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For almost five decades Syd Thompson (1914-1992) was a formidable force in BC’s labour movement. President of the large Vancouver local of the International Woodworkers of America (IWA) and the Vancouver and District Labour Council, Thompson didn’t often mince words...Historical materials
Donald (“Don”) Peter Garcia (1926-1995) had Indigenous, Filipino and Hawaiian heritage. He served multiple terms as the President of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Canadian Area and Local 502, a career which spanned 45 years. Garcia also served...Video
In this conversation, Colin Gabelmann and Ron Johnson describe the difficult relationship between the BC Federation of Labour and the BC NDP leadership from the 1960s through the 1980s. Gabelmann and Johnson are both retired staffers from the BC Fed,...Article
This timeline condenses the events described by Colin Gabelmann and Ron Johnson in their discussion The Backstory: Labour and Politics 1961-1991. Gabelmann and Johnson are both retired staffers from the BC Fed, and Gabelmann was an MLA and, later, Attorney...Video
Irene Lanzinger grew up in Kelowna, B.C. She studied physics at the University of British Columbia and worked as a meteorologist before becoming a teacher. She taught in Japan, Saudi Arabia, Abbotsford, and Vancouver. Irene’s union activism with B.C. Teachers’...Video
This 24-minute video documents the widespread unemployment and economic hardship experienced in Canada, particularly in British Columbia, during the Great Depression.Historical materials
The fonds documents the activities of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) Pacific Regional Office. It includes 134 photographs dating from 1953 to 1994, as well as Convention Reports. A significant portion of the materials feature the CLC annual Winter School.Historical materials
The Labor Statesman was a significant newspaper dedicated to labor unity and a higher standard of living for workers. Affordable at just five cents per copy or a dollar for a 20-week subscription, the newspaper aimed to reach a broad...Historical materials
The British Columbia Labor News was the official organ of the Vancouver Trades and Labor Council (VTLC) and its affiliated unions in 1921 and 1922. The masthead established itself as being "Devoted to the interests of the international labor movement.”...Historical materials
The BC Trades Unionist was a newspaper published by the Vancouver Trades and Labor Council (VTLC) in 1908 and 1909. It served as an important voice for the organized labor movement in Vancouver during a period of significant activity. Visit...Booklet
This booklet chronicles the significant contributions of Charles Howard Webb (1896-1977) to the labour movement in Prince George and the Interior region of British Columbia. Webb began his career as a sawmill worker.Video
The learning curve was steep for Gary Johnson. As a young man he learned the ropes for leadership in the trade union movement starting at age 18. Before he was 20 years old he was president of Local 454 of...Audio
Dan Radford (1902-1977) was a Nanaimo coal miner who held many union positions, including President of the BC. Federation of Labour, director of the Canadian Congress of Labor, and the Canadian Labour Congress. The interview was conducted in the 1960s...Video
This interview with Leo McGrady, a prominent labour lawyer in British Columbia, covers his extensive career and involvement in the labour movement. He describes his early life and upbringing in an Irish Catholic family, and how social justice issues influenced...Video
Neil Menard was born in Nipawin, in northern Saskatchewan. Neil joined the navy and served as signalman on the HMCS Fraser and the HMCS St. Laurent. When he returned from the navy, Neil worked a few years alternating between hockey...Audio
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...Video
Laird Cronk, a former president of the BC Federation of Labour, begins this interview with a memory from his junior high school days when his father, an electrician and business representative for the IBEW (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers) woke...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...Video
Amber Hockin was born in Brantford, Ontario. She attended elementary school in Kitimat, BC and attended high school in Ontario. Amber left home at 16, and soon after that her interest in travel led her to become a flight attendant....Video
This interview with Joey Hartman covers her extensive history as an activist and labour leader in British Columbia. Joey discusses her upbringing in Vancouver and her early work experiences in early childhood education. A particularly formative experience was the mentorship...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,...Video
David Fairey’s parents were working class immigrants from the U.K. His father was a carpenter and cabinet maker and his mother worked in domestic service, sewing at home, and in furniture and aircraft factories. After he finished high school, David...Video
Sy Pederson was born into a logging family of fallers in Courtenay and followed the family tradition when he turned 21. Falling was a dangerous job and Sy recognized the hazard posed by the piecework system. He organized fallers in...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....Audio
BC’s unionized building trades led a valiant effort in the 1980s to fight off the anti-union Social Credit government. It all came to a head in the run-up to Vancouver’s World’s Fair, Expo 86. The provincial government wanted to open...Video
Jim Sinclair was born and raised in Ontario, where his early work experiences brought him into conflict with employers and demonstrated the need to advocate for workers. He moved to Vancouver and worked there for Co-op Radio and the Union...Video
Colleen Jordan was born and raised in southern Alberta. Through her early jobs she saw several examples where union members made more money than non-union, but where men were included in the unions and women were excluded. She studied at...Video
