The President of NAPE is unapologetic for vowing to fight for his membership.

Jerry Earle recently told union members he will not stand for the status quo and balance the budget on the backs of workers.

He says while he recognizes the province’s fiscal reality, government cannot use the public sector to balance the books.

Earle says public sector workers did their part in the last round of collective bargaining by accepting wage freezes. A new round of public sector bargaining is set to begin. He says when times are tough the first ones to suffer are front-line public sector workers.

Earle won’t negotiate in public, but says solutions recognizing the value provided by public sector workers have to be found.

He says they won’t be worrying about what the St. John’s Board of Trade or Employers’ Council have to say.