Читать книгу Tranquility Lost - Gary Steeves - Страница 6

I was one of those really annoying kids who would often say, “But that isn’t fair!” though it turns out that fairness has proven to be one of the driving factors in my life. It’s the reason why I became a union activist and it’s the reason why the story of the occupation of Tranquille resonates so strongly with me. It was obvious that what was happening under the Bill Bennett government was not fair—it was not fair to the workers and it was not fair to the residents who lived at Tranquille.

When I joined the BCGEU in 1996, I became a member of the community social services component. This component came into existence ten years after Tranquille closed and includes the amazing people who support adults with developmental disabilities. It was those members who first told me what had occurred at Tranquille. The story of the occupation is a story of what happens when people who have long advocated and fought for others advocate and fight for themselves, and how those two things are inextricably intertwined. It’s about collective action, a common purpose and ultimately about triumph.

I am extremely proud to be the president of a union where the lessons learned from the collective action at Tranquille are baked into our DNA, where social justice combines with worker power to effect positive change. I’m grateful to Gary Steeves for telling this story and humbled to be a part of this project in some small way.

Stephanie Smith

President, BC Government and Service Employees’ Union