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Local 2 BC Preserves Labour History

Local 2 BC Secretary-Treasurer Guy Zecchinni (left) and Local 2 tile setter Bonnie Bard.

Local 2 British Columbia Secretary-Treasurer Guy Zecchini and Local 2 tile setter Bonnie Bard recently completed a project that will preserve a piece of Canadian labour history and bring the arts to Vancouver’s urban core. The Local 2 volunteers installed floor tile and wall tile at the Portland Hotel’s new Inter-Urban Art Centre. The hotel served as a base for striking Relief Camp Workers in the 1930s and was the starting point for the “On-to-Ottawa Trek” in 1935. Over the years, it played host to a surging local labour movement and many Canadian labour and political leaders.

Almost 70 years later, Vancouver’s labour activists are volunteering their skills in a renovation project led by local architect Sean McEwan, son of famous Canadian labour organizer Tom McEwan. The new Inter-Urban Art Centre will continue the landmark’s progressive legacy by giving local artists a venue to showcase their ideas and talents.