Retired Jamaican-Canadian labour movement leader publishes memoir

TORONTO:

Fifty-six years after immigrating to Canada from Jamaica, veteran labour movement leader and community advocate, Herman Stewart, 75, has launched his memoir, A Labour of Love: In Pursuit of Just Causes.

Chronicling his journey from Strawberry, Westmoreland, to the negotiating tables of Canada’s labour movement, it highlights his determination to help others as a “community builder, labour activist, and relentless advocate for justice.”

At 20 years old, Stewart arrived in Toronto in September 1969 to continue his education; he completed his college and university education earning a bachelor’s degree in political science. It was during the 1970s that his involvement in the trade union movement started.

“My goal in publishing my memoir is to educate and inspire those who come after me. They ought to know where we are coming from, so they can find their way going forward. They need an awareness and a reminder that racial injustice is still alive in Canada. They need to be aware that employers are still fighting union organising,” writes Stewart in the introduction.

It records him as the first black person to lead a union in Ontario, the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union, and the first Ontario Federation of Labour vice-president of colour.

In the foreword, Bob Rae, a former Premier of Ontario and the current Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations, said Stewart was “ smart, eager to learn, and fast to see that he could make a difference in representing people in industries where working conditions were tough, discrimination happened, and there were ways of stopping it.”

The book was launched on September 14, at the Jamaican Canadian Association (JCA) where Stewart served as president from 1996-2001 and 2008-2009. The event was attended by his family, former veteran labour movement leaders, former politicians and many longtime members of the JCA.

STEWART’S IMPACT

Roy Williams, the organisation’s first president in 1962, said it was a celebration of Stewart’s 50 years of dedicated service to his community and country.

As someone who has known Stewart for 40 years, Williams said he has found him to be an affable individual with an extroverted personality.

“He’s a principled individual with high morals that commit him to work to eradicate inequity, inequality and injustice in this society.”

Andria Babbington, president of the Toronto and York Region Labour Council and the first woman of colour to be in that position, said Stewart enabled them to be hopeful and instilled in them the will to stand up and fight injustice.

“I believe that it is critically important that we record our contributions to this society and document our history so that, as Marie Clarke Walker said, ‘we can leave a path for others to follow’,” said June Veecock, retired director of human rights for the Ontario Federation of Labour who was ill for most of the year but attended the event.

Clarke Walker, a former senior Canadian and international labour leader, and her mother, Beverley Johnson, also attended the event and she spoke of Stewart’s impact on her life.

Mary Anne Chambers, a retired Ontario politician, congratulated Stewart on his efforts and his accomplishments over 50 years of advocacy for just causes.

“Thank you for being a voice for those whose voices wouldn’t otherwise be heard or respected as being important,” Chambers said.

LIFETIME OF SERVICE

Alvin Curling, a retired Speaker of the Ontario Legislature, recalled that when he decided to run as a candidate for the Ontario Liberal Party, Stewart, who was a member of the Ontario New Democratic Party, called him and offered his support.

Charles Gordon, vice president of the JCA, said the building stands as a testament to the labour of love and just causes that attendees at the book launch were there to celebrate.

He thanked Stewart for his lifetime of service and for trusting the JCA with the celebration of his remarkable journey.

In his closing remarks, Stewart described chapter two of his book as the most telling because it deals with “the adjustment from a country boy in Jamaica to a young adult in Canada and for the first five years captures the ups and downs and everything in between.”

He said his memoir is for the young people to ask themselves how they can make their community stronger.

Stewart said the “just causes” in the title of his book are not only for black people, but for everybody.

Describing world affairs as “trying times,” Stewart called upon everyone to do or say something when they see wrong happening around them. “You can talk to a coworker, you can talk to a relative and say what’s going on is not right,” he said. He later referenced the situation of the Palestinians in Gaza as requiring a global outcry.

Daro Singh, a longtime friend, and Valarie Steele, a past president of the JCA, also spoke about Stewart’s influence. Singer, Country Kenny Joseph, performed. The book is available on Amazon.