Barbara Stevens
Interviewed by Patricia Wejr
Barbara Stevens grew up in a fishing community on the Fraser River in British Columbia. Her father, Homer Stevens, was a leader in the fishing industry and the United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union (UFAWU). Barbara shares stories from her childhood, like her father being jailed for union activities, and the support her family received from the community.
Barbara loved working on fishing boats. She started as a cook/engineer on a seine boat with her brother, and later worked on other types of boats like gillnetters and trollers. There were not a lot of women in the industry, and she had to learn how to make herself heard. She talks about the physical demands of the work, the dangers they faced, and the lack of safety regulations at the time. She also did some shorework: processing herring roe, and working at BC Packers.
When she got married and started her family, Barbara shifted her career to dry land. She started working for the union as the Assistant Director for the benefit fund. She campaigned to add a Safety Director to the union, ran WCB appeals for members, worked at the Unemployment Action Center and advocated for better benefits and industry safety regulations.
Keywords
Port Guichon, B.C.; Homer Stevens; Bruce Stevens; John Stevens; fishing industry; trade unionism; Fraser River, B.C.; gillnetting; trolling; seining; dangerous work; workplace hazards; Fishermen’s Benefit Fund; health and safety; shorework; fish processing; herring; salmon; Harbour Fisheries; Bert Ogden; Maritime Labour Centre; Morris Anderson; Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB); benefits; United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union (UFAWU); pensions; Safety Director; Fisheries Association; Alanna Lantela; Fish Safe program; Marine Transport Board; fishing equipment; workplace training; gender; George Hewison; Unemployment Action Centre; Kim Zander; Vancouver and District Labour Council (VDLC); tuna fishing; seasonal work; BC Packers; childcare; Vancouver, B.C.; work-life balance; Lasqueti Island, B.C.; Community Fisheries Development Corporation; Fisheries Renewal B.C.; retraining; Oakalla Correctional Centre; Homer Stevens’ jail term; strike; flying picket squad; union thugs; North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA); Women’s Auxiliary; Moran Dam; environmentalism; coastal villages, Namu, B.C.; navigating; technological change; Great Bear Agreement; Indigenous fishers; fish habitat; sustainability