Union Newspapers

Union newspapers are a rich source of research about B.C.’s labour movement, with opinions and stories not found in mainstream press. Increasingly, these historic papers are being digitized to provide free access anywhere. Browse here.

BC Labour Heritage Centre Archives

These collections are held by the BC Labour Heritage Centre and are available for consultation at our offices by appointment. Click on the link to download finding aids for each collection.

Alice West Fonds: Alice (Pack) West was a BC union pioneer who died on September 17, 2021 at the age of 95. She devoted much of her working life to paving a better path for working women, mostly as a formidable force within the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC).

Allen Seager Fonds: Allen Seager is a retired professor at Simon Fraser University. His research interests include Canada; Western Canada; Labour History, specializing in the history of the coal industry; Coal Mining Communities in Western Canada; Canadian Railway History, Canadian Labour and Working-Class History

Andy Neufeld Fonds: Andy Neufeld has authored books on the history of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union and the International Woodworkers of America.

Art Gruntman Fonds: Art Gruntman [Grundmann] rode the rails from Alberta to Vancouver in the 1940’s and worked in B.C.’s pulp and paper industry. He was a millworker and union activist in Ocean Falls and Powell River before rising though the union ranks to the position of vice-president of the Canadian Paperworkers Union. In addition, be served as an elected member and vice-president of the B.C. Federation of Labour.

BCLHC Collected Material Fonds: The collection includes items acquired over time by the B.C. Labour Heritage Centre from donors or unknown sources. It includes publications, strike placards, posters and other materials.

Bill Shukalak Fonds: Bill Shukalak was a union member who worked in many different construction camps in B.C. and Alberta in the 1950s. This collection includes 166 black and white photos of work sites, camp activities, leisure activities and family life.

Christine Micklewright Fonds: Christine Micklewright was an officer of the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) Union who was involved in a 1992 whistleblowing complaint against Japan Airlines regarding the practice of racial profiling of passengers.

CLC Pacific Region Fonds: Canada’s central labour body is the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). This collection contains items from the CLC’s Pacific Regional Office.
The collection was donated when the office was moving to a new location. It includes 134 photographs dating from 1953 to 1994 as well as Convention Reports. The CLC annual Winter School is featured in many of the items.

Daniel McLeod Fonds: The fonds consists of research collected by Daniel McLeod when he was a student at Simon Fraser University. His research focussed on the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the organization Teamsters for a Democratic Union. A sub-series includes items related to strike at the university in 1976.

Hanne Jensen Fonds: Hanne Jensen was director of the BC Human Rights Branch whose position was eliminated as a result of the 1983 provincial budget and accompanying legislation.  She became a public figure during the Solidarity movement in British Columbia before moving to Ontario to work for the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

Journeymen Barbers’ International Union Locals 120 and 372: The Journeymen Barbers’ International Union Local 120 was established in 1903 in Vancouver. They later became absorbed by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1518. The collection consists mainly of bound minute books of Vancouver Local 120. A photocopy of the original charter is included. There are two union seals – one for Local 120 and one for Local 372 (Victoria) which merged with Local 120 about 1980.

Painters Local 138 Fonds: The materials cover a long period (1931-1974) of the history of the Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators & Paperhangers of America, Local 138 and related bodies. Included are meeting minutes, correspondence, newsletters, circulars and briefs.

Patsy George Fonds: Patsy George was a Social Worker employed by the Province of British Columbia who was fired as an outcome of the 1983 provincial budget and accompanying legislation. She was hired as a staff member of the Solidarity Coalition and attended meetings, rallies and events and organized on behalf of the Coalition.

Ray Gardiner Fonds: Ray Gardiner spent most of his life in Prince Rupert, B.C. He arrived during the Second World War to work at the shipyards. The records cover a broad range of items collected during a lifetime of activism in unions, in particular the United Fish and Allied Workers’ Union, the CCF and the NDP.

Ray Whitehead Fonds: George Raymond (Ray) Whitehead began his union career with the BC Ferry and Marine Workers Union and the BC Government Employees’ Union. He was best known for his time with the Canadian Union of Public Employees.

Ron Johnson Fonds: Ron Johnson held several positions with labour organizations, including the B.C. Federation of Labour and the Provincial Council of Carpenters. He worked as a research and communications specialist. This collection includes reports and brochures he created during his union career. Also included are items collected in the course of his activism.

Stuart Hodgson Fonds: Stuart was born on April 1st, 1924 in Vancouver BC, completing Grade 11 while working in plywood mills to support his family during the depression. After the second World War he returned to BC to work in the plywood mills of MacMillan Bloedel and soon became involved in the rough and tumble world of labour politics where he rose to the position of Financial Secretary at Local 1-217, the IWA’s largest local in one of the Canada’s largest and most militant unions. Later in life he became Commissioner of the Northwest Territories. Afterwards he held positions with the BC Ferry Corporation and BC Transit.

Art Kube Fonds: Born in Poland on January 9, 1935, Art Kube came to Canada as a 19-year old and worked in several trades around the country. He became active in the labour movement in the 1960s. He worked for the Canadian Labour Congress, and advanced to the position of President, BC Federation of Labour. He held that position from 1983 to 1986, which was a tumultuous period in BC’s labour history under the Social Credit provincial government. Operation Solidarity and the Solidarity Coalition were the centre of Art’s work during that period. He returned to work for the Canadian Labour Congress where he worked on projects related to literacy, industrial strategy, labour adjustment and employment creation. After retirement, Art Kube was deeply involved with the Council of Senior Citizens Organization of BC (COSCO), as well as the National Pensioners and Senior Citizens Federation. His lifetime commitments were recognized in 2015 when he received the Order of Canada.

Jim Young BC Labour Heritage Centre Pin Collection: The collection began with a sizable donation received in 2005 from Jim Young. Young was a well known sports writer, Burnaby city councillor, and for 23 years a union activist in The Newspaper Guild, serving many terms as Local President. Young’s collection was augmented by donations from Len Ruel, Ken Bauder, Al Cornes, Ken Novakowski, Joey Hartman, Gary Wong, David Yorke and continues to receive additions. Part of the collection was removed and placed on permanent display at the BC Labour Heritage Centre.

Unions who are curious about preserving their records will find this handbook useful. It outlines the “What, When and How” of saving your history. Download a copy.