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Mike Kramer (d. 1995) was a national representative of CUPE (Canadian Union of Public Employees) and Secretary-Treasurer of the BC Federation of Labour. This interview was conducted by Tom McGrath in 1989 and deals exclusively with Kramer's participation in the...Audio
For almost five decades Syd Thompson (1914-1992) was a formidable force in BC’s labour movement. President of the large Vancouver local of the International Woodworkers of America (IWA) and the Vancouver and District Labour Council, Thompson didn’t often mince words...Audio
John Cunningham “Jack” McVicar (1893-1971) was a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 213 in Vancouver following his immigration from Glasgow, Scotland in 1910. He held no executive positions in the union, but was on the...Audio
Joy Langan (1943-2009) trained as the first woman apprentice compositor at Pacific Press in Vancouver. As a member of the International Typographical Union (ITU), Joy was elected in 1972 to the union’s Executive Board and began a career in the...Audio
John Murray "Jack" Campbell (1882-1969) came to Canada from Ireland in 1906, working at various jobs including on the Canadian Pacific Railway, on ranches in the Okanagan, eventually settling in Burnaby where he joined the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers...Audio
For over 100 years, the hard-working women in the fruit packing plants became known as the “Apple Box Belles”. While much has been written about Okanagan fruit-growing, the early union history has barely been mentioned.Audio
Fred Hoppe (1883-1965) was a 61-year member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 213 in Vancouver. The interview covers various aspects of Mr. Hoppe's life and career, including his early days as an electrician, starting in Rochester,...Audio
Robert (Bob) Skinner (1889-1967) returned from the First World War in 1919 and worked at Woodward's retail store, where he helped organize the white-collar workers into a union. The union fought for a Wednesday half-holiday and Boxing Day. Later he...Audio
This interview with Ernest Leslie (Les) Walker (1899-1974) details the history of the Mine-Mill union in Trail, British Columbia, its struggles against the anti-labour environment and the attempts by the Steelworkers union to take over its jurisdiction. It describes how...Audio
Harry Haywood Woodside’s (1890-1973) first work experience was in building the Lake Buntzen diversion tunnel at Coquitlam in 1909. His next job was a miner at Britannia Mine, where he joined the Western Federation of Miners. While at Britannia Mine...Audio
Jack Henderson (1880-1968) was a labour activist and community leader in Vancouver, Canada. Henderson discusses his long involvement in the labour movement, starting when he joined the Amalgamated Society of Railroad Servants in England in 1896. He describes his experiences...Audio
Jack Hanson provides a detailed account of the early history of the Rossland Miners Union (Western Federation of Miners, Local 38) in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Hanson arrived in Rossland in 1899, one year after the union...Audio
John David (Jack) Harrington (1879 – 1970), recounts his long history with the labour and socialist movements in North America, starting with his arrival in Canada around 1904. The interview was conducted in the 1960s by the BC Federation of...Audio
William Arthur (Bill) Pritchard (1888-1981) was a major figure in BC labour and politics. Born in England, Pritchard came to BC at the age of 23. He edited and wrote for The Western Clarion and was active in the Socialist...Audio
For most of the 20th century, garment workers (mostly women) sewed, pressed and wove fabric on factory assembly lines throughout the Lower Mainland, before the domestic industry began to decline with globalization. This episode of On the Line features an...Audio
In this episode we tell the story of the "conductorettes" - the women who worked as streetcar conductors in Vancouver during World War II when many men were overseas fighting fascism. The conductorettes were part of a strong union: the...Audio
This recording contains a 1964 interview with Hachiro Miyazawa and his son Joe Miyazawa about the Camp and Mill Workers Union which Hachiro helped to organize in the 1920s to represent Japanese lumber mill workers in British Columbia. The interview...Audio
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...Audio
The fight against apartheid in South Africa was fought on many fronts with the solidarity of anti-apartheid groups around the world. BC unions and activists were a proud part of this global movement. In this episode of On the Line...Audio
