Charlie Golf | Elbows Up! 🍁
@charliegolf.ca
1.9K followers 2.2K following 1.2K posts
Elbows Up! Canada 🍁 is NOT for sale. Residing on Treaty 6 territory. Followed by Star Trek on bird app 🖖. Personal Account.
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A bit about me: I'm a music educator in Alberta. Been doing that for over a decade. I also conduct in a community organization, I'm a tech enthusiast, and I like to know what's going on. I am very much anti-UCP, CPC, GOP, etc.

And I'm pleased to see familiar folks on here already!
Vought knows that the Senate Republicans can change the rules so a simple majority of 51 can reopen government but he thinks you're too stupid to understand that.

Republicans don't need one single Democrat vote to reopen government. They have 53 senators in the chamber. You do the math. 🤷‍♂️
Danielle Smith really, really doesn't want to table back-to-work legislation for teachers. She knows that will deal a big blow to UCP support in Calgary.

She knows it's a card they can't afford to play. Watch her presser. You can see it.
#ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli #abed
"I call on union leaders to make the right decision..." - Nicolaides

But they are making the right decision in following the directive of the membership they are ultimately accountable to. That's how this works. You attack them, you attack all of us.
#ableg #abpoli #abed #cdnpoli
"Union leaders declined our proposal." - Nicolaides

Actually, they declined on our behalf when the UCP said class caps were out of the question - one key issue teachers gave the ATA a mandate to negotiate for in an agreement.

So, teachers declined the proposal.
#ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli #abed
So the entire reason why this offer was likely made: It's now costing them critical votes in Calgary that they desperately need in the next provincial election.
Say what you want about the ethics of the UCP (they have none), but they are amazing at self-preservation. It's the one thing they do well. I bet you this offer was a result of intense pressure internally to get a deal before the Legislature sits.

It's costing them votes in Calgary.
The UCP offering enhanced mediation was the big tell for me, that they want a deal and that they are being pressured from within to get a deal done, probably by those Calgary MLAs who are terrified of what's to come from their constituents if the UCP deals with this through legislation.
It gets us to last-second desperation before the Legislature convenes for a speech from the throne. It gets us to the only possible way out of this dispute which is a negotiated deal with those concessions.

The UCP doesn't want a class cap but they might have no choice to save face.
But the only negotiated deal worth entertaining by teachers is the one with salary increase and class caps. Teachers gave the ATA the mandate to negotiate those on their behalf.

If you take this and overlay that on a hypothetical YYC MLA demand for a negotiated deal, where does that get us?
Look at all those Calgary UCP MLAs who barely won their seats for example. They understand self-preservation and I bet you they've made it clear that a negotiated deal is the only deal they will tolerate.

They won't hesitate to challenge Dani's leadership if push comes to shove.
The request from the UCP to the ATA asking for them to go into enhanced mediation in exchange for the strike ending on the 20th was a huuuuge tell, despite making it clear that class caps were not a topic the UCP was willing to entertain.

It tells me that cracks are forming in the UCP ranks.
🧵I think the UCP is getting desperate and seriously want a proper deal with teachers before the Legislature convenes at the end of the month.

Problem is, the only deal now that will satisfy public education stakeholders is the expensive one that involves class caps.

#ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli #abed
This was what the ATA tabled the other day. I made sure this is freely available to the public on the ATA website before linking it.
teachers.ab.ca/sites/defaul...
teachers.ab.ca
Awfully rich of the UCP to say that class caps are not a topic they will entertain in negotiations when that's one of the top things they recommend families pay attention to when looking into private school options.

Stop the excuses. Class caps now.
#ableg #abpoli #abed #cdnpoli #FiretheUCP
Apparently any conversation around class caps are deemed unacceptable by the government, according to the ATA.

ATA believes these are unacceptable terms because teachers have given the ATA a mandate to fight for class caps.
Interesting. Government wants teachers back to work Monday in exchange for enhanced mediation but a class cap would NOT be a possibility.

Government is getting desperate. That's a tell. Teachers can make class caps happen.

Stop the excuses, UCP.
#ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli #abed
Understand that Alberta teachers wouldn't need to ask for the extra $2B over the course of the contract if it hadn't have been stripped out of public schools and funneled into private/charter schools.

Sounds like a Danielle Smith problem.

#ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli #abed #FiretheUCP
Danielle Smith wants an education commission. Another panel. More UCP buddies at the table to help defend funding for private and charter schools while saying that everything should stay status quo in public schools.

Stop the excuses. Fund our students properly.
#ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli #abed
Of all the provinces in Canada, Alberta should have been the first province to establish a class size guarantee given its apparent prosperity. And yet, we don't have one.

Imagine, an actual Alberta advantage like that.

The UCP doesn't want that.
#ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli #abed #FiretheUCP
Not a surprise that the UCP is TWO YEARS late on negotiating a teachers contract. This contract, if ratified, would already be into year 3 of a 4 year contract.

They let official business slide years behind while handing money to their friends in an expedited manner.
#ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli #abed
From the DM’s…

Danielle Smith yesterday - “Look, I can tell you that the fun of license plates doesn’t distract me from work! I can walk & chew gum at the same time!”

Also Smith - “Chewing gum is really hard!”

(The latest on the PC name legal battle)

#abpoli #cdnpoli #ableg
In the end what the UCP needs to understand is that maintaining stuff like education is expensive. You can't just choose to not pay the bills because you don't like them otherwise the repair bill down the line is astronomical.

Upkeep is critical and important.
#ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli #abed
I have a citizen suggestion for an Alberta license plate design and slogan.
#ableg #abpoli #cdnpoli #abed
Modern day Republicans are absolutely vile people who want the entire playing field to themselves. They don't ever want a filter while they muzzle everyone else around them.

They are so thin-skinned that the only way they'll be happy is if they have complete control over everything ever.
Q: Politico reported on a group chat of young Republicans. Does this just reflect some bad apples?

HOCHUL: Some bad apples? These are the future of the GOP. This is so vile it's hard to find the words to put into context ... there's gotta be consequences ... this bullshit has to stop.
Also, technically I'm without a contract and I'm getting no pay. No way am I talking about work under those conditions.

But I think it was a reaction to what I did a couple days ago and so-and-so going into a panic.

Good. Let it sit and let it stew for a while.