July 24, 2008

Phyliss Gallimore worked as a construction carpenter before becoming an organizer of Carpenters Local Union 27 and the founder of several outreach programs.

Carpenter Phyllis Gallimore remembered as ‘great role model’ to women in construction

IAN HARVEY

correspondent

The job Phyllis Gallimore started will probably never be finished, but the foundations she crafted will last forever.

Gallimore, 57, a founder and driving force of women in trades who died May 9, left an indelible mark on the construction industry, trades and union movement she passionately worked for.

She joined the Carpenters’ Local Union 27 in 1994 and signed on as an general carpenter’s apprenticeship at 44 years old. Gallimore worked as a construction carpenter for six years and graduated as a journeyman carpenter in 2000 and then went to work as an organizer for Local 27.

Four years later she conceived the notion of a “Sisters in the Trades Committee” after attending the Sisters in the Brotherhood Convention. Today, that committee represents electricians, plumbers, elevator workers, millwrights, boilermaker, painters, teamsters, labourers and ironworkers. For more on the organization see their Web site, www.sistersinthetrades.com.

“She was a great role model and leader,” said Mike Yorke President of Carpenters and Allied Workers Local 27. “She was totally committed to representing working people and to opening doors to women in the trades, traditionally seen as men’s occupations.”

He said her commitment was unwavering, where it was on jobsites across the GTA, on picket lines, organizing drives, in job fairs and youth outreach, or through her work with “Sisters in the Brotherhood” and “Sisters in the Trades.”

“She was everywhere; and universally loved every where she went,” said Yorke. “I know she will be deeply missed.”

“I could tell, from the day I first met Phyllis Gallimore, that she believed in lighting others’ candles,” said Ontario Minister of Children and Youth Services Mary Ann Chamber in a written eulogy read at a June 22 memorial. “That was how she could make the room brighter for everyone. Phyllis epitomized the joy that can be derived from being involved in work that we truly love.”

Gallimore is survived by her husband, Patrick Pereira, three children and four grandchildren.

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