Summer of 1986 retrospective

This spring, the Alberta Labour History Institute will be hosting workshops in Red Deer (May 28), Calgary (May 29) and Edmonton (June 4) to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the six Alberta strikes that happened in the summer of 1986. 

The most famous of these strikes was the Gainers Meatpacking strike in Edmonton. Here, workers resisted Peter Pocklington’s efforts to drive down their wages and crush their union. The video footage of Gainer’s is astounding to watch, with picketing confrontations and police violence (see image to the right).

The Edmonton schedule is posted and it includes lunch and dinner, a movie about the summer of 86 and a video ballad by Maria Dunn as well as several speakers. 

-- Bob Barnetson