Chislett was raised in a low-income family in Sudbury, and later became a labour leader in that city. He worked in telephone repair for Bell Canada, and was president of the Energy and Paperworkers Union Local 37 in the 1990s and 2000s (decade). He criticized the changes taking place in the telephone industry, noting that call centres were creating lower-wage jobs in the industry. Chislett also wrote pieces that criticized modern economic globalism, and called for urban planning in Sudbury to be based on citizen's needs. At his nomination meeting in 2000, Chislett endorsed the social democratic idea of wealth distribution.