Ron Johnson Fonds
The Ron Johnson fonds contains textual records, ephemera, and other items dating from 1959 to 1989, reflecting Johnson’s research and communications career within labour organizations.
Johnson’s work in this period included periods with the BC Federation of Labour and the Provincial Council of Carpenters.
The collection includes reports and brochures he created during his union career, as well as items collected during his activism. Buttons and pins were removed from the fonds and added to the BCLHC button collection.
The collection primarily consists of materials from the 1970s and 1980s, but also includes earlier publications from the BC Federation of Labour and other organizations. It contains reports, samples, campaign materials, two vinyl records, and songbooks.
Included are numerous issues of “BC Labour” a serial publication from 1961 to 1977. Other materials include a leaflet series titled “This is where we stand”.
Items related to the BC Federation of Labour include:
● “One Year Later: A summary of the major legislation passed by the New Democratic Party provincial government during its first year in office” (1973)
● ““Analysis of amendments to the labour code, Bill 89″ (1977)
● “Memorandum to Cabinet and Summary” (1978)
● Convention Materials, including “Solidarity Slate,” “Unity Slate,” and an agenda (1978)
● A newspaper article titled “Fed pair quits in protest” from 1978 is part of the convention materials.
Other unique items in the fonds are materials related to:
● “Retail Wholesale Union: The Adams Strike” (1980)
● leaflets concerning Shoppers Drug Mart (1973)
● songbooks such as
○ “Now! Right Now! R.D. Persklevits” (1969)
○ “The Bosses’ Songbook: Songs to Stifle the Flames of Discontent” (1959)
○ “Songs of Labour, Freedom and Justice | Canadian Labour Congress”