Audio Clips

Jim Clairmont

Jim Clairmont
Jim Clairmont talks about how he helped computerize the Local 5 office in the 1980s.

Sid Gratton

Sid Gratton
Sid Gratton describes the process of becoming a health and safety rep and helping to implement new guidelines at the RBG.
Sid Gratton talks about the 1989 RBG strike.

Jim McDonald

Jim McDonald
Jim McDonald describes how he helped set up an employee assistance program (EAP) in the 1980s.

Ed Thomas

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Ed Thomas talks about working 59 days on, one day off, as management’s way to avoid workers being able to join the union.
Ed Thomas describes the how outside workers in the 1970s still used a lot of manual labour to get the job done.
Ed Thomas talks about how he helped the literacy become a paid-time program, instead of a voluntary one.
Ed Thomas talks about merging different cultures in the lead-up to the merger of Locals 5 and 167, late 1990s.

Peter Wickett

Peter Wickett
Peter Wickett recounts how he worked with RBG to bring about a new job-evaluation program in the late 1980s.
Peter Wickett talks about how the forced amalgamations of Hamilton and the downloading of services to the municipalities was the main impetus to merger of Locals 5 and 167.
Peter Wickett notes how both Local 5 and 167 members rose to the occasion and created a successful merger.

Vickie Houston

Vickie Houston
Vickie Houston describes how attending the Hamilton Day of Action in 1996 spurred her decision to become a labour activist.
Vickie Houston talks about organizing workers in Hamilton to protest Bill 136.
Vickie Houston talks about doing the work she loves.

Tony Cristiano

Tony Cristiano
Tony Cristiano talks about how his experiences with Local 5167 influenced how he approached his work, and his activism.

Gus Oliveira

Gus Oliveira
Gus Oliveira talks about giving a “public face” to the Local, building a defence fund, and creating an ethical investment mutual fund for members.
Gus Oliveira describes how Hamilton’s water became privatized, and the Water Watch initiative to bring it back into public hands.
Gus Oliveira talks about how Local 5 won the garbage contest.
Gus Oliveira describes how Bill 136 forced many unions into representation votes.

Fred Loft

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Fred Loft talks about how the Rainbow Committee was formed, and some of his experiences serving on it.
Fred Loft talks about raising awareness of Indigenous issues at CUPE conventions he attended.

Paula Masys-Pollock

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Paula Masys-Pollock describes the process of unionizing her workplace, the Good Sheppard Women’s Services.
Paula Masys-Pollock talks about bringing women’s voices to the table.
Paula Masys-Pollock talks about Local 5167’s presence in the community, and its engagement with members and the general public.

Al Peti

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Al Peti describes how the representation vote brough the issue of member dissatisfaction to the Local’s leadership.
Al Peti talks about how the defence fund emboldened the Local at the bargaining table.

Sandra Walker

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Sandra Walker talks about today’s technology allows the Local to better connect with its members.

Jodi Coville

jodi-coville
Jodi Coville talks about the relevance of unions today to workers in many sectors.