H.R. (Harry) Neelands (1881-1974) was born in Ontario and came to BC as a child. He apprenticed as a printer in Victoria and moved to Vancouver in 1905 to work at the Daily Province. He was Secretary of the International...Audio
Christopher Pritchard (1894-1973) joined the Plumbers’ Union (United Association of Journeymen Plumbers, Gas Fitters, Steam Fitters, and Steam Fitters’ Helpers of the United States and Canada) in 1918 in Winnipeg. He moved to British Columbia in 1925. This interview provides...Audio
In 1976, simmering discontent at the Alcan smelter in the northern community of Kitimat launched a full-scale revolt. A few union members staged a wildcat strike; they were soon joined by 1,800 others. 150 RCMP officers in riot gear and...Audio
Robert (Bob) Smeal (1920-1976) describes his experiences as a young unemployed man during the Great Depression in the 1930s in Vancouver. He details his involvement with various unemployed organizations, including the Single Unemployed Protective Association (SUPA) and the Relief Camp...Audio
Allan Coleman (1907-1974) was Secretary of the Journeymen Barbers’ International Union, Local 120 in Vancouver. In this 8-minute interview interview he covers the union’s origins including its unique structure that included both journeymen and barber shop owners in its membership....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
Dan Radford (1902-1977) was a Nanaimo coal miner who 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...Audio
Barney McGuire (1916-1995) was a hardrock miner, born and raised in Alice Arm, BC In 1933 he began working in mines throughout BC, the Yukon, Northwest Territories and later in eastern Canada after being blacklisted for his union activity. In...Audio
Charles Grant MacNeil (1890-1976) was a veteran of the First World War. Upon his return to Canada, MacNeil became secretary of the Great War Veterans Association and advocated for other returning soldiers. He was elected in 1935 as Member of...Audio
Many women worked in BC’s once numerous canneries and fish processing plants; for some this was a stepping stone to working on the fish boats. We examine the gendered dimension of labour in this industry through interviews with activist Barbara...Audio
Arthur J. Turner (1888-1983) was a socialist and trade unionist who came to Canada from England in 1913. He was a member of the International Association of Machinists at the shipyards in Victoria, before relocating to Vancouver. He joined the...Audio
Percy Trerise (1886-1965) was born in Cornwall, England and arrived in Canada around 1908. He initially worked as a granite cutter. He describes a jurisdictional dispute between granite cutters and stone cutters as the industry adopted pneumatic drills. The dispute...Audio
Take a deep dive into the historical and contemporary roles of women in BC's fishing industry. Today, the industry has largely disappeared due to economic shifts, free trade, and declining salmon stocks. In this episode of On the Line, we...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
A short-lived union at the IOCO (Imperial Oil Company) oil refinery near Port Moody from 1918-1921, the Oil Refinery Workers affiliated with the OBU (One Big Union). The Union held a two-week strike in 1918 which resulted in large wage...Audio
A 1966 wildcat strike by 400 mostly women members of the Electrical Workers’ union was a turning point in the province, at a time when courts regularly jailed and fined union members during disputes. In this episode of On the...Audio
Hear about the extraordinary 1952 Peace Arch Park concert where Paul Robeson, a Black American artist and activist, sang across the US-Canada border after his passport was revoked. This episode of On the Line revisits the historic event, highlighting Robeson's...Audio
From union organizing in Steveston to postwar civil rights and environmental advocacy, “Buck” Suzuki’’s contributions spanned decades and sectors. A foundation in his name continues his legacy today. In this episode of On the Line, we celebrate the life of...Audio
Against all odds, pioneering truck driver Diana Kilmury rose through the ranks of the Teamsters union battling corruption and sexism to eventually be elected as international vice-president. In this episode of On the Line, host Rod Mickleburgh profiles Kilmury: one...Audio
Darshan Singh Sangha made a huge contribution to the early organizing efforts of the International Woodworkers of America (IWA) and campaigned relentlessly for justice for South Asians in the 1940s. In this episode of our On the Line podcast we...Audio
BC’s unionized building trades led a valiant effort in the 1980s to fight off the anti-union Social Credit government. It all came to a head in the run-up to Vancouver’s World’s Fair, Expo 86. The provincial government wanted to open...Audio
