Copyright westernstandard
What does a pipe fitter in Fort McMurray have in common with a high school teacher in Edmonton? Very little, yet Alberta’s labour bosses are trying to convince us they share the same enemy. While teachers walk the picket line, Alberta Federation of Labour President Gil McGowan is orchestrating a dangerous escalation, transforming a labour dispute into a Marxist-inspired class struggle that serves nobody except union elites..WHISSELL: Pierre Poilievre Derangement Syndrome.Consider the pipe fitter — a hard-working individual already stretched by inflation and tax burdens. Why should he support a strike that keeps his children out of school and threatens to increase his taxes to fund unsustainable wage demands? Teachers have been offered a 12% raise over four years, a significant increase that many in the private sector would welcome. .Yet union leaders demand over 20%, a figure that ignores fiscal reality.This strike is no longer about classrooms — it is about power. McGowan’s call for a “common front” and threats of general strike action reveal the true agenda that he is using teachers as pawns in a broader war against the government. .SLOBODIAN: When ostriches and whales die, so does Canada.His language echoes Marxist rhetoric about “class struggle” and mobilizing “the working class,” framing straightforward negotiations as a revolutionary battle. This ideological crusade has real consequences for parents who must miss work and students who lose learning time.The provincial government has presented teachers with a fair deal. .A 12% wage increase maintains purchasing power against inflation, and the promise to hire approximately 1,000 additional teachers annually addresses concerns about class sizes. Yet union leaders recommended rejection, with 89% of teachers voting down this offer despite its reasonable terms.This rejection reflects the influence of radical elements within the union movement. .OLDCORN: Saskatchewan should follow Alberta’s lead on drug courts and learn from Portugal.Marxists openly celebrate the strike as an opportunity to “show the way to every other union” and advocate for defying back-to-work legislation. They frame the dispute not as about education, but as a turning point in the “class struggle.” Meanwhile, the Alberta Teachers’ Association provides no strike pay, leaving many teachers in financial strain while their leaders pursue political objectives..Throughout this dispute, the needs of students have been consistently overlooked. Union rhetoric focuses exclusively on working conditions and wages, with barely a mention of educational outcomes or student welfare. McGowan’s transformation of this strike into a broader class war complete with talk of solidarity across sectors confirms that students are merely collateral damage in a larger political conflict..RACHAEL THOMAS: In pursuit of a better country, from sea to sea.This approach mirrors the 2013 wildcat strike by prison guards, where Marxist organizers celebrated how workers in uniform could defy the state. Then, as now, the real agenda was challenging the fundamental structures of society, not addressing specific workplace concerns. When union bosses speak of “mobilizing the working class” and “general strike” action, they are not talking about smaller class sizes or better resources for students..Alberta’s teachers deserve fair compensation, and classrooms need appropriate resources. However, the current strike has been hijacked by ideological interests that care little for education or the economic realities facing most Albertans. McGowan’s Marxist class warfare narrative serves only union power while disregarding the needs of students, parents, and taxpayers..MacLEOD: The cumulative chill: Canada’s legislative overreach on free expression.It is time to separate legitimate concerns about education from radical political agendas. The government should stand firm against unreasonable demands, and Albertans should see this strike for what it has become.It is not a fight for better schools, but an ideological battle that uses children as political leverage. The pipe fitter, the teacher, and most importantly, the student — all deserve better.
