Labour leader gets his letters 🎓

George Vair wasn’t convinced UNB’s phone call about an honorary degree was the real thing. Then the paperwork arrived.

“When I started reading it, I said, ‘Geez, this is for real,’” George tells SJ Today.

Last Friday, the Saint John labour leader, educator and historian received an honorary doctor of letters at UNB Saint John’s fall convocation. He hadn’t exactly been broadcasting the news. Even his wife, Carol, found out by reading the letter weeks after he received it.

UNB recognized more than five decades of work defending workers, teaching union members and preserving local labour history. George’s career took him from the Navy to Canada Wire and Cable, then into union representation and leadership. He also wrote books about Saint John’s labour movement and helped establish the Frank and Ella Hatheway Labour Exhibit Centre and Rockwood Park’s Day of Mourning Monument.

His own assessment is considerably shorter. “I did that work for years and somebody had to do it.”

That meant sticking with workers through difficult disputes, even when a victory looked unlikely. “Sometimes I thought it was a losing battle, but you still continue to fight.”

Fifty years ago on October 14, 1976, he found himself organizing what became one of the largest demonstrations in New Brunswick’s history. Thousands of workers marched the streets of Saint John, and thousands more left their jobs for the day. George shared how they believed something important was at stake, and felt a responsibility to make their voices heard. The protest was part of a National Day of Action against wage controls introduced by the federal government. “Change happens when people decide to get involved,” he shared.

On Friday, professors and alumni approached George throughout the convocation at Imperial Theatre and after party at the Saint John Arts Centre to offer congratulations. “I felt pretty good after the award,” he said. By Monday, the honorary degree was hanging on his wall, though he was still getting used to the idea that his working life deserved such recognition.

As for whether he considers the doctorate a big deal, George is coming around. “Well, if I really stop and think about it, I guess it might be.”