Alberta Federation of Labour President Gil McGowan said Premier Danielle Smith’s comment about how union workers should vote for her “would be funny, if it wasn’t so offensive.” .“The UCP is the party that froze the minimum wage,” said McGowan in a Thursday statement..“It’s the party that made it harder for workers to join unions and bargain collectively.”.Smith said on Thursday any union member should think twice before voting for the Alberta NDP..“Why would any blue-collar worker — why would any of them support the NDP?” she said..“The NDP instead, with their ideological approach on resource revenue, will cost blue-collar jobs.” .The statement said the Alberta United Conservative Party exacerbated public sector staff shortages and chased healthcare workers out of the province. It added the UCP gave employers a mechanism to avoid paying overtime..To top this off, McGowan said the UCP has presided over the slowest wage growth in Canada — even before the cost of living started to skyrocket. He added there is “no credible reason why Alberta workers — union or non-union — should vote for Danielle Smith.”.“She presides over the most anti-worker government in Alberta history,” he said..Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley tried to soften her left-wing persona on Thursday with an appeal to moderate conservative voters, promising she would speak for all Albertans if elected May 29..READ MORE: Notley channels her inner Lougheed with appeal to ‘moderate’ conservative voters.Notley promised she would not raise taxes or run budget deficits over a four-year term and vowed to be a practical, pragmatic leader. She accused the UCP of abandoning conservative values..“Everywhere I’m hearing from former conservatives and current conservatives who are struggling, who can’t quite bring themselves to vote for Danielle Smith this time around,” she said.
