Booklet
The "Langley Affair" of 1939-1940 details a significant struggle by Langley teachers, primarily women, to enforce an arbitrated salary award against their school board. This event is a key part of the history of BC teachers' quest for full bargaining...Video
Born in 1932 in a small Saskatchewan town, Sheila Pither came to Vancouver with her mother after the death of her father. Sheila’s husband was a millwright in Vancouver, and she became active in the International Woodworkers of America (IWA)...Booklet
This booklet explains the reasons for New Westminster teachers' strike in 1921, its impact on students, parents and schools, the outcome and its relevance to the history of bargaining rights for teachers province-wide.Video
In 1981, teachers in Terrace, British Columbia, went on a six-day strike, at a time when the right to strike had not yet been achieved. Local teacher associations primarily negotiated wages, with unresolved issues going to binding arbitration; working conditions...Audio
In 1921, 88 public school teachers (most of them young women) initiated a five-day strike to demand recognition of their union and the right to arbitration in salary negotiations. Their unprecedented action was only the second recorded teachers’ strike in...Video
Lloyd Edwards came to BC from Trinidad in 1953 and got his first teaching job in 1957 on Texada Island. He taught in several BC communities before settling in Surrey. As President of the Surrey Teachers’ Association in 1974, he...Video
Irene Lanzinger grew up in Kelowna, B.C. She studied physics at the University of British Columbia and worked as a meteorologist before becoming a teacher. She taught in Japan, Saudi Arabia, Abbotsford, and Vancouver. Irene’s union activism with B.C. Teachers’...Booklet
In 1981, Terrace public school teachers participated in a six-day strike that significantly contributed to the BC teachers' struggle for full collective bargaining rights, which were not officially achieved until 1987. The strike, considered "illegal" at the time, was prompted...Booklet
The document, "Canada's First Teachers' Strike: Victoria 1919," by Tony F. Arruda, details the historic two-day teachers' strike in Victoria, British Columbia, in February 1919. On Monday, February 10, 1919, 169 teachers from the Victoria and District Teachers' Association (VDTA)...Video
This 8-minute video tells the story of the one-day strike by Surrey teachers in 1974 that had a profound effect on public education across the province. With less than 24-hours notice, over 1,000 teachers left their classrooms, travelled to the...Video
Sharon Yandle was born in 1941 in Vancouver, BC Raised in the East Side of Vancouver, Sharon spent the majority of her career as a freelance negotiator for various unions across the province, specializing in arbitration and “duty to accommodate”....Video
John Rogers was raised in Kamloops, BC. His father was the local welfare officer and John remembers some of the cases his dad was involved in. He also recalls the First Nations community on the other side of the river....Historical materials
The Labour History Association was formed within the BC Teachers' Federation (BCTF) in 1976. It produced this series of newsletters which remain a valuable source of labour history in British Columbia.They focus on promoting and integrating labour history into the...Video
Colleen Jordan was born and raised in southern Alberta. Through her early jobs she saw several examples where union members made more money than non-union, but where men were included in the unions and women were excluded. She studied at...Article
Explore some of the women in BC’s labour history who created milestones for the movement.Video
Using archival images and personal stories, this 26-minute video was created in 2011 by BC Overtime Productions. The film discusses the historical struggles and ongoing importance of unions in BC. It highlights the deplorable working conditions workers faced before unions,...Plaque
This bronze plaque is located at the New Westminster Secondary School Library at 835 8th St. New Westminster, BC. It was developed with the support of the BC Teachers’ Federation, the BOAG Foundation, and the BC Retired Teachers’ Association. The...Plaque
This bronze plaque is located at the Surrey Teachers’ Association office, 9030 King George Blvd, Surrey BC. It was developed with the support of the Surrey Teachers’ Association. The plaque was cast at Ornamental Bronze, a unionized foundry in Richmond...Video
George Hewison grew up in Campbell River where he learned his unionism and politics at “the kitchen table” during the Cold War years. He was an organizer and executive member of the United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union (UFAWU) for...Plaque
This bronze plaque is located at the Terrace Sportsplex, 3320 Kalum St, Terrace, BC. It was developed with the support of the Terrace District Teachers’ Union. The plaque was cast at Ornamental Bronze, a unionized foundry in Richmond which has...Teaching materials
