Labour activist earns recognition
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/05/2022 (1400 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
A Brandon advocate is being recognized for his work in the local organized labour community.
Kirk Carr, president of the Brandon and District Labour Council, received the Young Member Achievement award from the Manitoba Federation of Labour Friday morning. The award came at the organization’s 2022 convention.
The accolade recognizes people under 35 who demonstrate “exceptional leadership skills and a deep commitment to the labour movement,” according to the MFL.
Carr, who said he has spent 17 years in the labour movement, was humbled to be recognized. He first started as a representative for his workplace and got more involved when he moved to Brandon. He now represents the Brandon labour council on the Manitoba Federation of Labour executive council.
“Looking after the little guy was what I basically looked at it as. Knowing as an employee that balance of power is uneven; the employer has all the say, and being with a union gives you a bit of say in that.”
Carr said he also works in the movement for his two-year-old daughter and wants to improve things for her.
“People need their voice heard and I feel like I’m in a position where I can … help people get their voice or be their voice.”
The bond between labour and the community is extremely important, Carr said, and something he has tried to foster during his time as president of the local labour council. While the labour movement can be very political, he said he wants to look after workers as a “whole person.”
“Not just those eight hours, 12 hours, however many we’re working … we don’t stop being a worker when we’re at home and we can’t go to work if we can’t be fed or we don’t have access to the community resources,” he said.
Part of that has been making sure labour is involved in the community. The Brandon and District Labour Council recently donated $750 to the International Trade Union Confederation, which used the money to support humanitarian work in Ukraine and support refugees.
Carr also sits as the United Way of Brandon and District’s first labour representative. He said his role is to get the word out about the United Way to unions and how they can work together.
“It’s also how the United Way can be there for labour and how labour can be there for the United Way,” he said, adding he is the liaison between both groups.
Carr is in his third term as president of the Brandon labour council and was re-elected to the position in February. He said he would run again in 2024 if no one else stepped forward, but put the challenge out to others to run would like new voices to also be heard.
“I’m always going to be around, I don’t need to hold a title.”
Manitoba Federation of Labour president Kevin Rebeck was also re-elected as president of the organization for a fifth term at the convention.
» dmay@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @DrewMay_