Bjarnason was a soldier during World War II, commanding a Canadian tank regiment through dangerous conditions in Europe.
He subsequently became a prominent figure in the Canadian labour movement, serving as provincial organizer for the United Textile Workers in Ontario in the late 1940s.
He received media attention in 1979 for challenging Canadian General Electric Co. Ltd. over that company's attempt to gain access to the social insurance numbers of employees.
[4] He was also involved with international issues, and called for union boycotts of Chilean goods during Augusto Pinochet's rule.
[6] In 1996, he took part in a protest against the policies of the Mike Harris government as a member of the Ontario Provincial Federation of Union Retirees.