Ken Georgetti, C.M., O.B.C. President Canadian Labour Congress

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Ken Georgetti, C.M., O.B.C. President Canadian Labour Congress Ken Georgetti’s career has taken him from pipefitter to president of the Canadian Labour Congress and from shop steward to start-up founder of labour-owned, multi-million dollar companies. What the Ottawa Citizen newspaper described as “Georgetti’s consensus- building West Coast cool” has led the Canadian Labour Congress to add 700,000 new members under his leadership since 1999, growing to represent a record 3.2 million workers. Along the way Ken has met world leaders like Nelson Mandela, Tony Blair, Bill Clinton, Angela Merkel, Vladimir Putin and the Dalai Lama, and directly heard the plight of workers who have been horribly disabled in the sweatshop factories of China and developing nations. Ken Georgetti is a modern labour leader – someone who has walked countless picket lines to support striking or locked-out workers and has been a controversial but respected guest in corporate boardrooms and cabinet offices, in every situation strongly advocating for working people and their families. Ken combines the traditional militancy of the labour movement with a keen understanding of business developed through the creation of Concert Properties, western Canada’s largest unionized residential developer, and the Working Opportunity Fund, a major labour-sponsored venture capital investor. First elected at age 46 in May 1999 as the youngest president in the CLC’s history, Ken came from a family of union activists in Trail, BC. During his 13 years as President of the British Columbia Federation of Labour, Ken earned a reputation for being innovative and outspoken while its membership more than doubled – from 218,000 in 1986 when he was elected to 450,000 members. At both the CLC and the BC Federation of Labour, Ken has helped modernize the organizations, ensuring that labour was more representative of the face of the workforce, by actively promoting women, visible minorities and youth. Ken’s record of accomplishments at the CLC includes: • Winning new federal legislation that for the first time protects workers in employer bankruptcies so their claims come first over any other creditors; • Gaining new federal health and safety improvements on ergonomics and violence in the workplace to help prevent injuries and deaths; • Seeing passage of the “Westray Act” that holds corporate executives criminally responsible where negligence is the cause of workers’ deaths on the job – following Nova Scotia’s Westray Mine tragedy where 26 miners died in a methane gas explosion in 1992. As CLC president, Ken holds key positions with a number of important international organizations, including the International Trade Union Confederation [ITUC], where he chairs the ITUC Committee on Workers’ Capital. He is a member of the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC) to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD]. In Canada, Ken has founded the Shareholder Association for Research and Education – SHARE – which advocates for shareholder action, and the Columbia Institute – which fosters innovative community leadership and research. Ken is also committed to social causes, such as promoting adult literacy, fighting child labour and supporting the United Way. Ken’s contributions to labour and the community have earned him the Order of Canada and the Order of British Columbia. .

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2011 Annual Report 2 April 25, 2012
Labour Community Services Annual Report A Project of Labour Council in Partnership with United Way Toronto and United Way of York Region USW 8300 On behalf of the Canadian Labour Congress and our affiliated unions, thank you for your 30 years of hard work bridging labour and community. Ken Georgetti, President, Canadian Labour Congress On behalf of the United Way Centraide Movement, congratulations for the significant leadership role Labour Community Services has played in our partnership with labour over the past 30 years. Al Hatton, CEO and President, United Way Centraide Canada Congratulations for 30 years of hard work dedicated to strengthening the ties between labour and community. Janice Manchee, National Director, Labour Programs and Services, United Way of Canada For 30 years Labour Community Services has built a greater understanding and appreciation of the important relationship between workers, their unions and their communities. After all, unionized workers often work or volunteer for many of the organizations, groups and services supporting our communities. The labour movement shares the LCS vision of an accessible and inclusive Toronto, Ontario and Canada - where diversity is celebrated, rights are protected and equality is achieved. We will continue to stand in solidarity with you in advancing these goals. Sid Ryan, President, Ontario Federation of Labour LCS and unions work to put people and communities first. We are all better off because of the work you do and the progress we make together. Warren (Smokey) Thomas, President, Ontario Public Service Employees Union Over the past thirty years, Labour Community Services has become a vital part of Toronto's community infrastructure.
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