Thunder Bay – NEWS – Due to Covid restrictions and the large number of children unable to get vaccinated that attend the Labour Day Picnic it could not be held. Instead, we held a Labour Movies night a Boomers Drive In, in Murillo.
Current River Park is booked for Labour Day 2022 and hopefully we will be back in full force.
Past Years Labour Day at Current River
Thunder Bay and District Labour Council Person of the Year Award for 2020 was presented to Ed Arvelin OPSEU/SEFPO Local 720 and current OPSEU/SEFPO Region 7 Vice President.
The announcement was made at the TBDLC Labour Movie Night at Boomers Drive Sunday September 5th.
The presentation took place on Friday September 3, 2021, and Ed Arvelin made a prerecorded speech that was play at the event just after the President Carlos Santander-Maturana made his remarks.
One of his two nominators Erin Smith-Rice wrote the following in her nomination of Ed Arvelin.
Ed has been an active OPSEU/SEFPO member for about 14 years, I met him shortly after he became President of his OPSEU/SEFPO local 720. He has continued to run and hold many different positions within OPSEU, including the chair of the mental health division, the health care division, executive board member of OPSEU/SEFPO and his current positions of Regional Vice President. He also is an active member of the Thunder Bay Labour Council, and the Thunder Bay Health Coalition.
Ed is membership driven, he stands behind equity, he is open to ideas, he supports all of us in region 7 OPSEU as a family and he genuinely cares. Eds dedication and passion to the labour movement is respected amongst his peers and membership.
During this pandemic he ensured that we all felt heard, and that we felt connected, by collaborating with his fellow region 7 board members developing creative virtual events. We facilitated webinars, fun game nights, and leadership meetings. These meetings, webinars and events have been extremely helpful in keeping us connected and membership driven. Ed does not shy away from the hard questions and there has been plenty this year instead he listens, he educates, and he offers his support. I believe he deserves the labour person of the year award because he holds the values of labour to his heart. He fights for labour rights, showing up at every union demo that he can, he is ready to rally whenever needed, he ensures that other unions know that he is there to support them, and that OPSEU has their back. Ed encourages community labour connections, pays it forward to those in need and is extremely compassionate about our community. I am sure there a million other things this man has done or does, for example helping to facilitate the I run for rock event a PTSD fundraiser for first responders, hosting shelter house meals, and numerous community drives.
Ed should get this award because he is the true definition of a “Labour person of the year” he lives and breathes labour.
