Mae Burrows Interview: Labour and Environment Solidarity
Mae Burrows details her early life and influences, and then her work with the Labour Environmental Alliance Society (LEAS) which brought together trade unionists and environmentalists at a time when logging companies were instigating the “war in the woods.”
This interview was conducted by Sean Griffin and Bailey Garden on December 17, 2019 in Burnaby, BC. It is part of our Oral History Collection.
Mae Burrows details her early life and influences, and then her work with the Labour Environmental Alliance Society (LEAS) which brought together trade unionists and environmentalists at a time when logging companies were instigating the “war in the woods.” The work evolved into grassroots education and campaigns for the “right to know” about exposures to toxic chemicals and carcinogens. The organization transformed into Toxic Free Canada but became dormant after the 2008 recession, which impacted funding and resources.
Suggested reading:
Burrows, M. (2001). Just Transition. Alternatives Journal (Waterloo), 27(1), 29–32.
Burrows, M. “Grassroots Organizing”, in Durning, A. T. (1996). This place on earth : home and the practice of permanence / Alan Thein Durning. Sasquatch Books.
Burrows, M., & Hayvice, C. (1998). Green & blue together: environmentalists & workers find common ground. Our Times (Toronto), 17(5), 22.
Burrows, M. (1998). Allied Forces. Alternatives Journal (Waterloo), 24(4), 18–23.
Tatroff, D. (1994). Deep river blues: a B.C. union’s fight to save the Fraser. Our Times (Toronto), 13(1), 24.
Burrows, M. “Multistakeholder Processes: Activist Containment versus Grassroots Mobilization” in Salazar, D., & Alper, D. K. (2000). Sustaining the Forests of the Pacific Coast. UBC Press.
Mesley, W. (2006) Chasing the cancer answer. Marketplace. CBC Television.
