Canadians at Work
Canadians at Work is a historic documentation never attempted before in Canada, and was published simultaneously in French as Canadiens au travail.
In the spring of 1999 the Canadian Auto Workers Union commissioned Vincenzo Pietropaolo to capture the diversity and nobility of workers across the country and create a historic collection to mark the millennium.
The journey took Vincenzo (helped in parts by a team of photographers) through every province from the fishing villages of Newfoundland on the Atlantic, to the Haida Gwaii Islands on the Pacific, to the shores of Nunavut, to the big cities. In over 100 locations, Vincenzo captured the diversity of workers and workplaces in many sectors including food and beverage workers, retail, aerospace, auto parts, auto assembly, hospitality, general manufacturing, mining, trucking, health care, textile, shipbuilding, fishing, airlines, rail, general manufacturing, and more. The project was a “voyage of photography, an exploration into the hidden landscape of workplaces and workers’ faces that defines Canada as much as anything ever could.”
The Globe and Mail said: ‘photographer Vincenzo Pietropaolo wanted to use his camera to reclaim workers from their historical anonymity. His shots of men and women — on the shop floor, in the service industry and in nursing homes — capture the varied lives of working people across the country … a lavish 200 page coffee table book.”
Introductory essay by Sam Gindin.
Hard cover, duo tone, 204 pp., 9.5x12 in.
Publisher: Canadian Auto Workers, 2000.