In 1939, Connie Jervis, 24 year old President of the Langley Teachers’ Association, led a successful fight for improved system of wages and compulsory arbitration. See the rest of our Working People Lesson Plans here.Video
Mike Dumler’s union career in the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) included many elected and staff positions. After coming to Canada from the United States as a Vietnam War veteran, Brother Dumler joined CUPE in Nanaimo. He became President...Plaque
This bronze plaque is located at South Park School in Victoria, BC. It was developed with the support of the BC Teachers’ Federation, the BOAG Foundation, and the BC Retired Teachers’ Association. The plaque was cast at Ornamental Bronze, a...Video
Vince Ready is a legendary labour relations practitioner who has arbitrated and mediated several thousand disputes across Canada in all types of industries. Vince was born in Renfrew Ontario and lived on a farm with his parents and siblings until...Video
Sandra Banister was born and raised in Vancouver; her mother was a stay-at-home mum and her father was an IBEW lineman. Sandra got an undergraduate degree in political science and then a law degree at UBC, articling with John Laxton...Video
Darryl Walker, of the BC Government and Service Employees Union (BCGEU), served as Provincial Vice President (1999 to 2008) and President (2008 to 2014). This interview was conducted by Ken Novakowski On January 21, 2020 in Burnaby, BC. It is...Video
Peter Burton was born in Pembroke, Ontario, and worked for the Georgia Straight in Vancouver before going into the resource industry in northern BC. Peter was President of the Canadian Association of Smelter and Allied Workers (CASAW) in 1976, when...Video
This interview with Leo McGrady, a prominent labour lawyer in British Columbia, covers his extensive career and involvement in the labour movement. He describes his early life and upbringing in an Irish Catholic family, and how social justice issues influenced...Video
Geoff grew up in Toronto and Ottawa and had a comfortable middle class upbringing. He became interested in left wing politics when he attended the University of Toronto, where he worked on the university paper and at the student radio...Video
Dave Smith worked for Canada Post in Prince Rupert until he retired. He became President of his local of the Letter Carriers Union until it merged with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers in 1989. This interview was conducted by...Teaching materials
These teaching materials are designed for Social Studies 10 and Social Justice 12, addressing the essential question of challenges women face in unionizing compared to men and how these circumstances have evolved. View Steam Laundries Strike Teaching Materials (PDF)Video
Ken Georgetti’s life as an elected union representative spans over 40 years. Beginning as a proud member of Trail, BC’s United Steelworkers Local 480, Brother Georgetti rose through the ranks to become Local Union President, President of the BC Federation...Video
Mae Burrows details her early life and influences, and then her work with the Labour Environmental Alliance Society (LEAS) which brought together trade unionists and environmentalists at a time when logging companies were instigating the “war in the woods.” This...Video
The learning curve was steep for Gary Johnson. As a young man he learned the ropes for leadership in the trade union movement starting at age 18. Before he was 20 years old he was president of Local 454 of...Video
Jim Sinclair was born and raised in Ontario, where his early work experiences brought him into conflict with employers and demonstrated the need to advocate for workers. He moved to Vancouver and worked there for Co-op Radio and the Union...Video
John Calvert was born in Oshawa, Ontario and grew up in London, Ontario. In his late teens, he obtained a commercial pilot’s license, which meant that he could help pay for his post-secondary education by working as a bush pilot...Video
An East Van boy, Ken Bauder initially worked in construction before ending up in longshoring. He was Secretary Treasurer of International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Canada from 2004-2010. He was instrumental in a project called (Re)claiming the New Westminster...Video
Peter Cameron was chief shop steward at the Phillips Cables plant in Vancouver, the first plant certified with the Canadian Electrical Workers, which merged with CAIMAW (Canadian Association of Industrial Mechanical and Electrical Workers) in 1969. He served on the...Video
Henry van der Wiel first came to Prince Rupert in 1963 to work on a fish boat, and relocated permanently in 1966. He eventually bought his own gillnetter. When he became a member of the United Fishermen and Allied Workers...Video
Clive Lytle was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1937. He went to University for his Bachelors of Arts degree, and was recommended to apply for a research position at the BC Federation of Labour. This interview was conducted by Ken...Video
