The first Dominion Postal Clerks Association was formed in Vancouver in 1911. During the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike, the Association was on the front lines with the letter carriers resulting in 700 postal workers losing their jobs. The Canadian Postal Employees Association (CPEA) was formed in 1931, and in 1944 Read more…
Researched and written by Natasha Fairweather Diving in to 100 Years of Garment Work The early 1900s was a time of rapid industrialization in Canada and around the world. Clothing production became mechanized, and garment workers – largely women, often immigrants from Europe – were subjected to inhumane conditions in Read more…
The Labor Statesman1, owned by the Vancouver, New Westminster and District Trades and Labor Council (VTLC), cost five cents to purchase, or 20-week subscriptions could be had for one dollar. In the first issue April 25, 1924—a hefty 12 pages—the newspaper explained that the executive of the VTLC had been Read more…
Frances ‘Frank’ Foxcroft She stood firm and blocked the way by Donna Sacuta Frances ‘Frank’1 Foxcroft likely saved the life of Vancouver Trades and Labour Council Secretary Victor Midgely on the afternoon of August 2, 1918. A rampaging mob of angry ex-soldiers descended on the Labour Temple on Dunsmuir Street Read more…
“The Most Exciting Thing We Could Have Done” Union flag fashioned from a bed sheet became a symbol of solidarity and determination during the 1983 Tranquille Institution occupation. On July 19, 1983 an inspirational episode in BC labour history began. BCGEU members at the Tranquille Institution in Kamloops learned the Read more…