Year: 2003
Location: Calgary
Profile: Bill Ferguson, a founding member of CUPE, was born in 1928 and grew up during the Great Depression. After the Second World War, Ferguson worked in logging camps across British Columbia, becoming a member of the International Woodworkers of America (IWA). The anti-Communist fervour within the IWA during the 1940s led Ferguson and others to attempt to form an independent Canadian union, though this effort was unsuccessful
In 1953, Ferguson joined the City of Kamloops, which was then organized by the National Union of Public Employees (NUPE). Ferguson and other left-leaning members of NUPE advocated for a merger with the National Union of Public Service Employees (NUPSE). As a charter member of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) that resulted from the merger, Ferguson led various public sector organizing drives and held several administrative and executive roles within CUPE until his return to municipal work in 1982. He retired in 1994.
Ferguson was also briefly a member of the Communist Party of Canada (CPC), joining in 1959 but eventually leaving after finding the Party ineffective. An active member of the local peace movement, Ferguson helped establish Kamloops’ inaugural Peace Walk, an event that is still held annually.
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Keywords: Anti-communism; Communist Party of Canada (CPC); International Woodworkers of America (IWA); National Union of Public Employees (NUPE); National Union of Public Service Employees (NUPSE); Peace movement; Peace Walk.
See also: Canadian Union of Public Employees