The Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) has announced they will begin organizing for a "potential" general strike. On Wednesday, the day teachers returned to Alberta classrooms, the President of the AFL, Gil McGowan, stated Alberta unions "have one common purpose, and that purpose is to topple this government, not just for the sake of the teachers, not just for the sake of bargaining rights, but for the sake of our shared democracy and the future of our province."The AFL comprises 26 unions.McGowan stated that if the government "shrinks the size of our classrooms — we will shrink the size of their caucus.".He adds the AFL will organize initiative campaigns and says, "if they continue underfunding public schools we'll defund private schools."McGowan finishes with a final statement, "Today, as a labour movement, we are committing to work with any and all of our fellow Albertans who agree that our rights, our democracy, and our Canadian way of life will not be safe until we make Danielle Smith a radio host again."On Monday, the government passed legislation ordering Alberta teachers back to work while using the notwithstanding clause.The legislation and the amendment will last from September 1, 2024, to August 31, 2028..The notwithstanding clause is found in Section 33 of the Charter, which allows provincial legislation to declare a statute can operate despite the rights and freedoms guaranteed by Sections 2 and 7 to 15 of the Charter.The legislation will take precedence over the ATA's ability to strike — an offence with financial penalties of up to $500 a day for teachers and up to $500,000 a day for the union."It's a generous settlement that includes a 12% salary increase over four years and additional market adjustment that improves the pay of 95% of teachers by up to 17% and funds the hiring of 3,000 new teachers to reduce class sizes and strengthen student learning," stated Premier Danielle Smith on Monday.
