Laid-off Sears Canada employees share memories — and what they’d like to say to top executives

Photographer Leah Good took pictures of her colleagues after the Sears workers learned they were losing their jobs. The shoot left her ‘overwhelmed with the bravery of these people.’

Clockwise from top left: Andrew Dent, Danielle Gobbo, Tim Riego, Claire Hendry, Steve Smith, Mioara Mary Cojocaru, Michael Caponcini, Brittney Tyll. All are fromer employees of Sears Canada.
Clockwise from top left: Andrew Dent, Danielle Gobbo, Tim Riego, Claire Hendry, Steve Smith, Mioara Mary Cojocaru, Michael Caponcini, Brittney Tyll. All are fromer employees of Sears Canada.  (Leah Good photos)  
  Photographer Leah Good was working in the Sears e-comm photo studio and once it became clear that the company would not be saved, she offered to take head shots of colleagues to use in their LinkedIn profiles.
Photographer Leah Good was working in the Sears e-comm photo studio and once it became clear that the company would not be saved, she offered to take head shots of colleagues to use in their LinkedIn profiles.  (Vince Talotta / Toronto Star) | Order this photo  

When photographer Leah Good and her co-workers at Sears head office found out last October that they would all lose their jobs, she did a really good thing.

She and two other photographers figured employees — some of whom had spent their lives working for the retail giant — could really use an updated picture for their resumés. So they invited each one into the studio and started snapping.

“A lot of them hadn’t had their photo taken professionally since their wedding,” said Good, who worked as a digital tech for six months last year when the company was in complete turmoil.

She shot six employees an hour over a couple of days, “like a school photo day.”

But through conversations with her Sears subjects, she wound up capturing more than an image in the process.

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“It was wonderful to hear their stories and how much they were going to miss it there,” Good said.

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“It was obvious the people there were very dedicated to the company. They worked their asses off right up to the end, so (the company’s demise) should in no way be a reflection of them. I was overwhelmed with the bravery of these people,” she said.

Of course, some of them were angry and wanted to vent, but by the end, most of them smiled for the camera.

The last remaining Sears retail locations close for good on Sunday.