Charles Stewart & Peter Munro Interview: Street Railwaymen
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 World War One on jobs and labour’s response to conscription in 1916.
This two-part interview was conducted in the 1960s by the BC Federation of Labour in anticipation of the publication of No Power Greater: A Century of Labour in BC (1967). Interviewers were author Paul Phillips and UBC student Bill Piket. The original tapes were digitized by the BC Labour Heritage Centre in 2024.
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- Peter Campbell Munro, 1971
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- Charles McGregor Stewart, 1960
Peter Munro relates the story of Ginger Goodwin’s shooting and the one-day general strike on the day of his funeral. The interview also includes discussion on the formation and activities of the One Big Union (OBU) and its relationship with the American Federation of Labor (AFL). They also touch on several strikes by the Street Railwaymen, including the sympathy strike with Winnipeg strikers in 1919. Internal differences in the union and the labour movement are also covered.
Munro and Campbell discuss their personal involvement in the labour movement and political organizations, including the Communist Party, the Socialist Party of Canada, support for the Canadian Labor Party, the CCF (Co-operative Commonwealth Federation) and the recently formed New Democratic Party. They discuss anti-Oriental sentiment in the early labour movement, and offer their perspectives on this issue.
The interviews include discussion of the relationship between left-wing unions and the unemployed organizations during the Great Depression. Attempts by the unemployed organizations to gain representation on the Vancouver Trades and Labor Council were often rejected on the grounds that the organizations were affiliated with the Workers’ Unity League.
Other topics include the impact of conscription during World War One and its effect on the labour movement. The speakers relate their experiences with the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) in the United States, including events in Spokane, Washington, and Butte, Montana.
Charles Stewart was expelled twice from the Vancouver Trades and Labor Council due to his membership in the Communist Party.