Audio
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...Video
This nine-minute video is a tribute to the life and legacy of Jack Munro (1931-2013), a powerful and iconic figure in the British Columbia labour movement.Video
Sucha Singh Deepak was born in 1948 in Punjab, India and immigrated to Canada in 1970, where he worked in lumber mills in Quesnel, B.C. and Fort St. James, B.C. This interview was conducted by Dr. George Davison on Dec...Video
Verna Ledger got her first job in 1953 at a plywood mill in New Westminster, BC. She found the working conditions challenging due to the noise, dust, and strong chemical smells from resins that caused breathing difficulties.Video
Clay Perry (1934-2015) was passionate about preserving and promoting BC labour history. In 1988 he recorded humourous segments for a television program produced by the BC Federation of Labour titled "BC at Work" that presented issues from the perspective of...Video
Jack Munro (1931-2013), a prominent BC union figure, shares his life's journey and career, highlighting his dedicated work in championing workers' rights and enhancing workplace safety within the forest industry.Teaching materials
This teaching resource serves as a curriculum application for Social Studies 9, aiming to illuminate the crucial role Indigenous workers played in British Columbia's early economy.Video
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...Video
In this seven-minute video, retired logger Al Lundgren shares his experiences and contributions to health and safety in the logging industry. Al began his career in the woods in 1962, where he notes the initial lack of formal safety training.Plaque
This bronze plaque is located at Barnet Marine Park, 8181 Barnet Rd, Burnaby, BC. It was developed with the support of the City of Burnaby Community Heritage Commission. The plaque was cast at Ornamental Bronze, a unionized foundry in Richmond...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,...Historical materials
The Stuart Hodgson fonds is a collection of historical records held by the BC Labour Heritage Centre consisting of union newspapers and labour pamphlets dating from 1948 to 1952.Plaque
This bronze plaque is located at 1777 Third Avenue, Prince George, BC It was developed with the support of the United Steelworkers Local 1-2017, and was unveiled on December 13, 2016. The plaque was cast at Ornamental Bronze, a unionized...Plaque
This bronze plaque is located at the Barriere Bandshell, on Barriere Township Rd. It was developed with the support of the Lower North Thompson Community Forest Society. The plaque was cast at Ornamental Bronze, a unionized foundry in Richmond which...Historical materials
Allen Seager is a retired professor at Simon Fraser University. His research interests include Canada, Western Canada, and Labour History, specializing in the history of the coal industry; coal mning communities in Western Canada; Canadian Railway History, Canadian Labour and...Historical materials
The Art Gruntman [Grundmann] fonds offers a valuable glimpse into the history of labour activism and the pulp and paper industry in British Columbia. Gruntman, who rode the rails from Alberta to Vancouver in the 1940s, became a prominent figure...Historical materials
The Lumber Worker collection comprises digitized newspapers from 1938-2006, published by the International Woodworkers of America (IWA), the most prominent forestry union in Western Canada. Visit The Lumber Worker digital archive (external link).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.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.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...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
The story of company towns and their unique role and legacy in the economic and social fabric of the province, with a specific focus on the west coast town of Ocean Falls. See the rest of our Working People Lesson...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.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...Video
Born in a small farming community is Northern Saskatchewan, Frank ventured to Quesnel in 1971. He was 18 years old when he arrived and was looking for work in the forest industry. The first job was in a planer mill...Audio
Charles Grant MacNeil (1890-1976) was a veteran of the First World War. Upon his return to Canada, MacNeil became secretary of the Great War Veterans Association and advocated for other returning soldiers. He was elected in 1935 as Member of...Video
Sandra Banister was born and raised in Vancouver; her mother was a stay-at-home mum and her father was an IBEW lineman. Sandra got an undergraduate degree in political science and then a law degree at UBC, articling with John Laxton...Video
Garry Worth was a red diaper baby whose father joined the Labour Progressive Party (a front for the Communist Party) in 1946. Garry was born and raised on Vancouver Island where his father worked in logging. When he finished high...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...Video
In this interview, Dan Miller reflects on his varied and influential career. In his youth his family moved often, and he figures he attended 12 or 13 different schools. Graduating high school in North Vancouver, Dan briefly worked on tugboats...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
George Heyman was born in Vancouver to parents who were survivors of the Holocaust. They were assisted by the Japanese Consul in Lithuania, Chiune Sugihara, to escape Poland. George attended high school in Vancouver, working the night shift at Safeway,...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...Video
Elsie Dean, 99 years old at the time of this interview, grew up in Saskatchewan during the 1920s and ‘30s. She describes the impact of the Depression on her family’s livelihood. Educated to Grade 8 in a one-room school, Elsie...Video
Stan Shewaga was born in St. Boniface and grew up in the north end of Winnipeg. After working in Louisiana for a while, he joined the American Army in the fifties, when he was about 17. After he left the...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 International Woodworkers of America (IWA) Annex Archive opened in 2019 in Lake Cowichan, BC: home of the first IWA local in the province. It is a proud achievement and crucial repository for the history of BC lumber workers. In...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
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
Emmitt Holmes (1924-2005) came to British Columbia in the 1940s from Saskatchewan and was the only black member of the Vancouver Local of the International Woodworkers of America (IWA Local 1-217) when he joined in 1944. Holmes incorporated his trade...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...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...