Chris Allnutt’s deep desire to fight for people who can’t fight for themselves and make the world a better place led him to work in the labour movement. This interview was conducted by Rod Mickleburgh on May 7, 2024 in...Video
John Radosevic was born in Croatia (former Yugoslavia) before moving to Canada as a young boy. As a teenager he worked on an uncle’s ranch in Alberta and in the dangerous job of tie-up man in seine fishing in BC...Video
Colin Gabelmann came to Canada as a child in 1947 from London, England. He was influenced by his family’s ties to social democratic parties in Europe which continued in Canada where they were strong supporters of the CCF (Cooperative Commonwealth...Video
Judy Darcy started out as an enthusiastic public speaker and leader in her kindergarten days in Sarnia, Ontario, and has never looked back. Judy was very active in the student movement and in the women’s movement, including being on the...Video
Cliff Andstein is a seasoned activist with over 30 years’ experience in the trade union movement. He moved to BC as a young man, leaving his home province of New Brunswick where he had encountered the dangers of working as...Video
Andy Ross was born in Newcastle, England. Growing up he was surrounded by unionized workplaces, from coal mines to industrial enterprises. Emigrating to Canada, he became a bus driver in Vancouver and was a member of the bus drivers’ unions,...Video
Jef Keighley was born in Vancouver, BC in 1950. He spent time working in Jamaica through the Canadian University Service Overseas. He worked in the automotive and construction industries before becoming involved in the Canadian Association of Industrial, Mechanical and...Video
John Shields was born and raised in New York City by Irish Catholic parents who were both union members. He pursued a life in the Catholic church clergy, but left after disagreement with the direction of the church. He moved...Video
This interview covers the intense period in 1983 when Operation Solidarity and the Solidarity Coalition brought the province to the brink of a general strike. This interview was conducted by Jum Sinclair and Darryl Walker on September 5, 2018, in...Video
This is the first of two interviews with Ray Haynes. Ray Haynes was born in Point Grey, Vancouver, BC in 1928. He was introduced to the labour movement through work at a sawmill; his first experience representing workers was at...Audio
H.R. (Harry) Neelands (1881-1974) was born in Ontario and came to BC as a child. He apprenticed as a printer in Victoria and moved to Vancouver in 1905 to work at the Daily Province. He was Secretary of the International...Video
In this compelling oral history, former BCGEU Director Gary Steeves recalls his formative years, the occupation of Tranquille residential institution in Kamloops, and 25 years of his union’s remarkable evolution. This interview was conducted by Ken Novakowski on October 4,...Video
Fred Wilson recounts his life and work in the labour movement, including his early involvement with the Young Communist League, his time as a labour reporter at the Pacific Tribune, his role in the Operation Solidarity movement, and his work...Video
George Heyman was born in Vancouver to parents who were survivors of the Holocaust. They were assisted by the Japanese Consul in Lithuania, Chiune Sugihara, to escape Poland. George attended high school in Vancouver, working the night shift at Safeway,...Video
Bob Waghorn grew up in North Vancouver. In this interview, he shares memories of accompanying his Teamster father, the last milkman in Vancouver to deliver milk by horse. He trained as a mechanic and his early jobs were as a...Video
Dave Pritchett served on the ILWU 500 executive for about 25 years. He is the grandson of IWA founder, Harold Pritchett and son of Craig Pritchett, the first president of the Canadian region of the ILWU. This interview was conducted...Video
Bill Smith was born in Jackson, Mississippi, and grew up in Dallas, Texas. He moved to British Columbia in 1970 and subsequently spent more than 40 years working as a commercial fisherman in Prince Rupert and the North Coast. In...Video
Lorna Waghorn-Kidd was born in Prince Rupert but grew up in various towns throughout northern British Columbia. She moved to Prince George in 1976 where she got a job as a typist at an employment insurance office, then with the...Video
Terry was born and raised in Prince George, British Columbia. As a young man, he was in the Air Force for a couple of years and worked in various mills. He became a provincial government employee when he started working...Video
Ken Isomura began working in the forest industry at 17. He credits growing up, living and working in Revelstoke with his later involvement in unions and community organizations because it gave him a sense of community. After relocating to the...Video
Patrice Pratt was born in Ohio in 1948 and grew up in Arizona in a staunchly Catholic family with five children. She attended Catholic schools and moved to San Francisco to attend the University of San Francisco, a Catholic Jesuit...
