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John Shields was born and raised in New York City by Irish Catholic parents who were both union members. He pursued a life in the Catholic church clergy, but left after disagreement with the direction of the church. He moved to Vancouver and became a social worker, and continued his social activism, eventually becoming President of the B.C. Government Employees' Union from 1985- 1999. In this interview, Shields talks extensively about how his beliefs intersected with his union activity. He…

Judy Darcy started out as an enthusiastic public speaker and leader in her kindergarten days in Sarnia, Ontario, and has never looked back. Judy was very active in the student movement and in the women's movement, including being on the Abortion Caravan in 1970. This activism set the stage first for her rank-and-file involvement with CUPE as a library worker in Toronto, then leading her local union, eventually heading the Metro Toronto CUPE Council, and then sitting on the CUPE National…

Mary LaPlante was introduced to unions when she worked at a fish plant as a summer job. She later worked at the Prince Rupert Hospital where most staff were unionized, but not the administrative staff where she worked. Mary organized them into the Hospital Employees' Union (HEU) and soon became Local Chair. This led her to increased activism and election to the union's provincial executive. In the interview Mary discusses her early years, her challenges as a woman in leadership, and the many…

Randy Pearson was born in northern B.C. to a working-class family. He worked in the lumber mills around Prince George as a young man, before traveling, marrying and getting a unionized job with pension benefits at a B.C. Liquor Store. He liked being a member of BCGEU and quickly became a union activist. Over the years he held various positions within the union and worked on various campaigns, such as the fight to retain their modified work-week provisions.

Randy speaks at length and…

In this interview, Bonnie Pearson talks about growing up in Saskatchewan and the early influence of her activist parents. Bonnie details her early union involvement as a national representative with CUPE in 1980s, the Devine government and privatization, her move to a job with HEU in Kelowna during a time of re-structuring and changes within the post-secondary and health care fields over the years.

She describes the struggle to gain a provincial agreement for college educators, with…

In this interview Blair Redlin recounts his extensive experience in the labour movement and public service.

He was raised in Calgary and attended the University of Calgary in the late 1970s. He studied political science and was involved in student activism, campaigning against tuition increases. He served in student government, including being elected as the president of the Federation of Alberta Students.

Blair worked as a legislative intern in NDP leader Grant Notley's…

Deborah Bourque's extensive involvement in the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW), includes serving as its national president from 2002 to 2008. She describes the challenges CUPW faced in negotiating collective agreements and fighting against government legislation that threatened the union's right to strike.

Bourque also highlights CUPW's successful efforts to organize and gain voluntary recognition for rural and suburban mail carriers, a major accomplishment during her tenure…