Kent Rowley (1917–1978) was a Canadian labour organizer. He is best known for helping establish and lead the

Confederation of Canadian Unions The Confederation of Canadian Unions (CCU; '' is a national trade union centre, a central labour body of independent unions in Canada. History The Council of Canadian Unions was founded in 1969 by militant labour organizers Madeleine Parent ...

alongside Madeleine Parent. Born in Montreal, Rowley became a labour activist as a young man. He opposed conscription in the early years of World War II and was held at an internment camp in

Petawawa Petawawa ( ) is a town located in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario, Canada. Situated in the Ottawa Valley, with a population of 18,160 (2021 Census), Petawawa is the most populous municipality in Renfrew County. History The earliest se ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

from 1940 to 1942. In 1943, he was hired by the

United Textile Workers of America The United Textile Workers of America (UTW) was a North American trade union established in 1901. History The United Textile Workers of America was founded following two conferences in 1901 under the aegis of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) ...

, for whom he was a canadian director. He was jailed for strike activities during the

1946 Montreal Cottons strike The Montreal Cottons Company strike of 1946 was a hundred-day-long Strike action, strike in which 3,000 textile manufacturing, mill workers from Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec, fought for the right to obtain a collective agreement. Mill worker ...

at Valleyfield, Quebec. In the early 1950s, he was dismissed by the UTWA as part of a crackdown on leftist union officers. Rowley and his future wife Parent organized the Canadian Textile and Chemical Union, an independent union which operated primarily in Ontario. Unhappy with the labour establishment and its close relationship with conservative unions based in the United States, Rowley and Madeleine Parent founded the

in 1969. Mainstream unions subsequently demanded more autonomy from their American headquarters, and several major unions broke away to form separate Canadian unions, although few joined the CCU. Rowley was married to Parent from 1953 until his death in 1978. A biography of Rowley by

Rick Salutin Rick Salutin (born August 30, 1942) is a Canadian novelist, playwright, journalist, and critic and has been writing for more than forty years. Until October 1, 2010, he wrote a regular column in ''The Globe and Mail''; on February 11, 2011, he be ...

was published in 1980.

References

1917 births 1978 deaths Anti–World War II activists Trade unionists from Quebec Leaders of the United Textile Workers of America Confederation of Canadian Unions Canadian trade union leaders Activists from Montreal People detained under Defence of Canada Regulations {{worker-activist-stub