BC and Western Canadian Lumber Worker Newspaper
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).
The collection is divided into four titles:
- The BC Lumber Worker (1938-1960)
- The Western Canadian Lumber Worker (1960-1985)
- The Lumber Worker (1987-2001)
- The Allied Worker (2002-2006)
This newspaper details the IWA’s significant influence in British Columbia’s political, economic, and social spheres, highlighting the union’s campaigns for environmental regulation and against racial prejudice, as well as their involvement in anti-war and anti-nuclear movements. The collection also illustrates the union’s response to challenging economic conditions and the onset of neoliberal policies in the late 1970s, which marked the beginning of organized labour’s decline.
Topics include:
● Editorials
● Reports from local unions
● Advertisements
● Cartoons
● Political commentary
The website allows users to search and browse by date as well as by name, words and phrases. Each page can be downloaded individually in several formats.