The statue of trade unionist Jean Lapierre unbolted

The Syndicat des cols bleus regroupés de Montréal has removed the statue of former union president Jean Lapierre, which has stood in front of the building on rue Papineau since 2003. The workers’ association hopes that this « historic gesture » will breathe new life into the union and its members.

This « symbolic action » taken by Local 301 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) is part of a spirit of continuity in the efforts made by the blue-collar union in recent years to modernize its ways of doing things, indicates the organization in a press release.

« The story of 301 is not the story of a single man, but the story of thousands of City of Montreal employees who stood up for better working conditions, » said the president, Luc Bisson.

« In a world where inequalities are constantly growing, we are making this strong gesture to remind us that we are the friend of the people and that we want a social project that has everyone’s interests at heart », he continued.

This desire to “redefine the public image of 301” comes a few years after the lifting of the trusteeship by the executive board of CUPE, which lasted more than three years, from May 2017 to December 2020.

What will happen to the bust of the man who headed the Montreal union for nearly twenty years? The President of CUPE explains that the time is still for reflection.

“We are going to take the time to reflect collectively on how to dispose of the statue. You can’t erase history, but you can talk about it differently. »