FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 12, 1998
Union leaders embark on province-wide tour
Goal is to get Albertans thinking about the future, says Cormack
EDMONTON - Starting this week, the two executive officers of Alberta's largest labour organization - the Alberta Federation of Labour - will embark on a province-wide tour aimed at stimulating grass-roots union activism and encouraging public debate on a wide range of social, economic and political issues. As part of the tour, AFL president Audrey Cormack and Secretary Treasurer Les Steel will hold public meetings in 12 communities around the province. In January, they will visit Peace River, Grande Prairie, Grande Cache, Hinton, Edmonton and Lloydminster. In February, they will make stops in Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Pincher Creek, Calgary, Fort McMurray and Red Deer. "Obviously, our main audience will be trade unionists, especially people from unions affiliated with the AFL," says Cormack. "But we are also extending invitations to all concerned citizens. In particular, we will be opening the door to seniors, students, community activists, the unemployed and many others. Everyone is welcome." Cormack says the tour - which is being called the People First Tour - has two main goals. First, it will provide an opportunity for some of the labour movement's top decision-makers to meet and talk face-to-face with concerned citizens and rank-and-file union members from across the province. The second goal of the tour is to raise awareness and encourage debate on a wide range of social, political and economic issues. By visiting different communities and hosting public forums, Cormack says she hopes to encourage people to take a more critical look at the political and economic situation in Alberta today. "On the tour, we want to find out what union and community members are concerned about - whether it's job creation, health care, education, wages or the environment," she says. "And we want to find out what kind of actions they'd like the labour movement, in general, and the AFL, in particular, to take on their behalf." Getting input from the public is extremely important for the AFL, says Cormack. "Unions are one of the few remaining counter-balances to government and corporate power. We have a responsibility to find out what ordinary working people are concerned about - and to take action on those concerns. We take this responsibility particularly seriously now that the provincial government is sitting less and less frequently and limiting opportunites for legitimate debate."
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