Labour council hosting barbecue on Monday

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on August 31, 2024.

Submitted photo - People take in last year's Labour Day barbecue festivities at Galt Gardens.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

The Lethbridge and District Labour Council (LDLC) will be celebrating Labour Day and its 130th anniversary with a barbecue for all workers in the city on Monday at Galt Gardens.

Krysty Thomas, president of LDLC, told there Herald the council represents around 7,000 unionized workers in southern Alberta and that even though it is the 130th anniversary of Labour Day across Canada, in Lethbridge it is the 120th anniversary.

“Labour Day is typically a day that celebrates the achievement of workers and the contribution that workers have made to society. And we take a day to come together, reflects on some of those victories and achievements and really just celebrate the day,” said Thomas.

 She said Labour Day stemmed from a Toronto typographical strike in 1872, which was setting the stage for the labour movement as they were advocating for shorter workdays and after that the first Labour Day was established.

 “They used to have 10-hour days or longer and they were advocating for that change so that folks or individuals could have better working conditions, which included shorter workdays,” said Thomas.

She said there have been multiple advancements in workers’ rights and in making work safer since then and therefore, Labour Day is a great time to reflect on those achievements. This is why they have been hosting a community barbecue since 2012.

“We’ll come together, all of our affiliates, we chip in some money and we offered this free barbecue for our whole community,” said Thomas.

 She said the barbecue will take place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Monday at Galt Gardens and they will have some bouncy castles, free face painting for the kids, live entertainment and the free lunch.

“We want to take a moment to reflect on the victories, but it’s also really important time to acknowledge some of the challenges ahead, such as affordability crisis as wages have not been able to keep up with inflation,” said Thomas.

When explaining why there is a 10-year difference in the Labour Day anniversary locally compared with nationally, Thomas said Lethbridge has a deep labour history and they were actually the first labour council formed in Alberta in 1905.

“The Labour Day was established and then our labour councils were formed about 10 years later or so and that’s why the Labour Day has been recognized for 120 years locally,” said Thomas.

She explained that the LDLC focuses on advocating for all workers. They advocate for better working conditions, health provisions, leave provisions, among other things trying to elevate the lives of all workers.

“We firmly believe that the best deal for workers is at the bargaining table and the idea of ‘legislating back to work’ really takes away from our workers power, so this is something to really reflect on the day as well,” said Thomas.

She said others are also celebrating Labour Day and bringing awareness to the challenges and victories in their own way.

“CUPE, one of our local affiliates, will be having a rally at City Hall at 10 a.m. in recognition of the day, as well to have a campaign called Waging Ahead, which is about advocating for elevated wages in the workforce,” said Thomas.

 She said they are holding this rally because their wages have fallen well below inflation and the cost of living has been increasing.

Another organization that will be celebrating Labour Day is the Lethbridge Historical Society by hosting a free Labour History Walking Tour on Saturday at 2 p.m. starting at the Brewery Gardens located on 50 1st Ave South.

“The Lethbridge Historical Society will be providing some really key history and labour in our area and as I mentioned we have quite a rich labour history,” said Thomas.

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