February 3, 1924 - November 16, 2009
Obituary
By Blair Redlin
CUPE Research Representative, Burnaby, British Columbia
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February 3, 1924 - November 16, 2009 |
Gil (Gilbert) Levine — an inspiring leader of Canadian public sector unionism for more than half a century — died of acute leukemia on November 16th, 2009. He was 85.
Gil was arguably the founder of modern labour research in Canada. He was the first Research Director of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). Prior to that, Gil was a crucial figure in the merger of the National Union of Public Employees and the National Union of Public Service Employees that resulted in the creation of CUPE in 1963.
Paul Moist, CUPE national president, said Gil Levine was "truly the heart and soul of our union and its predecessor for more than 50 years.
"A celebration of life will be held for Gil on Saturday, December 12, at 2 p.m. in the atrium of the CUPE national office, 1375 St. Laurent Blvd, Ottawa, Canada."
Gil Levine motivated many who pursued the vocation of labour research. He provided the crucial direction for development of the CUPE Research Department that eventually became the largest and most comprehensive of any union in Canada. He was a mentor to many important contributors to the CUPE Research Department (including Larry Katz, Jane Stinson, John Calvert, Morna Ballantyne, Richard Balnis and Margaret Evans among many more) as well as to many elected leaders of CUPE including Judy Darcy and Paul Moist.
After retirement, Gil remained an energetic social activist
Gil had high standards and was strongly principled. For many years, his office door was emblazoned with a sign that said "Just the Facts". Gil acted on the premise that well marshaled facts and information are fundamental to the strength of unions, whether for collective bargaining or for when unions advance their political and policy agendas.
It was under Gil's leadership that CUPE began to publish The CUPE Facts that provided core information and analyses for the Canadian labour movement for many years. During his tenure as Research Director, CUPE pioneered the use of computer databases to track collective-agreement information through the System for the Analyses of Labour Agreement Data (SALAD).
Gil was also an exemplar of staff leadership in the union movement. He knew that, especially when it comes to options and analyses, full-time staff are an important complement to elected union leadership. Gil was fully engaged in the debates and evolution of the union.
After retirement, Gil remained an energetic social activist and contributor to his community. He deepened the documentation of labour history, especially through his biography of Patrick Lenihan, a crucial public sector union leader at the Calgary Civic Employees Union (CUPE Local 37). He remained engaged in all the major issues facing CUPE and was the only person to have attended all 24 CUPE national conventions since its founding in 1963.
In his home community of Ottawa, Gil contributed in many diverse ways, whether through organizing the annual Canadian Dimension dinner every May, or as a volunteer with the Ottawa Folk Music Festival, to name just two examples.
Gil was a strong and solid support to his family through all his years. As his obituary puts it, he was: "Caring and steadfast husband to Helen Zivian Levine for 62 years, adored and proud father to Ruthie Tamara (Larry Katz) and Karen (Michael Enright) and devoted Zaide to Rachel Levine Katz and Gabriel Enright Levine."
Gil Levine was a profound example for our whole movement. He is deeply missed.
27 November 2009 — Return to cover.
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