Stalwart trade unionist Molly Burgess recognised by CableVision Bermuda

By Jessie Moniz Hardy

When Molly Burgess first started working in the hotel industry as a young woman, labour was still unorganised in Bermuda.

There were no paid vacations, no paid sick leave, no maternity leave and very little job security.

Today, most people take these things for granted in the workplace, forgetting that we have them largely because of the past work of the Bermuda Industrial Union (BIU) in Bermuda.

“Thank God for the BIU,” said Mrs Burgess, who has been General Secretary, the second highest ranking member of the BIU, for the last 30 years.

CableVision recently recognised Mrs Burgess’ contributions to the community with the CableVision Salute to Service award given out during a banquet at the Fairmont Southampton Hotel earlier this year.

The Royal Gazette Lifestyles met with Mrs Burgess after the first BIU meeting called about the labour conflict at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess.

Mrs Burgess sat at the back of the meeting, offering encouragement. Several young BIU members touched her arm affectionately as they passed saying: “Hello, Mama.”

“With the economic times now, we are trying to save jobs,” said Mrs Burgess. “People are hurting, more than some people out there know.

“It is hitting everyone, but it is more upsetting when you see the young brothers affected (like the bar porters involved in the Fairmont dispute).

“They are trying to be productive citizens and every time you look they are getting knocked.

“I don’t want to see anymore of them out there on the street. Let’s do what we can to save the children. It is not easy.”

She started working in the hotel industry while still in high school at Sandys Secondary. She worked at the Scarrington Guest House in the summer holidays.

Over the years she worked at the Belmont Hotel, Elbow Beach Hotel, Coral Beach Hotel, Newstead, Lydia’s Restaurant and other places.

She became interested in worker’s rights while working at the Elbow Beach Hotel in the 1960s for the sum of £3, ten shillings a week.

“There was so much exploitation of workers, the way people were treated, it just seemed like someone had to stand up for their rights,” she said. “Someone had to do it.”

She began meeting with another Elbow Beach staff member Robert Parris who was working to organise staff members.

“At that time people were really ready,” she said. “It was at a time when everyone was hurting. We started to organise. It was hard.

“f it was known that you were out there organising, you got picked off. See you later. We used to have meetings up in the cow barn.

“Or we used to sneak Brother Ottiwell Simmons up the back elevators to have quick meetings with the staff in the maids’ closets. This is the way we organised.

“In the early days I could have lost my job, if people knew. At that time unions weren’t fashionable.

“Once we became organised and then we started to negotiate, it became more accepted.”

At the age of 27 she was made secretary of the Elbow Beach group. The next year she was elected Chief Shop Steward and then Secretary of the BIU’s Hotel, Night Club and Restaurant Division.

In 1968 she became the Recording Secretary and by 1971, she was seconded to Union Headquarters for six months to serve as Assistant Hotel Organiser, working with Reid Simmons, who was organiser of the hotel, nightclub and restaurant division at the time.

“Once I was at Union Headquarters and saw the injustices going on throughout the Island, there was no turning back,” she said. “I knew that was my calling, this was my career, to be a full time trade-unionist.”

In 1979, she took on the additional job of Assistant General Secretary of the BIU and then, in 1983, she became the General Secretary, the position she still holds.

Through her long career with the BIU she has also found time to raise five children: Marlene, Terry, Tracy, Ronnie and Gary. She now has five grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

Her daughter Ronnie Burgess, has followed her into the BIU and is an organiser of the of the Hotel, Nightclub and Restaurant division.

Ironically, her son, Gary, is in management at Belmont Hills, and they have, on occasion, found themselves across the table from one another.

“If he treats his staff the way he was brought up to do, he will be okay,” she said with a smile. “His staff and him get a long great. I am very proud of him, and all my children.”

She doesn’t like to give out her age. She would say that she is thinking about retirement, but not any time soon.

“I think I still have a few good years left to give,” she said.

Of the CableVision Award she said: “It was a pleasant surprise, as it was coming from one of our social partners.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank CableVision for choosing me as one of their recipients for this prestigious award.

“I would also like to publicly thank my family, my BIU family and my members for making it possible for me to receive this award. Without them there would be no me.”

She said it was also good to know that there are still some employers that accept, respect, and recognise the contributions made by unionised/organised labour.