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Originally Posted by powderjunkie
Thanks for the link. I'm more whelmed than I was before. The prepared remarks were way too weak and vague.
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Are you feeling pretty dismayed?
I’m just kidding powdrejunkie but I couldn’t resist.
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They needed to:
1. explain clearly why the NWC was so egregious. Crystal clearly so that a 5th grader could understand
2. make a clear demand on what needs to happen (the gov't needs to retract the NWC and order teachers back to work through legitimate means)
3. make a big statement about repercussions if they do no. It's okay to stay vague on some details here, but the language needed to be big and impactful (it would be fine to temper it that it's not going to be a riot and frame it positively and productively)
4. sell it to members. Explain why a general strike is the best course of action if the gov't fails to adequately respond. Remind them that it is ultimately their choice. Reiterate #1 and explain the repercussions to every single union if we lose this battle. Explain how we are unstoppable if we truly band together with big enough numbers (he sort of hit this point eventually)
5. the above should already do it for the most part, but sell it to the public and make a better call to action...I'm not sure exactly what it would be, but it needs to be more than 'text a number and take a survey in a few days'
Then it would be fine to go on to talk about the longer term goals and all the common front stuff. But IMO they failed the headline test. They basically admitted it's just going to be another weekend protest...on a weekday. Maybe. Eventually. Possibly. But not necessarily.
Worst case scenario you end up failing to deliver on the threat for whatever reason. But today was not the time for a damp squib on the 'unprecedented action' they promised earlier. I desperately desperately hope that I am out of touch here...as a full blown socialist I'm feeling pretty uninspired, and I don't see why the Average Joe right-of-centre Albertan would feel any different?
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The bolded here is the important piece that a lot of people don’t seem to fully understand. Even teachers and other Union members.
Unions by law have a duty to fairly represent their members. Members engaging in an illegal strike would give their employers just cause for termination. So to avoid any liability for misrepresentation they’re not going to ask their members to participate in an illegal strike without first making them aware of all of the potential repercussions. Once their members realize that they could lose their jobs you’re almost certainly going to see a meaningful drop off in support for that kind of strike action. Support could also be hampered by the charges and legal costs the Union risks facing for the unfair labour practices associated with engaging in an illegal strike, as it could cost a significant amount of money that their members may not be in favour of spending. There are likely some cases where they could even bankrupt locals.
This is why it is so crucial to have the general public supporting Unions. When the government knows voters won’t forgive them for allowing a strike like that to occur and putting tens of thousands of workers at risk of losing their jobs for doing the right thing the government is going to be inclined to avoid doing so or to fix it quickly if they end up in that position. When private businesses know that customers won’t support them if they fire employees for partaking in this type of collective action they are less likely to do so and more likely to put pressure on the government to fix the problem so that their business isn’t affected. Win/win.
When Unions know that voters and customers have their backs they have more leverage to take on these fights with because the lower the risk of job loss the higher the likelihood is that members would be willing to roll the dice.
So if you really want this to happen you’d be best served by starting a public petition stating that the signees will support unions in their fight by committing to not buy products from any businesses that fire employees for supporting this fight and to vote out the UCP if they don’t fix
both this problem and the labour code they gutted.
Or you can keep complaining online about Unions getting your hopes up and not doing enough for you in the end…despite someone warning you to not get your hopes up in the first place
