Date: 2023
Location: Edmonton
Profile: Monica Santiago arrived from Trinidad to Fort McMurray in 1967 where her husband Frank worked as a pipefitter for Syncrude. Frank was a member of Local 488 of the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters. The couple initially raised their newborns in a trailer in what was then an isolated Fort Mc, along with other new Syncrude hires from different parts of the world. She experienced culture shock in a community where there was a lack of social activity for women and their children, few employments for women, harsh winters, and a lack of paved streets. Husbands assembled daily at the bus stop to be bussed to Syncrude for long daily shifts. The community’s single taxi serviced the tiny airport.
Santiago notes that her husband kept the dangers and lack of safety conditions that he faced on the job as a well-kept secret from his young family. “He never brought the job home.” Frank was promoted to foreman and general foreman, and continued to work in Fort McMurray until his retirement. Santiago’s resilience endured, with the family later moving closer to Edmonton.
Keywords: Athabasca Oilsands; Bucketwheels; Catalytic converters; Draglines; Foreman; Fort McMurray – living conditions; General foreman; GCOS (Great Canadian Oilsands); Local 488, United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters; Syncrude.
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See also: Black Communities in Alberta; Occupational Health and Safety in Alberta; Oil Workers in Alberta; Systemic Racism in Alberta; United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters; Women and Work in Alberta