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BC at Work, Episode 3, was first broadcast on September 18, 1988. It was produced by Michael Morgan and Associates and Shane Lunny Productions for the BC Federation of Labour as a public affairs television program. This episode was filmed...Teaching materialsVideo
"Ghosts" from British Columbia's past visit a new union member to remind them why "labour history matters" in this clever video produced in 2018. Viewers are reminded of the many historical achievements of the labour movement, and why being an...Video
BC at Work, Episode 2, was first broadcast on September 11, 1988. It was produced by Michael Morgan and Associates and Shane Lunny Productions for the BC Federation of Labour as a public affairs television program comprising 13 episodes. Twelve...Video
BC at Work, Episode 8, was first broadcast on October 23, 1988. It was produced by Michael Morgan and Associates and Shane Lunny Productions for the BC Federation of Labour as a public affairs television program comprising 13 episodes. Twelve...Video
In this interview conducted by Sean Griffin, Vi (Violet) Cordoni describes her history of singing for her community. Vi was born in 1938 in Drumheller, Alberta to Hungarian-Canadian parents. She describes her Hungarian family’s experience of immigrating and then having...Teaching materials
The images of talented logging and working life photographer Wilmer Gold provide a powerful record of the lives of Vancouver Island’s loggers and fallers. This film captures the challenges he faced in documenting their lives. How effective is photography in...Teaching materials
Named after the famous song written by IWW singer and activist, Joe Hill, this film is inspired by his words and IWW organizing efforts amongst railway workers in the interior of BC. What values, if any, do you or our...Teaching materials
The life and images of early photographer Mattie Gunterman, both capture the lives as lived by ordinary and pioneering peoples in British Columbia. Her extraordinary life turns on its head the preconceived notions of woman’s work of that time. How...Teaching materials
A snapshot of work in early canneries through images and song. This vignette is in the style of a visual essay with historical photographs providing backdrop to the lyrics of the song. See the rest of our Working People Lesson...Video
Roger Stonebanks grew up in a conservative family in England and attended boarding school. He learned the value of organizing when, as a young boy, he organized a boycott to demand better food at school. The boycott failed, but the...Article
The Postman is a 16-foot tall carved granite bas relief by Vancouver sculptor Paul Huba and installed in 1956. An anti-Nazi deserter from the Hungarian army, Huba came to Canada in 1954. His wife and two sons joined him shortly...Video
Sean grew up in Burnaby where he began his political activism early as a paperboy delivering Pacific Tribune newspapers for Harold Pritchett. Sean’s father was the longtime editor of the Pacific Tribune and Sean’s mother was also politically active. Due...Article
The first edition of The Labor Statesman hit the streets in Vancouver, BC on April 25, 1924. It would publish continuously for 45 years, ceasing publication in 1969. Initially published by the Vancouver, New Westminster and District Trades and Labor...Video
In this far-reaching conversation, Lee Loftus discusses his experiences as a third-generation insulator, and union member and executive with the Heat and Frost Insulators Union Local 118 in British Columbia. This interview was conducted by Ken Novakowski on March 19,...Audio
Hear about the extraordinary 1952 Peace Arch Park concert where Paul Robeson, a Black American artist and activist, sang across the US-Canada border after his passport was revoked. This episode of On the Line revisits the historic event, highlighting Robeson's...Video
John Bowman grew up in the north end of Winnipeg and went to the University of Winnipeg studying labour history and journalism. He became active in progressive issues. John edited the student union newspaper while taking a full course load....Article
On August 26, 1936 the Sheet Metal Workers International Union Local 280, won grand prize in the “Parade of Progress” marking the 75th anniversary of the Canadian Pacific Exhibition and the Golden Jubilee of the City of Vancouver. Their parade...Article
Charles S. Sager called out racism in an open letter to Prince George city council in 1921. "We are forced to bear the full responsibility of our race, forced into the lowest of menial occupations and then despised for doing...Video
In this fascinating and wide-ranging interview with Patricia Wejr, she describes her long career in communications, nursing, reproductive health, and the labour movement. Patricia attended Simon Fraser University for Communications, and while there took a co-op position at Co-Op Radio,...Video
In this 2023 conversation, Colleen Fuller talks about growing up in a politically active family and her life of political and labour activism. She was born in the United States to parents active in the Communist Party and the labour...Audio
Unions have been fighting since the 1970s for strict regulations in the use of asbestos and decent compensation for those ill and dying from its deadly fibres. People are still getting sick from exposure decades ago. In this episode of...Article
Parades – particularly Labour Day parades – were big attractions in the early years of British Columbia. While a venue for unionized workers to assert their place in society these parades excluded large segments of the community. Participants were mainly...Audio
We are reviving Pins and Needles, a wildly successful musical revue with progressive politics and an unlikely origin from the factory floor. The Broadway show was created and performed entirely by members of the garment workers’ union: factory workers, cutters,...Article
Labour’s May Day (sometimes called International Workers’ Day) on May 1 has been held around the world for over 120 years. In many countries May Day is a statutory holiday that celebrates international solidarity and the long history of labour...Article
Much of the colonial history of BC has centered the perspectives of white male settlers who came in search of gold and glory. While gold miners tended to work on their own claims, some of the earliest labour organizing in...Article
In September 1938, the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) brought their theatrical musical hit “Pins and Needles” to Vancouver where it played to glowing reviews. The cast were all ILGWU members from New York garment factories, or as The...Article
On September 2, 1965, 75-year old Abe Mortimer (1889-1969) bellowed “Pl-a-a-y B-a-a-w-w-l” before an audience of more than 2,500 at Capilano Stadium in Vancouver to kick off a two-inning Old-Timers’ baseball game. Abe had broken his leg in three places...Article
In November 1944 and again in 1945 — as the Second World War neared its end — two art exhibitions celebrating labour took place at the Vancouver Art Gallery. The first exhibition included 150 works; in 1945 there were over...Video
At the time of this interview, Audrey Keely was over 100 years of age. She spent her early life with her family in the Cariboo and shares some of those experiences and personal tragedies. This interview was conducted by Patricia...Article
Labour Day parades in Vancouver, BC which began in 1890, featured numerous such examples of floats constructed by unionized workers. This article is reprinted from the May 2019 Vancouver Historical Society newsletter. Bob McDonald, one of BC's leading historians, passed...Video
George Brandak is a key figure in the archival history of labour in British Columbia. This interview was collected by Allen Seager on May 30, 2019 in Burnaby, BC. It is part of our Oral History Collection.Article
On February 1, 1975 members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), at CKLG-AM Radio (known as “LG73”) in Vancouver went on strike for a first contract. The disc jockeys and news staff walked out, locked the doors and...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
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...Video
Kate Braid is a carpenter and a poet, writing about her experiences as a female working in the male-dominated construction trades. She was born in Calgary, AB and was elected to the executive of the BC Regional Council of Carpenters....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...
