Date: 1998
Location: Edmonton
Profile: Mary Ewasiw worked for Swifts/Gainers for over two decades and became active in the UFCW. Her interview focuses on poor occupational health and safety policies in the plant. Originally from a farm near Athabasca, Ewasiw worked at Burns before her plant shut down. She joined Swifts in 1974 where her husband worked, initially packing wieners before moving onto the bacon line. She denounces Peter Pocklington’s claim that bacon line workers just ‘watched the bacon go by.’ The work required shingling bacon nicely and weighing it closely to protect company earnings. It was “not easy; you had to work fast with your hands.” One job she did involved pulling big loads, leading her to hurt herself and go on workers’ compensation. The pain was enduring. The company often sped up the work, and when workers had cuts or other injuries, or women felt faint during menstruation, they could neither relax nor see the nurse. “They just didn’t respect the workers.” McCain, the last owner, who shut the plant, “had only one thing in his head, and that was greed.”
Keywords: Bacon line work; Gainers; Michael McCain; Packing wieners; Peter Pocklington; Pulling loads; Speedups; Swifts; Workers’ compensation.
Transcript: Download PDF
Mary Ewasiw appears in ALHI’s video about the meatpacking plant here. She also appears in the documentary, “Alberta’s Summer of ‘86 here.
See also: Meatpacking Workers in Alberta; Occupational Health and Safety in Alberta; Summer of ’86 in Alberta; United Food and Commercial Workers; Women and Work in Alberta