We will not be bullied: union tells Pallister

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This article was published 04/11/2018 (2856 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The head of the union that represents thousands of provincial civil servants said it will continue spending its money on political ads even though Premier Brian Pallister is slamming them for doing it.

Michelle Gawronsky, president of the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union, said in a statement Sunday that “our members will not be bullied or intimidated by the premier into not speaking up for our public services.”

“Our internal surveys show our campaigns enjoy overwhelming support from our members…”

“Our campaigns simply call on the premier to keep the election commitment he made to Manitobans and to our members: to protect public services and the people who deliver them. He, obviously, has noticed our campaigns. Hopefully, he will consider keeping his promises on public services.”

On Saturday, in a speech at the Progressive Conservative party’s annual meeting in Brandon, Pallister said front-line civil servants “should vote Conservative” in the next election because the government is acting in their best interests.

Pallister didn’t mention the MGEU by name, but he suggested its membership dues were higher than they needed to be because it spends money on political advertising that attacks his government.

“This is not rocket science. If you want your union to lower union dues, then you ask them what’s the value in running those attack ads on Pallister and his government all the time,” he told the more than 400 party delegates during an hour-long speech.

“Union members have every right to ask, ‘Am I getting value for all those attack ads on the radio, TV, in the mailbox?’ I would say, ‘Probably not when as you run those… our popularity rises.’ ”

But Gawronsky said the union asks its members annually about which campaigns the union should undertake.

“Our internal surveys show our campaigns enjoy overwhelming support from our members, not to mention the content of our campaigns is driven by the issues our members are experiencing on the front lines of Manitoba’s public services,” she said.

“Our members expect us to run these campaigns and we do it at the lowest dues rate in Manitoba.”

The MGEU represents 40,000 civil servants who work in all facets of government including health care, community services, colleges, direct government services and Crown corporations.

At the party’s third AGM since winning power in 2016, Pallister departed from the interview format he had employed to address delegates — in which a staffer lobbed friendly questions at him — for a traditional speech, which was at times folksy, stressing his humble rural roots, and at other times fiery and passionate.

Pointing to recent polling that shows PC support is on the rise, with 44 per cent of the decided vote in Manitoba, compared with 25 per cent for the NDP and 20 per cent for the Liberals, Pallister contended the party’s base is growing because of its accomplishments.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca