Union activists grieve loss of Ray Haynes, longtime leader of B.C. labour movement

Ray Haynes, a man described as a "giant" of B.C.'s labour movement, died Monday at 94 years old.

The news sparked an outpouring of condolences on social media for the man who spent over seven decades standing up for workers' rights.

Former labour reporter Rod Mickleburgh described Haynes as "arguably, the most influential leader in the long history of the B.C. Fed."

Haynes headed the B.C. Federation of Labour from 1966 to 1973, a tough time for unions as described by Mickleburgh.

"In those days, labour was in almost constant warfare, strike after strike, protests seemingly every day, and an all-fight against some of the worst anti-union legislation in North America," he said in 2022 at the B.C. Federation of Labour's November convention.

"Ray Haynes and the federation were everywhere."

In November, Mickleburgh, the author of a book on B.C.'s labour history, described how under Haynes' leadership, the B.C. labour movement became "the most militant in the country" as it fought back against the anti-union government of W.A.C. Bennett's Social Credit party.

The current president of the federation believes Haynes' leadership was instrumental in getting British Columbians to elect the province's first NDP government under Dave Barrett in 1972.

"It's a huge accomplishment to go from that far on the spectrum [supporting the Opposition] over to the other side of the political spectrum," said Sussanne Skidmore. "It was really important times for working people, for changes in our province."

Committed to workers

Joey Hartman got to know Haynes when they both worked at the Vancouver Municipal and Regional Employees Union in the 1980s when Haynes came on as the union's chief negotiator.

"What I specifically remember as a much younger trade union leader myself at the time was his commitment to the members and to always view them as the centre of what needed to happen," she said. 

"He worked incredibly hard and inspired folks who didn't think that they had it in them to be able to face up with their employer."

Hartman, now a board member of the B.C. Labour Heritage Centre, says the centre decided to honour Haynes last November at the Federation of Labour's 60th convention, one of his last public appearances where he showed off the charisma that made him a successful labour leader.

He joked that when he quit the federation, "they had to hire two guys to do my job: the president and the secretary-treasurer." 

"I found out later, though, that they had to do that to clean up the mess."

When Haynes led the federation, it was as its secretary-treasurer before the role was split in two.

Haynes also took the opportunity to offer advice for young workers.

"I try and tell young people now that don't take a job that you're not going to be happy with just because it pays a bit more money," he said.

Solidarity across borders

Ray Haynes' activism wasn't limited to the political arena, nor to British Columbia. His daughter, Deb Niewerth, says the family was recruited to participate in several protest movements.

"Growing up, I, of course, learned never to cross a picket line, and I never have," she said. "For many years, we didn't eat grapes from California, and I never went to Safeway for many years in support of things that he was fighting for."

In the 1970s, Haynes organized a boycott of non-union-picked grapes in support of Californian farmworkers.

Haynes was a regular at a poker table made up of "B.C. Fed guys" from his generation, says his daughter. She remembers spending time with him at the PNE horse track in East Vancouver, where her father would spend hours considering which horse he should bet on, though he was never a big gambler and kept track of every penny he spent.

Niewerth says her father was committed to the people he cared about until the end of his life.

"He was just so good at maintaining friendships and kept in touch and sent birthday cards and Christmas cards to everyone," she said. "Even this year, he sent out over 100 Christmas cards to people."