Our commitment to racial equity and social justice remains year-round at CEIU. Black labour movement history in Canada is rich and vibrant, and the CEIU is pleased to share some key figures in our movement’s history – a movement that will continue well into the future. 

Be sure to also read our Black History Month statement, and take our quiz for your chance to win a prize. 

James Calbert (Cal) Best 

Cal Best was a founding member of the Civil Service Association of Canada (CSAC) and became its first National President in 1957. In this role, Cal fought to bring collective bargaining into the public service. He remained President until CSAC merged with the Civil Service Federation to form the Public Service Alliance of Canada. He was later appointed as Canada’s first Black ambassador. 

Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters 

Between the 1880s and the 1960s, most railway porters in Canada were men of African descent. Sleeping car porters wanted to improve their working conditions, but railway unions would not allow Black people to become members. And so, in 1917, the sleeping car porters began to organize their own union. This union, known as the Order of Sleeping Car Porters (OSCP), was the first Black labour union in North America. 

Violet King 

Violet King was the first Black woman lawyer in Canada. King was also actively involved in supporting and promoting the rights of Black workers as the treasurer of the Calgary Brotherhood Council, a union for sleeping car porters. In 1954, the American-based International Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and Maids recognized her contributions to the movement. She later moved to Ottawa to join the federal civil service at Citizenship and Immigration Canada, where she worked for 7 years before moving on with her career. 
 

Dr. Lynn Jones 

Lynn Jones is an African-Canadian woman born and raised in Truro, Nova Scotia. Lynn is a life-long community, labour and human rights activist and educator. She is a longstanding PSAC member and was also a national vice-president of CEIU. In 1992, she became the first woman of colour elected as a vice-president at the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). In 2023, Lynn Jones was named to the Order of Canada. 

Jan Simpson 

Jan Simpson is the first Black woman to lead a national union in Canada. She became the national president of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) in 2019. Her involvement in the community has earned her the Urban Alliance on Race Relations 2019 Labour Award, and in 2020, she was selected as one of the 100 Accomplished Black Canadian Women by 100ABCWomen. Jan is also a member of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists.