Date of birth: ?
Place of birth: Guarda, Portugal
Arrival in Canada: ?
Affiliations: Laborers’ International Union of North America Local 183
Anónio Lucas was born in Guarda, Portugal. He immigrated to Canada with his parents at age 15. Like any other Portuguese immigrant children, he began working for wages shortly after settling in Toronto so to help his family reach some financial security. After working for two years picking mushrooms, he found a job as a labourer in road building. At age 19 he became a member of the Laborers’ International Union of North America Local 183, then led by John Stefanini. Lucas got married the following year and thought about changing his life, so enrolled in night school with the goal of learning English and eventually joining the police force. Because of his education and working experience, the company he worked for promoted him to foreman position, which he was for the next twelve years. In 1976, he was hired as a dispatcher with Local 183, where he worked for half a year until a position opened for a business representative in road building. Lucas was the first Portuguese immigrant to join Local 183 staff. [1]
References
[1] “Local 183 Tenta Interessar os Sócios Portugueses.” Comunidade newspaper, January 31, 1979: 1, 6-7.