‘Did I do something dumb again?’ Union head wonders after making sexist remarks

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/02/2019 (2745 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Remember that old stereotype of construction workers whistling and cat-calling when women would walk past job sites?

Well, if you think things have changed for the better since it’s 2019, you’d be wrong.

At a press conference Thursday where the minister of labour Patricia Hajdu announced federal support for women wanting to enter the building trades, a senior union official made several sexist remarks before and after his introduction of the minister.

Robert Blakely, Canadian operating officer of Canada’s Building Trades Unions, whose organization played an important role in getting the $3.14 million in federal funding for the project, alluded to the importance of truthfulness in his remarks.

“Real friends who tell you the truth are the ones who know the right answer to the question, “Do I look fat in these pants,” he said.

Minister Hajdu then got on the stage and played along with the joke which Blakely added further remarks to.

In later comments at the gathering in the packed room made up roughly half and half of men and women at a union office, Blakely apologized.

“I have been sitting here thinking to myself did I do something dumb again?” he said. “If I offended anyone I am sorry.”

But Blakely’s questionable remarks didn’t end there.

He later told a story about an earlier meeting with a female colleague who was about to speak, referencing a comedian’s use of the term “sassy” and saying that “sassy” was a good way to describe her.

And even later he made reference to the “beautiful women” who were part of the presentation and that helped make “this a good day.”

Afterwards Blakely said he and Minister Hajdu are old friends and that is was a learning experience for him.

“The context of the bit about ‘do you look fat in these pants’ … the minister and I have done this sort of schtick before,” he said, adding that he understands it’s one thing to do it in private and another thing when it is done in public in front of a room full of people.

Asked for thoughts on the incident Hajdu said in a prepared statement, “Changing the culture of workplaces is an ongoing process. It will take actions like the one we announced today that will support women in the trades across the country take their place. The success of women in the workplace depends on all of us to work together and support each other to change long standing norms.”

martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca