When Danielle Smith’s United Conservative party (UCP) used the notwithstanding clause to force teachers back to work on Oct. 27, people were shocked. Human rights groups like Amnesty International took time to condemn the Alberta government. A Leger poll showed 51 per cent of Albertans supported a general strike. But the call for a general strike never came.
In 2022, an alliance of Ontario unions threatened a general strike and prevented the Doug Ford government from using the notwithstanding clause in very similar circumstances. All these events have sparked a big public debate over general strikes in Alberta. Why didn’t it happen? Is one possible, and how can it be done?
Whither the general strike?
A general strike is a strike calling on the whole working class to stop work. Workers of every job title withhold their labour to achieve their demands. In the context of the teachers’ strike, a general strike would have shut down the province, as a majority try to prevent the government from stripping teachers of their right to strike.
At a press conference on Oct. 29 Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL) president Gil McGowan made a number of arguments as to why a general strike was not called immediately, but rather preparations were being made to call one in the future (if necessary).
“Organizing takes time”, he said, “time for democratic discussions within our organizations … time to reach out to workers who are not in unions.”
In normal times, Gil would have a point. A general strike cannot just be announced. The working class will only understand the need to shut everything down if it flows from the development of events. The ability of the labour movement to call a general strike depends on several factors, like the strength of the labour movement, and the political education and experience of the working class.
But the decisive factor is the mood of the working class. If the mood is present, regardless of other factors, a call for a general strike will elicit the necessary response. In countries with very low union density, we have seen general strikes shut down the whole country because the workers understood this as the only way to fight back against the repressive government.
When Danielle Smith used the notwithstanding clause in late October, the working class in Alberta was prepared for a general strike, as the Leger poll confirms. At this point, the decisive power was in the hands of the labour leaders, who dropped the ball.
Therefore, the argument from McGowan about how it will “take time,” was in fact a sneaky way of saying that the labour leaders did not want a general strike. The fact of the matter is that once the anger over the teachers’ strike subsided, the ability of the labour movement to call a general strike also receded.
Following the AFL’s refusal to call the general strike to defend trade union rights, there was a whirlwind of anger and frustration. This caused Gil to admit that “we missed the opportunity” at a press conference on Nov. 14.
To make it seem like they were still doing something, Gil claimed that general strike talks were “ongoing”. If it is true that there are discussions about organizing a general strike sometime in the future, this is of course a positive thing. While the opportunity for a general strike was lost, there are more opportunities on the way.
Danielle Smith is far from finished her crusade to starve and destroy public services; and now that the precedent is set, she will use the notwithstanding clause to crush opposition. In fact, members of her own party are eager to crush unions entirely.
And weakness invites aggression. Just weeks after defeating the teachers, Smith again used the notwithstanding clause to implement three anti-trans laws on Nov. 18, a clear example of how an injury to one is an injury to all.
The next day, Alberta Union of Public Employees (AUPE) served a 72-hour strike notice for 16,000 health-care workers, who are now staring down the barrel of back-to-work legislation with the notwithstanding clause. Should such legislation pass, a general strike to defend the right to strike is the only appropriate response from the labour movement.
What is being done to organize a general strike?
While the debate about general strikes is happening openly, the AFL’s “organizing” for a general strike is nowhere to be seen.
On Nov. 17 the AFL held a meeting in Red Deer focused on the AFL’s “Worker Agenda”. The meeting agenda included recall campaigns for UCP MLAs, citizen initiatives for referendums, and the “Worker Agenda”: a long list of left-wing policies including public insurance, a higher minimum wage, and a plan to protect public services.
A general strike was not on the agenda, and was only mentioned in passing, as a potential “if necessary”, and nothing more was said about it.
Justifying the focus on the “Worker Agenda,” Gil said at the Red Deer meeting, “So why now? Just, in a nutshell, because an election is coming.” The next election is scheduled for the Fall of 2027, two years from now.
The Worker Agenda is not organizing a general strike, it is rallying support for public auto insurance and other progressive reforms. But this completely avoids the struggle taking place in the real world, right now. Smith is moving to crush the labour movement and the working class needs to be prepared to mobilize to shut down the province as the only way to stop her.
It’s no surprise that only 60 people showed up to the “Worker Agenda” town hall, just weeks after Gil addressed the largest demonstration in the province’s history.
This is what stalling looks like. Having a discussion about all the ways life has gotten worse, referendum campaigns, and elections that are years away—all this has the effect of distracting from the campaign for a general strike and de-escalating the struggle.
Gil justified his inaction by saying that a general strike takes “time for democratic discussions within our organizations.” This statement is obviously dishonest. He clearly has no plans for this but is only stalling, waiting for anger to subside.
If the AFL was serious about organizing a general strike, they would host town halls all over the province to discuss it openly.
Put the general strike on the agenda
The public discussion about general strikes has put the labour bureaucracy under enormous pressure. These people are generally timid and are accustomed to class collaboration, something that worked (for them) in the past. But today they find themselves caught in the middle of class war, struggling to calm everyone down.
Within leaders like Gil McGowan there are two wolves. One expresses the interests of the working class and argues for a general strike to bring down the government. The other expresses the interests of the trade union bureaucracy, which believes strongly in a “great compromise” and never rocks the boat, for fear of risking their position and prestige. These wolves represent two great forces in society that are in a constant battle.
This explains the confused rhetoric and flip-flopping of Gil McGowan. He expresses the interests of the workers and explains how they can win in one sentence. Then in the next sentence he expresses the cowardice of the union bureaucracy, providing all sorts of excuses about why they cannot do what is necessary to fight back.
In fact, on Nov. 14 Gil pushed back—against his own arguments for a general strike—adding: “It’s important for folks to understand that a general strike is illegal and if our members, or non-union workers were to engage in a general strike they would face fines similar to the fines outlined in Bill 2.”
But this argument was already answered by Gil himself, on Oct. 29: “They can’t arrest 450,000 workers. There isn’t room in our jails.” He added, “There isn’t resources in our legal system to process arrests and fines.” This points in the right direction: the working class, when given leadership, has immense power, can defy the law, and can win.
In the period of capitalist crisis we live in, the labour leadership cannot avoid the struggle forever. The ruling class is constantly attacking social services and standards of living, forcing the workers to defend themselves. If the labour leadership keeps capitulating, they lose their raison d’etre. If they are completely useless to the working class, they will be tossed aside and better leaders who are willing to go all the way will take their place.
In the Nov. 14 press conference, Gil hesitantly outlined exactly why a general strike was necessary:
“The tools that we’ve been given, including the right to strike, have been degraded. They’ve been weakened to the point they’re almost useless.” He continued, “An epoch has ended … We are forced to think about going outside of the box.” In other words, there is no basis for class collaboration anymore.
But when are we going to step outside this box? When the hospitals are all closed, public education is decimated, the right to strike is gone, and labour legislation repealed? When workers are defeated and demoralized?
When the AFL says they need time to convince people, have they considered that the only ones who seem to need convincing are themselves?
