George Hewison
| George Hewison | |
|---|---|
| General Secretary of the Communist Party of Canada | |
|
In office 1988–1992 |
|
| Preceded by | William Kashtan |
| Succeeded by | Miguel Figueroa |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Campbell River, British Columbia, Canada |
| Occupation | Politician, Trade Unionist |
| Website | http://www.georgehewison.ca/ |
George Hewison (born 1944) is a folk singer, trade unionist, and formerly a long-time member of the Communist Party of Canada and was briefly its general secretary from 1988 until 1992.
Hewison's father, "Jack" Hewison, immigrated to Canada from Scotland and settled in Campbell River, British Columbia where he worked as a fisherman and became secretary of his union local. He was a founding member of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation but became disillusioned with the CCF during the Cold War. He joined the Labor-Progressive Party (as the Communist Party was known) in 1953 after CCF leaders supported a raid by Hal Banks and the Seafarers International Union against Hewison's union, the United Fishermen and Allied Workers' Union. Prior to the raid, the UFAWU had been expelled from the Trades and Labour Congress of Canada because of its Communist leadership.
Hewison grew up in Campbell River, British Columbia selling the party press and joined the Communist Party and the fishermen's union at the age of 17. He grew up in a musical family before television and made his first public performance when his voice changed from soprano to bass in 1960. In addition to his labour and political activism, Hewison has always seen music as an essential part of his life.
In 1965 he became a full-time organizer for his union and in 1973, Hewison was elected business agent for the United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union in British Columbia, and became the union's secretary-treasurer in 1977, remaining in the position until 1985 when he left the union to move to Toronto to become the labour secretary on the Communist Party's Central Executive Committee.
While an officer of his union, Hewison represented west coast fishermen in bilateral government to government negotiations with the United States on boundary and fisheries issues. He headed many lobbies to the provincial and nation's capital. As Vice President of the Vancouver and District labour Council, he initiated the massive resistance to the 26 pieces of legislation brought forward by the Social Credit government in 1983 that later evolved into "Operation Solidarity". Throughout this period, he continued to use his voice and guitar as his favourite tools to advance the interests of working people.
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