Congratulations to Melanie Budisusilo for winning the Fall 2023 Gary Campbell May Day Memorial Award

Melanie Budisusilo (she/her/they/them) is completing her last year at Simon Fraser University as a labour studies major, hoping to use the knowledge she gains to advocate for workers’ rights through collective action. Alongside her studies, she is also doing organizing work as a member of the Vancouver Tenants Union’s (VTU) Eastside chapter as well as taking the role of co-chair in the VTU’s steering committee. In her free time, Melanie enjoys finding new places to eat, playing board games with her friends, and supporting the local music scene.

"I am incredibly honoured to have received the Gary Campbell May Day Memorial Award. I would like to thank Dr. Yi Chien Jade Ho who supported me in my education and organizing as well as in pursuing this award. During my time in the labour studies program, I have learned so much about the importance of labour rights and workers organizing as a collective and I am excited to use this knowledge in my advocacy work. In light of the current housing crisis, I would also like to use this opportunity to call on the SFU community to organize not just as workers but as tenants. Talk to your neighbors and start a building meeting, the struggle of tenants is the struggle of workers," says Melanie.