PREMIER NOTLEY BACK-PEDDLES ON MINIMUM WAGE ELECTION PROMISE - CONCERNS ALBERTANS WHO VOTED FOR CHANGE

“Our message to the Premier is clear: listen to the voters, not the bullies.

[CALGARY, AB] The grassroots campaign ‘Fight For $15 - Alberta’, decried Alberta NDP Premier Rachel Notley today, calling her new stance on raising the minimum wage a major concern. The campaign volunteers were responding to Notley’s Wednesday comments that her government’s election promise to raise the minimum wage to $15/hr by 2018 might not happen. Notley called that promise merely a ‘notional’ target instead.

“Let’s be 100% clear. The fact is, Notley became Premier because working Albertans needed real change and we all made that clear at the polls. Her promise to voters to raise the minimum wage to 15$/hr is fundamental to that,” said campaign volunteer, Aaron Doncaster.

“Notley’s comments came in a context of death threats waged directly against her for raising employment standards in agriculture, and big business lobbyists have used all platforms available to defame any raising of the minimum wage,” states Doncaster. “Our message to the Premier is clear: listen to the voters, not the bullies. A $15/hr minimum wage is necessary, since Calgary’s current living wage is calculated at $18.15/hr.”

The Fight For $15 - Alberta campaign is a grassroots movement that is uniting community organizations and workers across Alberta society under a clear demand that a $15/hr minimum wage be put into legislation immediately.

“When we are out talking to community members we constantly hear about how dire the situation is. Families struggle to afford the basics - rent, childcare, and food on the table – and have no real future security in sight,” states campaign volunteer Peter Driftmier. “That’s why people are so willing to fight for real change right now, and we call on all workers in Alberta to join this North America-wide movement.” “Alberta has the highest income inequality in Canada – worse than in the USA – and even during the recent oil booms, Alberta workers had the country’s highest portion below the official poverty line. A $15 minimum wage would mean desperately needed oxygen added to our economy, because our communities are being choked,” asserts Driftmier. “Lifting the floor helps everyone.”

Contact: Peter Driftmier: 403-803-6911,
fightfor15alberta@gmail.com Aaron Doncaster: 403-903-3908,
fightfor15alberta@gmail.com For the campaign’s
facebook, visit: facebook.com/fightfor15alberta For background on the living wage calculator for Alberta, visit: livingwagecanada.ca/ For more on the case for a 15$ minimum wage in Alberta, visit: parklandinstitute.ca/blog/comments/the_case_for_a_15_minimum_wage_in_alberta

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