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26 Oct, 4 tweets, 2 min read
Wildcat strikes have apparently begun at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton and the Foothills Hospital in Calgary. When Kenney and the UCP decided to attack health care during a pandemic did he really think workers wouldn’t fight back? #Solidarity #AbLeg #canlab #cdnpoli
The strikes have now spread to the South Health campus in Calgary (huge!), as well as hospitals in Westlock (my home town!) and Cold Lake. Alberta Hospital in north Edmonton has also joined in.
Many, many more sites are now reporting that they’ve gone on strike. Trying to get a full list, but it’s hard to keep up. Stay tuned!
Glenrose Hospital. Fort Saskatchewan Hospital. More the come!

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More from @gilmcgowan

Gil McGowan Profile picture
27 Oct
Yesterday’s wildcat strike by health care workers is over, but the conditions that created it remain. Just read the statements made by UCP finance Minister Toews. He says there will be no layoffs — while confirming there will be layoffs. 1/n #AbLeg #abpoli cbc.ca/news/canada/ed…
He then goes on to blame the workers for putting patients at risk — when it is the UCP government itself that is putting patients at risk by implementing a radical restructuring of the health care systems in the midst of a surging pandemic. 2/n #AbLeg #abpoli
And he says that workers must obey labour laws — when the UCP tramples on all the laws, norms & traditions that surround Canadian labour law every day. They have zero respect for the collective bargaining process, believing they should simply be able to impose their will. 3/n
Read 6 tweets
Gil McGowan Profile picture
18 Oct
Yesterday, UCP delegates voted overwhelmingly to “make Alberta a Right-to-Work jurisdiction.” These are the laws used by right-wingers in the US to suppress wages and break the bargaining power of workers. We can’t allow them to import these toxic laws to Canada. #AbLeg #abpoli
What are Right-to-Work laws? They are laws designed to shatter worker bargaining power (in the workplace and on the political stage) by weakening unions so much that they can no longer act as an effective counterbalance to the power of billionaires and corporations.
Is the US, where right-wing politicians and their corporate backers have championed these laws, RTW has suppressed wages, destroyed the middle class and allowed corporations and the wealthy to dominate the political agenda ... at the expense of everyone else.
Read 10 tweets
Gil McGowan Profile picture
16 Oct
Jason Kenney is an economic illiterate. On one hand, he says we need to bring back economic growth to save Alberta. That’s true. But on the other hand, he wants to slash public spending by 20 percent during a recession. That will suppress growth, not promote it. #AbLeg #abpoli
Almost every jurisdiction in the world understands that this is NOT the time for budget cuts and austerity. In fact, the IMF recently concluded that public sector spending is the BEST way to spur economic growth in times like these.
In case you can’t read the small print, it says that increasing public sector spending by 1% increasing economic growth by 2.7% (which is a huge return on investment). In other word, Kenney wants to do exactly the OPPOSITE of what’s needed.
Read 5 tweets
Gil McGowan Profile picture
29 Sep
Here, UCP MLA Shane Getson suggests that people are using CERB so they can “eat Cheezies and watch cartoons” ... and buy drugs. This is disgusting. Getson betrays both his disdain for working people and his ignorance of the health emergency in one 2 minute clip. #FUShane #abpoli
If it wasn’t for CERB, millions of Canadians (including many Albertans) would not have been able to pay their rent or mortgage or keep food on their tables. It was also key to our success in keeping COVID infection rates down AND keeping our economy afloat. Getson doesn’t get it.
And if Getson’s “buddies” can’t attract workers because of CERB, it says more about them as employers than it does about Canadians as workers. If you want people to respond to your job ads, STOP PAYING POVERTY WAGES!
Read 5 tweets
Gil McGowan Profile picture
26 Sep
The U.S. Republicans have become an “increasingly authoritarian white nationalist party.” This matters to Canada, & Alberta in particular, because the CPC & the UCP have close ties to the Republicans and are copying their playbook. #AbLeg #abpoli #cdnpoli vox.com/policy-and-pol…
Just a reminder, this is the UCP’s current Agriculture Minister, who continues to be a big fan of Trump’s authoritarian approach to politics. He’s just one of many UCPers (including Kenney himself) who made regular trips to the US for tips & advice from the “mothership.” #abpoli
Here’s an article I wrote about the Republican-style authoritarian tactics and policies beginning embraced by Canadian conservatives (especially Kenney’s UCP in Alberta). Of course, Stephen Harper has been heavily involved in creating “GOP North.” thetyee.ca/Opinion/2020/0…
Read 4 tweets
Gil McGowan Profile picture
21 Sep
As a worker advocate, I’ve been raising concerns for months about research showing that COVID-19 is airborne &!can travel MUCH farther than 2m in indoor environments. UCPers dismissed my concerns. I won’t allow them to dismiss me now. ⁦#AbLeg #abpoli washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/09…
Here’s an renowned expert emphasizing the importance of the CDC’s new guidance on aerosols.
Here’s another expert who specializes in aerosols and safety in indoor environments.
Read 6 tweets

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