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 on the Main St. overpass near E Waterfront Road in Vancouver, BC. It was developed with the support of the On to Ottawa Historical Society, which merged into the BC Labour Heritage Centre in 2018....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 discusses the dire economic period of the 1930s in Canada, and the critical social crisis that emerged with widespread unemployment. As a response, the government established remote Relief Camps where single, unemployed men were forced to work for...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...Audio
Horace Mackey (1880-1970) was Legislative Chairman and later Chairman of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers in the BC District. He began working on the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1899, retiring in 1948. He was a member of the Regional War...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...Audio
In the heyday of train travel, Black men were hired to cater to overnight travellers. Turned away by the major unions, they formed the Order of the Sleeping Car Porters, the first Black labour union in North America. In this...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...Video
Warren Williams’ labour activism came to him through his family, who has a deep connection to Canada’s Black community. Warren’s uncle, Lee Williams, fought for equal employment rights for Canadian sleeping car porters, and the formation of the Order of...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...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...Article
Late in the night on April 13, 1903, labour organizer and longshore worker Frank Rogers was walking home from dinner and stopped by the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks at the foot of Abbott Street in Vancouver, to check on picketers...Article
Vancouver’s Strathcona neighbourhood was a vibrant and diverse community in the 1930s, a mix of Black and Chinese families, businesses and entertainment venues. Opportunities were few for Black workers looking for employment in the city after high school or university,...
