Here in Alberta, we're facing the prospect of yet another round of deep cuts and privatization in the public sector. At the same time, the emergence of the Wildrose Alliance Party poses serious threats to many of the things we believe in and have fought for - everything from public health care and public education to workplace safety regulations and balanced labour laws.
At the national level, groups like the Canadian Federation of Independent Business are fuelling an ill-advised and mean-spirited backlash against public pensions. At the same time, the percentage of workers who belong to unions continues to decline as a result of the recession and "off-shoring" of jobs in manufacturing and a growing number of other sectors.
In many parts of the country it's not an exaggeration to say that the middle-class lifestyle that unions helped establish is slipping away. To top things off, the labour movement's once significant political clout is in decline in most provinces and at the federal level.
Despite all of this bad news, the Canadian labour movement is still a force to be reckoned with. We have millions of members, tens of thousands of activists and thousands of skilled organizers, negotiators, researchers, communicators, strategists and other staff. But are we up to the challenges of the 21st century? Do we fully understand those challenges - and do we have the tools, the organization and the vision needed to deal with them?
This issue of Union looks at these issues and at how the labour movement can more effectively protect the interests of working people in an increasingly hostile economic and political environment.
Gil McGowan
President
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