’s keep up the pressure. We’ve got their attention – now let’s make it clear to all the parties and all the politicians that in a province as wealthy as Alberta, there is simply no justification for us to engage in a race to the bottom!

Gil McGowan
President
Alberta Federation of Labour

Frontline public employees are rallying today at multiple locations throughout Alberta to defend their modest pensions against imposed cuts to their retirement savings unilaterally introduced by the Redford Government.

“Nobody voted on these cuts,” Alberta Federation of Labour President Gil McGowan said on behalf of the Labour Coalition on Pensions. “By breaking the promise it made to frontline public employees, the Redford Government is sending the message that no one can trust the agreements it makes.”

Before imposing big changes, McGowan said, the Redford government should engage in negotiations with frontline public employees so solutions everyone can live with can be agreed upon.

The average public-sector pension in Alberta is only about $14,000 per year, and it’s troubling that the government is increasing pensions for senior managers and other insiders at the same time as it cuts the pensions of frontline workers.

McGowan said imposed pension cuts will make it more difficult for hospitals, schools, universities and other public-sector employers to find and keep skilled and dedicated frontline employees – something sure to have an impact on the quality of public services in Alberta.

“The Redford Government’s most recent public announcements make it sound like they’re backing down, but they’re continuing to break their promise to these frontline workers by imposing pension cuts rather than negotiating them,” McGowan said.

As a result, affected workers are rallying over lunchtime throughout the province today at multiple worksites in Edmonton, St. Albert, Calgary, Hinton, Red Deer, Fort McMurray, Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Grande Prairie, Peace River and Camrose.

Informal smaller-scale activities are expected near many other public-sector worksites throughout the province.

Senior elected officers of the major Alberta public-sector unions will be available at all sites for interviews with media.

Marle Roberts, President of Canadian Union of Public Employees Alberta Division, will attend the rally at the Misericordia Hospital in Edmonton

Elisabeth Ballermann, President of the Health Sciences Association of Alberta, will attend the rally at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton

Heather Smith, President of the United Nurses of Alberta, will attend the rally at Red Deer Regional Hospital

Guy Smith, President of the Alberta Union of Provincial Employees, will attend a rally at Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary

Gil McGowan, President of the Alberta Federation of Labour will attend a rally at University Hospital in Edmonton

MEDIA CONTACT:

Olav Rokne, Communications Director, Alberta Federation of Labour at 780.289.6528 (cell) or via e-mail [email protected]

Analysis shows unfunded liability getting smaller by about $1 billion

EDMONTON – Alberta’s public-sector pension plans are getting healthier, despite what Finance Minister Doug Horner claims.

Analysis by independent actuarial firm George & Bell shows the unfunded liability of Alberta’s two main public-sector pension plans has shrunk, meaning the plans are growing stronger without government meddling.

Leaders of Alberta's Public-Sector Unions will be available for comment today at 1:15 p.m. at the United Nurses of Alberta (UNA) offices (#700-11150 Jasper Avenue, Edmonton).

MEDIA CONTACT:

Olav Rokne, Communications Director, Alberta Federation of Labour at 780.289.6528 (cell) or via e-mail [email protected]