Terry Burgess
Interviewed by George Davison
Terry was born and raised in Prince George, British Columbia. As a young man, he was in the Air Force for a couple of years and worked in various mills. He became a provincial government employee when he started working for the Ministry of Highways in 1958.
Terry was active in the BCGEU (BC Government Employees’ Union, now the BC General Employees’ Union). He describes its transition from an employee association to a trade union. As chair of his component, Terry led negotiations for the ETI (Engineering, Technical and Inspectional) agreement. Terry served many years as the BCGEU vice-president for the northern region. He also recounts how his job changed with the privatization of highway maintenance.
Terry was also involved in municipal politics, serving as the vice-chair of the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George for nearly 20 years.
Throughout the interview, Terry shares anecdotes from his long time involvement in the labour movement and municipal politics.
Keywords:
B.C. Ministry of Highways; road building; tote road; British Columbia Government Employees’ Association (BCBGEA); BC Government Employees’ Union (BCGEU); BC General Employees Union; sexism; working conditions in camps; contracting out; privatization; YRB (Yellowhead Road and Bridge); Regional District of Fraser-Fort George; Huble Homestead; West Twin Creek Bridge; health and safety; survey crews; pensions; NDP; Social Credit; collective bargaining; Ray Degagne; John Fryer; Diane Wood; Ed Bodner; Ed Honcharuk; Clay Perry; Lois Boone; Art Kaehn; Bob Headrik; Flying Phil Gaglardi; Ben Ginter; Les Brody; Bill Bennett; Dave Barrett; John Rustad; Laurie Rustad; Mike Morris; Adam Ustik; Wayne Dermody