By Lincoln DePradine

Joseanne Job is one of the youthful faces in the trade union movement in Canada. Her labour activism and leadership have been impressive; so much so, that Job recently was presented with a prestigious trade union award.

She’s a 2023 winner of the “Bromley L. Armstrong Award for Individual Excellence’’.

“This was a huge honour and I will forever be grateful,’’ said Job. “To all my friends, fellow committee members, mentors and family, thank you for standing in the gap as I took on this journey of leadership and fighting for human rights and making space for the next generation. I’m humbled and grateful for your support.’’

The presentation to Job and others were made by the Toronto & York Region Labour Council and Labour Community Services in remembrance of Armstrong, the late Jamaican-born trade unionist, organizer and activist, who led Ontario’s early anti-discrimination campaigns. His efforts helped pave the way for Canada’s first human rights laws. 

Armstrong’s involvement in Canadian life, spanning more than 70 years, also included serving as an adjudicator with the Ontario Labour Relations Board; establishing and publishing a newspaper; and participating in a delegation that visited Ottawa in 1954 to protest the federal government’s restrictive immigration policy that closed the door of entry to Canada for people of African descent and other visible minorities. The delegation was led by the late Barbados-born Donald Moore, who died in 1994. He was 102.

Armstrong, whose awards included an honourary doctor of laws degree from York University, died August 17, 2018. He was 92.

This year was the 18th edition of the awards, with the annual winners “recognized for their tireless work in the areas of equity, inclusion and human rights’’,

The 2023 awards’ gala, according to organizers, was not just an opportunity to “celebrate the legacy’’ of Armstrong, but also to “honour those who have followed in his footsteps’’.

“Tonight is an example of the quality of work we can accomplish; the strength of our movement when we come together united!” said Andria Babbington, president of the Toronto & York Region Labour Council.

Job is president of Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) Local 527. In awarding her, the Labour Council and Labour Community Services also referred to her role as “Younger Worker Representative’’ for the Ontario Federation of Labour, and also chair of OPSEU Young Workers Committee.

Other Awards for Individual Excellence were given to Nicholas Marcus Thompson, president of the Union of Taxation Employees Toronto North at the Public Service Alliance of Canada; and to Abdi Hagi Yusuf, secretary-treasurer of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers 626. He’s also secretary of the Toronto & York Region Labour Council and chair of Labour Community Services

Organizers also presented the Toronto Education Workers/CUPE 4400 and the Society of United Professionals (IFPTE 160) with Armstrong Awards for “Union Excellence’’.

The Education Workers’ award was accepted on its behalf by its president John Weatherup; and by Michelle Johnston, president of the Society of United Professionals, for IFPTE 160.

As part of the evening’s ceremony, a panel discussion was held on the theme, “Beyond Performance: Honouring the Legacy of Bromley”.

Organizers also honoured the memory of the late Carol Wall, who died recently. They said Wall, a veteran labour and social justice activist and member of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, “practised what she preached. We remember her and continue the good fight in her memory’’.