Search Content

Dave Wilson grew up in Winnipeg. He was influenced by his grandfather who was active in the Winnipeg General Strike. He apprenticed as a lineman with the Manitoba Telephone System and soon after starting there he became the shop steward for apprentices in his local of the IBEW. He eventually became president, and then assistant business manager of the local. In 1975, he left Manitoba to get a job at Okanagan Telephone (OK Tel) in Kelowna, which eventually merged with the B.C. Telephone…

Rod Hiebert became President of the Telecommunications Workers Union (TWU) in 1991. During his time as a union leader he was present for many pivotal issues affecting members, including pension funds, technological change and pay equity. He discusses the union's decision to intervene with the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) when BC Telephone Company applied for a rate increase. The TWU employed many creative strategies including the 'un-strike', a 'super…

Brian Hamaguchi worked in fish canneries in the lower mainland and was a shop steward and executive member of the United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union (UFAWU). Previous generations of his family also worked in the fishing industry and were interned during the Second World War. He was also a director of the Gulf & Fraser Fishermen's Credit union for over 30 years.

Tom Dufresne was born and grew up in Montreal. When he was about 15, he started working in a variety of jobs in Montreal including at lawn chair and ladder factories, delivering pop, and roofing. In 1969, he headed to the West Coast and ended up in Vancouver, where he met his wife. After moving back to Montreal briefly so Tom could finish high school, they returned to Vancouver in 1970. Tom's jobs during that time included sharpening axes, unloading box cars, and making cleaning products.…