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In the 1940s, British Columbia's sawmills and logging camps were marked by racial division and discriminatory policies targeting workers of Chinese, Japanese, and South Asian descent, often supported by the labour movement at the time. The International Woodworkers of America...Plaque
This bronze plaque is located inside the Armstrong Spallumcheen Museum, 3415 Pleasant Valley Rd., Armstrong, BC. It was developed with the support of the City of Armstrong. The plaque was cast at Ornamental Bronze, a unionized foundry in Richmond which...Plaque
This bronze plaque is located in Burnaby BC, along the Central Valley Greenway near where the incident occurred. It was developed with the support of the City of Burnaby. The plaque was cast at Ornamental Bronze, a unionized foundry in...Plaque
This bronze plaque is located outside the Kaatza Station Museum at 125 Southshore Rd, Lake Cowichan, BC. It was developed with the support of the Hari Sharma Foundation and the Kaatza Historical Society. The plaque was cast at Ornamental Bronze,...Booklet
A work train carrying Japanese labourers derailed near Burnaby Lake, BC, on November 28, 1909 resulting in a devastating loss of life. The unheated boxcar, carrying 43 passengers, plunged into a ravine after the ground beneath the tracks washed away...Booklet
This booklet delves into the 1931 Barnet Millworkers' Strike, offering a detailed account of the labour dispute that unfolded at the Barnet Lumber Company in Burnaby, BC. It examines the working conditions and wage reductions that led 360 workers to...Booklet
Darshan Singh Canadian was an organizer for the International Woodworkers of America (IWA) in BC from 1941-1947 working to overcome fear and misconceptions about unions among South Asian workers.Teaching materials
This comprehensive educational resource explores the origins and evolution of the labour movement in British Columbia during the 19th and early 20th centuries. The lesson examines the working conditions, struggles, and achievements of workers during this period, highlighting key events...Teaching materials
Through the story of Won Alexander Cumyow, this film explores the history and early experiences of Chinese Canadians in British Columbia and examines how Won Alexander Cumyow’s struggle to win the right to vote was connected to a wider struggle...Teaching materials
An important and often unknown story of the town of Paldi, located on Vancouver Island, and the history of Indo-Canadian workers in BC’s forest industry. See the rest of our Working People Lesson Plans here.Teaching materials
A series of strikes rocked the fishing industry in Steveston, BC in the early 1900s. This story examines the context and the efforts made to unite fishers across racial lines. What were the qualities of the leaders of the Fisher...Teaching materials
This film examines the working lives of “Canada’s Forgotten Workers,” the farmworkers whose labour fell outside much of the protective labour legislation. Provides an overview of their living and working conditions in the 1970s and invites students to compare with...Teaching materials
The subject of this film is Tatsuro “Buck” Suzuki, a fisher and early environmentalist on the Fraser River in British Columbia who also played a key role in the return of interned Japanese Canadians to the coast after the Second...Teaching materials
This vignette provides insight into the role that steamship transportation played in the lives of workers in the early years of transportation. Not only was the steamship important to resource workers to get to the job, but for many isolated...Audio
This recording contains a 1964 interview with Hachiro Miyazawa and his son Joe Miyazawa about the Camp and Mill Workers Union which Hachiro helped to organize in the 1920s to represent Japanese lumber mill workers in British Columbia. The interview...Audio
Take a deep dive into the historical and contemporary roles of women in BC's fishing industry. Today, the industry has largely disappeared due to economic shifts, free trade, and declining salmon stocks. In this episode of On the Line, we...Video
Gayle Nye was born and raised in Victoria, BC, as were her parents and grandparents. The earlier generations worked in the fishing industry, but a family tragedy inspired Gayle’s father to leave fishing and join the public service. Gayle’s started...Article
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 assembly-line factories. The 1911 fire at...Audio
From union organizing in Steveston to postwar civil rights and environmental advocacy, “Buck” Suzuki’’s contributions spanned decades and sectors. A foundation in his name continues his legacy today. In this episode of On the Line, we celebrate the life of...Audio
Darshan Singh Sangha made a huge contribution to the early organizing efforts of the International Woodworkers of America (IWA) and campaigned relentlessly for justice for South Asians in the 1940s. In this episode of our On the Line podcast we...Article
While the history of South Asians at Golden, BC is reasonably well known, little or nothing has been written about their early presence in the West Kootenay. They were employed in sawmills at various places around that time, including Nakusp,...Audio
The Canadian Farmworkers’ Union (CFU) was a grassroots champion for BC's Fraser Valley farmworkers, who toiled in dreadful, unregulated conditions in the 1970s and ‘80s. The story of this union is about a social movement as much as an organizing...Audio
We are exploring the history of Chinese-Canadian market gardeners in Armstrong, BC, a community once known as “The Celery Capital of Canada.” Moving beyond traditional union stories, this episode of our On the Line podcast highlights the vital contributions of...Article
On August 30, 2021 the provincial government of BC under the New Democratic Party (BC NDP) announced that dietary and housekeeping workers in the healthcare industry would be brought back into the public domain after 20 years of privatization and...Audio
The International Woodworkers of America (IWA) defied deep-seated racism in BC’s forest industry by hiring Asian organizers. Their efforts helped integrate thousands of workers into the union.This episode of our On the Line podcast highlights the pioneering efforts of Roy...Audio
In the dark years of the Great Depression, workers at the Fraser Mills lumber plant in what is now Coquitlam put aside their differences and fought for fair wages and dignity. In this episode of the On the Line podcast,...Article
With the end of the Great Depression, labour’s long hostility towards Asian workers slowly began to change. The International Woodworkers of America led the way by hiring three non-Caucasian organizers to break down the barriers of race and unite workers...Article
The thousands of Chinese immigrants who endured so much helping to unite Canada by rail left little record of their ordeal. But we do have one personal account written by former railway worker Wong Hau-Hon in 1926. Following are some...
