Wayne Peppard
Interviewed by Sean Griffin
Wayne Peppard grew up in Castlegar, B.C., working for a short time at the Cominco smelter in Trail. His introduction to the labour movement was with the United Association of Journeymen & Apprentices of the Plumbing & PipeFitting Industry of the US & Canada, Local 170 (UA170) first as a shop steward and later as an area rep and union communicator. Later in his career he became Executive Director of the B.C. Building Trades Council. Wayne’s roots made his work and personal life strongly connected with water resources. He took a leadership role in the Kootenays in protecting watersheds from logging. In this interview he explains many of the organizations and projects he worked on, all aimed at bridging the divides between environmentalists and labour as well as protecting water resouorces. He explains his decision to support the Site C dam and the consequences of that choice.
Keywords: Castlegar; Cominco; pipelines; UA170; Gaglardi family; open-shop; Christian Labourer’s Association of Canada (CLAC); yellow-dog unions; watersheds; Slocan Valley Watershed Alliance; Labour Environmental Alliance; pesticides; herbicides; Corky Evans; Mike Harcourt; Glen Clark; Jim Duggan; Mae Burrows; Lee Loftus; Fair Wage Act; Site C; B.C. Building Trades Council; Allied Hydro Council; project labour agreements;