Ken Georgetti is one of Canada’s most recognized defenders of labour rights. He was first elected 10 years ago as president of the Canadian Labour Congress, after a quarter century of union activism in British Columbia.
This included a 13-year stint as the youngest-ever president of the BC Federation of Labour, during which time its membership doubled. Both provincially and federally, Georgetti has been an avid leader and activist, and has advocated what he calls “intelligent militancy” and unity between the 55 affiliated unions within the CLC.
Goergetti’s focus is not merely on issues close to home, however; under his leadership, the Congress has been at the forefront of campaigns to fight corporate globalization, forced labour and sweatshops.
He is Vice-President of the International Trade Union Confederation and an executive member of the Trade Union Advisory Committee for the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Georgetti was the first labour leader to receive the Order of British Columbia in 1998, and the tenth to be made a Member of the Order of Canada in 2000.
On October 8th at the 2009 CUPE National Convention in Montreal, Ken Georgetti took the stage. In his speech, he called upon governments to recognize the value of economic policies that support the people upon whose shoulders the economy rests.