The 1919 Winnipeg General Strike is widely commemorated as a landmark moment in Canadian labour history. In Vancouver, 10,000 workers joined a sympathy strike, staying off the job for nearly a month. In this episode of the On the Line...Audio
Working conditions for women in the early 20th century were already grim, but the Spanish Flu epidemic added another frightening layer. Against this backdrop, women laundry workers led a five-month long strike. In this episode of the On the Line...Audio
The Canadian Farmworkers’ Union (CFU) was a grassroots champion for BC's Fraser Valley farmworkers, who toiled in dreadful, unregulated conditions in the 1970s and ‘80s. The story of this union is about a social movement as much as an organizing...Audio
Unions have been fighting since the 1970s for strict regulations in the use of asbestos and decent compensation for those ill and dying from its deadly fibres. People are still getting sick from exposure decades ago. In this episode of...Audio
The International Woodworkers of America (IWA) Annex Archive opened in 2019 in Lake Cowichan, BC: home of the first IWA local in the province. It is a proud achievement and crucial repository for the history of BC lumber workers. In...Audio
In the early 20th C, the large, exploited workforce of the smelter at Trail was ripe for organizing. Those efforts were contentious and the politics formidable. Company unions versus legitimate unions, communist union leaders versus anti-communist union leaders, International unions...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
During the dirty ‘30s, thousands of single, unemployed men were forced into federally run relief camps: isolated, militarized work sites where they worked under punishing conditions for just 20 cents a day. In this episode of On the Line, we...Audio
A fierce 1938 strike made history when mine workers faced extreme retaliation for organizing with the International Woodworkers of America (IWA). Despite 30 years of wretched working conditions there had never been labour issues at the mine, until an obstinate...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...Audio
We are reviving Pins and Needles, a wildly successful musical revue with progressive politics and an unlikely origin from the factory floor. The Broadway show was created and performed entirely by members of the garment workers’ union: factory workers, cutters,...Audio
For decades, members of Squamish, Tsleil-Waututh, and other Nations formed a core part of the port’s workforce, passing down their skills through generations and helping build the province’s economy. This episode of On the Line delves into the powerful legacy...Audio
The International Woodworkers of America (IWA) defied deep-seated racism in BC’s forest industry by hiring Asian organizers. Their efforts helped integrate thousands of workers into the union.This episode of our On the Line podcast highlights the pioneering efforts of Roy...Audio
Bea Zucco's campaign against the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) helped shift provincial policy on silicosis claims and remains a notable example of grassroots advocacy for workers’ health and rights. In this episode of On the Line we recount the remarkable...Audio
In one of the earliest victories of its kind, a newly certified independent union negotiated a contract guaranteeing that new mothers would receive a full wage top-up, as well as job and seniority protection. This episode of our On the...Audio
In 1921, 88 public school teachers (most of them young women) initiated a five-day strike to demand recognition of their union and the right to arbitration in salary negotiations. Their unprecedented action was only the second recorded teachers’ strike in...Audio
Miners had long struggled to unionize against coal barons, facing loss after loss. In 1911, the United Mine Workers of America were invited to make a final attempt to challenge the mine owners. What followed was explosive. This episode of...Audio
The Social Credit government launched an all-out assault on social services in July 1983. When the staff of the Tranquille Institution in Kamloops learned they were to be shut down, they fought back. In this episode of On the Line,...Audio
In the dark years of the Great Depression, workers at the Fraser Mills lumber plant in what is now Coquitlam put aside their differences and fought for fair wages and dignity. In this episode of the On the Line podcast,...Audio
Joe Naylor: miner, socialist, pacifist, and comrade to Ginger Goodwin. In this episode of our On the Line podcast we shine a light on a remarkable yet overlooked figure in BC’s labour history. Less well-known than Goodwin, it was Naylor’s...
