Ginger Goodwin & 1918 strike

Charismatic union activist, socialist and organizer Albert “Ginger” Goodwin was fatally shot on July 27, 1918, by special constable Dan Campbell in the woods overlooking the working-class bastion of Cumberland. Goodwin, a vice-president of the BC Federation of Labor, had...

Pam Smith, a professional genealogist from Yorkshire, England, had no idea she was related to a celebrated activist in Canada until author Roger Stonebanks came knocking. She knew that her great-grandfather George had a brother who went abroad, but the...

The material begins by establishing the fundamental question of why unions are needed, using interviews with contemporary individuals and historical oral accounts to introduce the idea of collective action. It then delves into the harsh realities faced by early workers...

Ginger Goodwin's murder is a cornerstone of BC's labour history, resonating for over a century. Goodwin is remembered as BC’s first labour martyr, a leader who took a principled stand against a war he didn't believe in, advocating instead for...

This unit was developed for BC’s Social Justice 12 course by the Labour History Project, a partnership between the Labour Heritage Centre and the BC Teachers’ Federation with additional support from the BC Federation of Labour and the SFU Labour...

Originally started in 1907 by the Vancouver Trades and Labor Council as the Western Wage Earner, the British Columbia Federationist was a weekly labor newspaper published in Vancouver, BC. Visit the British Columbia Federationist digital archive (external link).

Joe Naylor (1872-1946) was an often-overlooked but profoundly influential figure in British Columbia's labour history, remembered as a radical union leader and a committed socialist.

This film looks at an important figure in BC labour history whose life and death continue to cause debate today. Ginger Goodwin’s early activism started in the coal mines of Vancouver Island and continued with the smelter workers of Trail...

This is a joint interview with Charles McGregor Stewart (1891-1968) and Peter Campbell Munro (1887-1971), who were active in the Street Railwaymen’s Union in Vancouver, British Columbia in the early decades of the 20th century. They discuss the impact of...

Elroy Robson (1897-1986) was a labour organizer for the Canadian Brotherhood of Railway, Transport and General Workers (CBRT) who held senior offices in other central labour bodies becoming the first President of the Ontario Federation of Labour in 1944. He...

Frances Foxcroft probably saved the life of Vancouver Trades and Labor Council Secretary Victor Midgely on the afternoon of August 2, 1918. Despite her heroism, Foxcroft has received little historical attention. A rampaging mob of angry ex-soldiers had descended on...

In the early 20th C, the large, exploited workforce of the smelter at Trail was ripe for organizing. Those efforts were contentious and the politics formidable. Company unions versus legitimate unions, communist union leaders versus anti-communist union leaders, International unions...

At 12 o’clock sharp on August 2, 1918, Vancouver transit operators stopped their streetcars in mid-route, drove them to the barns and walked home. The city’s normally bustling waterfront fell silent, as 2,000 burly stevedores and shipyard workers streamed from...