Public Service Alliance of Canada
As part of the celebrations around the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) 50th anniversary, the Workers’ History Museum created a wall exhibit for 233 Gilmour Street in Ottawa about PSAC members and the work they have done over more than 50 years.
Both the public and even some PSAC members will be surprised at the variety of jobs done by PSAC members over the years from the mid-1960s to 2016. Also shown are some members who won major human rights victories that resulted in changes for other Canadians. The 1980 CR (clerical workers) strike, the general 1991 strike and the creative ‘Red Shoes’ strike at the National Art Gallery are depicted too.web siteofficial source
These pictures highlight a large number of jobs, both past and current, including transportation, park rangers, pasture riders, firefighters, hospital service workers, Dominion sculptors carving in the Parliament Buildings, dock workers in Nova Scotia, lighthouse keepers, Coast Guard workers, Indigenous teachers in NWT, surveyors at research stations in the north, laboratory workers, cobblers, Royal Canadian mint employees, environmental technicians, Dominion Arsenals workers, and office workers.
There are also photos of Bonnie Robichaud, who took her case of sexual harassment to the Supreme Court of Canada and won a decision making the employer responsible for a harassment-free workplace; Dale Akerstrom’s Human Rights Tribunal decision that gave equal benefits for LGBTQ+ members; and Mary Pitawanakwat who won a racial discrimination victory.
These unionized workers were proud to serve their fellow Canadians.