John Calvert was born in Oshawa, Ontario and grew up in London, Ontario. In his late teens, he obtained a commercial pilot’s license, which meant that he could help pay for his post-secondary education by working as a bush pilot...Video
Patrice Pratt was born in Ohio in 1948 and grew up in Arizona in a staunchly Catholic family with five children. She attended Catholic schools and moved to San Francisco to attend the University of San Francisco, a Catholic Jesuit...Video
In this wide-ranging and interesting interview, Blair Redlin asks Judy Cavanaugh to describe the experience and identify the important outcomes and lessons learned through the many working experiences in her life. This interview was conducted by Blair Redlin on May...Video
Andy Ross was born in Newcastle, England. Growing up he was surrounded by unionized workplaces, from coal mines to industrial enterprises. Emigrating to Canada, he became a bus driver in Vancouver and was a member of the bus drivers’ unions,...Video
Kristina Vandervoort was born in Stockholm, Sweden. She moved to British Columbia with her parents when she was eight and they settled in North Vancouver. After high school, Kristina started her first job at Lions Gate Hospital and that is...Video
Dave Wilson grew up in Winnipeg. He was influenced by his grandfather who was active in the Winnipeg General Strike. This interview was conducted by Phil Legg on April 19, 2023 in Burnaby, BC. It is part of our Oral...Video
The interview begins with George’ s early life, apprenticeship, and reasons for moving from the east to the west coast, moving on to a more general discussion of the Canadian shipbuilding industry and his experience of labour organizing in that...Video
On November 24, 2022, Rod Mickleburgh and the BC Labour Heritage Centre introduced Ray Haynes to the 60th BC Federation of Labour Convention in Vancouver BC. It was an emotional moment that traced Ray Haynes' leadership in the labour movement for...Video
Wayne Peppard grew up in Castlegar, BC, working for a short time at the Cominco smelter in Trail. His introduction to the labour movement was with the United Association of Journeymen & Apprentices of the Plumbing & PipeFitting Industry of...Video
Paul Ramsey was born in the United States in 1944. His father was an engineer and a Democrat, who served as a council member for 16 years in the suburb where Paul grew up. Paul aspired to be an academic...Article
Hilda Harvey Kavanagh died in second wave of 1919 Spanish Flu British Columbia experienced three waves of the “Spanish Flu” epidemic in 1918-19. As many as 1,000 people died in Vancouver alone over 15 months of the influenza. Health officials...Video
Mae Burrows details her early life and influences, and then her work with the Labour Environmental Alliance Society (LEAS) which brought together trade unionists and environmentalists at a time when logging companies were instigating the “war in the woods.” This...Video
Dave Smith worked for Canada Post in Prince Rupert until he retired. He became President of his local of the Letter Carriers Union until it merged with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers in 1989. This interview was conducted by...Article
When the Winnipeg General Strike began on May 15, 1919 unions across Canada soon followed Winnipeg’s lead. In British Columbia, the heroic Vancouver sympathy strike and Victoria’s four-day stoppage are often cited as examples, yet lesser known strikes occurred in...Video
Cliff Andstein is a seasoned activist with over 30 years’ experience in the trade union movement. He moved to BC as a young man, leaving his home province of New Brunswick where he had encountered the dangers of working as...Video
Ken Isomura began working in the forest industry at 17. He credits growing up, living and working in Revelstoke with his later involvement in unions and community organizations because it gave him a sense of community. After relocating to the...Article
With high unemployment and a recession in full swing, the Asiatic Exclusion League (AEL) was formed by the Vancouver Trades and Labor Council in August 1907, with the aim of “keeping Oriental immigrants out of British Columbia”. It is a...Video
Carolyn Askew was a lawyer and the first Legislative Counsel for the BC Federation of Labour, beginning in 1972. She explains she was one of only a few women law school graduates and women had difficulty getting articles with firms....Video
Ken Georgetti’s life as an elected union representative spans over 40 years. Beginning as a proud member of Trail, BC’s United Steelworkers Local 480, Brother Georgetti rose through the ranks to become Local Union President, President of the BC Federation...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
Gary Kroeker spent over 35 years as an activist and executive member of Local 115 of the International Union of Operating Engineers as well a term as President of the BC Building Trades Council. This interview was conducted by Jim...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
Clive Lytle was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1937. He went to University for his Bachelors of Arts degree, and was recommended to apply for a research position at the BC Federation of Labour. This interview was conducted by Ken...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...Video
John Jensen was a Danish-born union and community activist in Northwestern BC He was an active member of the Carpenters’ Union and a delegate to the Kitimat and Terrace District Labour Council for 50 years. This interview was donated to...Video
Art Kube was born in Poland where he attended a socialist kindergarten. He joined the Metalworkers Union in 1949 and became a member of the socialist faction of the Metalworkers Union. This interview was conducted by David Yorke, Ken Novakowski,...Video
This is the first of two interviews with Ray Haynes. Ray Haynes was born in Point Grey, Vancouver, BC in 1928. He was introduced to the labour movement through work at a sawmill; his first experience representing workers was at...
