Jack Harrington Interview: Miner, socialist
John David (Jack) Harrington (1879 – 1970), recounts his long history with the labour and socialist movements in North America, starting with his arrival in Canada around 1904.
The interview was conducted in the 1960s by the BC Federation of Labour in anticipation of the publication of No Power Greater: A Century of Labour in BC (1967). Interviewers were author Paul Phillips and UBC student Bill Piket. The original tapes were digitized by the BC Labour Heritage Centre in 2024.
Harrington served as a delegate for the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) conventions in Indianapolis and Lethbridge. He details the Canadian miners’ resistance to the Lemieux Act (c. 1906-1907), which forbade strikes. Miners circumvented the law by calling their actions “fishing expeditions” until the Act was thrown out due to a lack of enforcement machinery.
He ran several times for the Socialist Party of Canada in BC’s Kootenay region and offers insight into the party’s activities in BC. Included are detailed accounts of the working conditions, wages, and organizing efforts of miners in the region
Harrington mentions the emergence of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), particularly their success in organizing BC loggers, which led to a victorious “burn your blankets” campaign for better living conditions (c. 1907-1908).