Legislature rally message:

EDMONTON – Hundreds of Alberta Union of Provincial Employees (AUPE) members and allies from students groups and other unions will rally at Alberta’s Legislature on Friday, October 18th to send a message that they will fight back against devastating cuts to public services.
 
“Our members work hard every day to deliver services on which Albertans rely,” said Guy Smith, president of AUPE. “We’re fighting back against this government’s reckless, ideological attack on public services and the people who provide them.”
 
“Why should Albertans bear the brunt of this government’s ideological cuts to services only for them to hand over billions in tax giveaways to profitable corporations?,” he continued. “Our members who work on the front lines are already short staffed at work. They are already overworked to the point of exhaustion, injury and illness.”
 
Alberta is bracing for a budget based on the recommendations of the government’s MacKinnon report, which recommend massive cuts to spending, as well as legislating rollbacks in wages and benefits for public-sector employees. This report followed the government’s passage of Bill 9, which ripped up legally-binding contracts and violated the Charter protected rights of workers.
 
Thousands of jobs could disappear with the government’s plan to maximize attrition and lay off workers, which would be a disaster for the delivery of services. The MacKinnon report says that more than 11,000 health care and core government workers could retire in the next four years.
 
“Albertans with loved ones in a hospital or care facility already know how strapped the health-care system is,” said Smith. “Parents with children in overcrowded classrooms already know that the education system is bursting at the seams. “We’re fighting for all Albertans who are going to suffer because of the deterioration of our public services, all so that giant corporations can be given $4.5 billion in tax giveaways."
 
The Alberta Union of Provincial Employees is Western Canada's largest union. AUPE’s 96,000 members work across Alberta in government, health care, education, and for boards, agencies and municipalities.
 
EVENT: Rally to fight back against cuts
DATE: Friday, Oct. 18
TIME: 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
LOCATION: Steps of the Alberta Legislature, Edmonton
 
President Smith will be available to answer media questions at 5:30 p.m.
 
For more information, please contact:
Mimi Williams, AUPE Communications Officer, 780-240-3562