Al devoted his life to improving the lives of working people in Manitoba through his activism and commitment to human rights and social justice. A former Regional Vice President of the Canadian Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen and General Workers, his efforts to improve working conditions began in 1950, when as an employee of the Canadian National Railway, he worked to achieve a five-day, 40-hour work week and to ensure that placement, wages and bargaining rights were free of discrimination.

After retirement, he went on to serve as the President of the Manitoba Federation of Union Retirees. In 1994 he became the first labour scholar-in-residence in the labour studies program at the University of Manitoba and was integral to the development of the high school SAFE Workers of Tomorrow program, which teaches young and other vulnerable workers about the importance of workplace health and safety.