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Families were changing in the ‘80s. More and more families were being headed by women—working mothers. More and more two-parent families were forced to rely on two incomes. Issues such as childcare, family and medical leave, and adequate and affordable healthcare became even more important to working people. Meanwhile American corporations continued to ship manufacturing jobs overseas or south of the border to Mexico; making higher paying jobs, jobs with reasonable benefits, increasingly scarce. Canada faced some very trying times in the late ‘80s as well. Deep-rooted social tensions between French-speaking Canadians in Quebec and English-speaking Canadians around the country continued to simmer through the 1980s. The Meech Lake Agreement, guaranteeing Quebec’s French heritage special status, was rejected by the provinces in 1990. What action will be taken next on the future of the Confederation is not clear. The second half of the 1980s was a volatile time for the United States, Canada and the world. As the IBEW prepares to meet for its 34th International Convention in October, prospects for the future are good. The war in the Persian Gulf is over and most of out troops are home. The economy is showing taint signs of improving. And the American people are beginning to see the wrong-headedness of shortsighted economic and social policies which don’t benefit American working people. The values inscribed in “The Union of Hearts and Minds” theme are beginning to be felt across the United States and Canada. A fitting end for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers’ first century of service.
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 President Barry in 1991. |
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