Dan Radford Interview: Nanaimo Coal Miner, BC Federation of Labour President, CLC
Dan Radford (1902-1977) was a Nanaimo coal miner who held 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 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.
Dan Radford, BCLHC Archives
This interview includes Radford’s recollections and involvement in anti-Communist expulsions in Canadian unions. Radford also discusses the role of the BC Federation of Labour as legislative lobbyist for the interests of labour, and the fight against Bill 39 in 1947 which curbed union rights.
NOTE: The quality of this recording is poor; it has been restored to the best of our ability.