Mike Dumler
Interview by Keith Reynolds and Ken Novakowski
February 28, 2018
Mike Dumler’s union career in the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) included many elected and staff positions. After coming to Canada from the United States as a Vietnam War veteran, Brother Dumler joined CUPE in Nanaimo. He became President of Local 401, and eventually ws elected the first full-time President of CUPE BC. He participated in the Operation Solidarity movement of 1983, and was charged, along with other labour leaders, with sedition by the provincial government in 1987. His exposure to the peace movement through his union activism helped him make a connection between his past experiences and his beliefs. After moving to Ontario where he was Executive Assistant to CUPE’s national President Judy Darcy, Dumler returned to BC in 1992 where he coordinated many projects for CUPE. In retirement, Dumler volunteers with a number of community organizations, participates in and coaches table tennis.
Keywords: Vietnam War; CUPE; Nanaimo; Operation Solidarity; Bernice Kirk; sedition; Bills 19 and 20; Jeff Rose; Victoria; Windsor; Burnaby; NDP; general strike; Strong Communities Project; coalitions; Judy Darcy; Mike Harcourt; peace movement; CCPA; table tennis