Ep. 29 - Kitimat Wildcat 1976

On the Line: Stories of BC Workers

#History #BC Labour Heritage Centre #Labour #Union #Canada #British Columbia #Activism #Working People #Labor

30:21

Hitting plateaus is a common milestone in business, but there’s a difference between stability and a rut. In the last installment of this season, we’ll dive into the ways small business owners push beyond plateaus and find new ways to achieve revenue growth. Jannese and Austin wrap up their time in Nashville, Tennessee with a wonderful visit to N.B. Goods to speak with owner Camille Alston . Camille details the times where she hit a wall with profits, the strategies she implemented to increase revenue, what worked, what didn’t, and the important lessons she learned in the process. You won’t want to miss this informative final chapter! Learn more about how QuickBooks can help you grow your business: QuickBooks.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

about a year ago 28:22

MP3•Episode home

On June 3, 1976 simmering discontent at the Alcan smelter in the northern B.C. community of Kitimat turned into a full-scale revolt. Some members of independent union CASAW (Canadian Association of Smelter and Allied Workers) staged a wildcat strike after being pushed too far by the company. They were soon joined by 1,800 others. Twice the union members rejected their executive’s recommendation to return to work. 150 RCMP officers in riot gear and flanked by dogs and shotguns arrested the union’s leaders, charges were laid and fines levied against the union. It was the first major job action in Canada against federal wage controls, and left the community bitterly divided, even decades later.
Featured in this episode is vintage archival recordings with Jim Sinclair, Jim Brisebois and Rod Mickleburgh. You will also hear "Something Good Worth Fighting For", an original song written by Bill Hood and performed by the Gram Partisans.
A wildcat strike is a strike action undertaken by unionized workers without union leadership's authorization, support, or approval.
Music:
Theme song: "Hold the Fort” (traditional) - Arranged & Performed by Tom Hawken & his band, 1992.
Episode song: "Something Good Worth Fighting For", written and performed by Bill Hood and the Gram Partisans, 2024. https://youtu.be/Jw0uXmIT624
Sources:

Peter Burton. Interview by Ken Novakowski. 28 November 2016. https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/oral-history/peter-burton/
"Company Towns on Strike Kitimat Part 1." Audio recording, undated. Vancouver Co-op Radio. Allen Seager Fonds, B.C. Labour Heritage Centre.

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Send your feedback info@labourheritagecentre.ca
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30 episodes

Ep. 29 - Kitimat Wildcat 1976

On the Line: Stories of BC Workers

published about a year ago

MP3•Episode home

Follow us https://www.facebook.com/LabourHistoryInBC/
Browse https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/
Find us on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/bclhc.bsky.social
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bc_lhc/
Send your feedback info@labourheritagecentre.ca
Thanks for listening!

30 episodes

#History #BC Labour Heritage Centre #Labour #Union #Canada #British Columbia #Activism #Working People #Labor

Όλα τα επεισόδια

1
Ep. 30. Taking a Stand: Union Solidarity Against Apartheid in South Africa 35:25

7 weeks ago35:25

35:25

Using interviews from the B.C. Labour Heritage Centre's Oral History Project, the Canadian Anti-Apartheid Activist History Project, and a retired BCGEU (BC General Services Union) activist, this episode tells the impressive story of international solidarity by B.C. union members who worked tirelessly in support of those fighting to end South Africa’s heinous apartheid system. Starting in 1976, until the first free election in 1994, actions by citizens and labour shaped attitudes and responses to apartheid that resonate decades later. Featured are interviews with Jef Keighley, Cathy Walker, Colleen Jordan and Randy Pearson, along with music from the Total Experience Gospel Choir and Solidarity Notes Labour Choir. Theme song: "Hold the Fort” (traditional) - Arranged & Performed by Tom Hawken & his band, 1992. Episode music: Enoch Mankayi Sontonga, "Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" , South African National Anthem, adopted 1997. Performed by Solidarity Notes Labour Choir (2016). “Shine” performed by the Total Experience Gospel Choir. “Patrinell: The Story of the Total Experience Gospel Choir" Official documentary Trailer #1 (2017)" https://youtu.be/5MvvIr_ScQw?si=4GdQcqpaq4TUibQY Sources: Ontario Federation of Labour. 30 April 2024. "Two Canadians to receive prestigious order from South African government, for the first time since Brian Mulroney." [Press Release] https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/04/30/2872225/0/en/Two-Canadians-to-receive-prestigious-order-from-South-African-government-for-the-first-time-since-Brian-Mulroney.html “Unions’ actions to embargo apartheid.” Pacific Tribune. 5 March 1986. 16. Colleen Jordan. Interview by Keith Reynolds. 22 June 2023. https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/oral-history/colleen-jordan/ Randy Pearson. Interview by Patricia Wejr. 17 February 2025. Jef Keighley. Interview by Doug Miller and Jane Armstrong, Canadian Anti-Apartheid Activist History Project. 26 January 2022. Uploaded by SACTU Solidarity Alumni Archive, 12 March 2023. https://youtu.be/JO3oabUZDTY?si=Pi7IJiW5NVxvkpR9 Cathy Walker. Interview by Doug Miller, Canadian Anti-Apartheid Activist History Project. n.d. Uploaded by SACTU Solidarity Alumni Archive, 13 March 2023. https://youtu.be/ljVjfVkNZvk?si=1vXNCS9Gr_eKzlTI SACTU Solidarity Alumni Archive https://www.sactusolidarityalumniarchive.org / Written and researched by Patricia Wejr Hosted by Rod Mickleburgh Technical production by John Mabbott Follow us https://www.facebook.com/LabourHistoryInBC/ Browse https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/ Find us on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/bclhc.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bc_lhc/ Send your feedback info@labourheritagecentre.ca Thanks for listening!…

1
Ep. 29 - Kitimat Wildcat 1976 28:22

20 weeks ago28:22

28:22

On June 3, 1976 simmering discontent at the Alcan smelter in the northern B.C. community of Kitimat turned into a full-scale revolt. Some members of independent union CASAW (Canadian Association of Smelter and Allied Workers) staged a wildcat strike after being pushed too far by the company. They were soon joined by 1,800 others. Twice the union members rejected their executive’s recommendation to return to work. 150 RCMP officers in riot gear and flanked by dogs and shotguns arrested the union’s leaders, charges were laid and fines levied against the union. It was the first major job action in Canada against federal wage controls, and left the community bitterly divided, even decades later. Featured in this episode is vintage archival recordings with Jim Sinclair, Jim Brisebois and Rod Mickleburgh. You will also hear "Something Good Worth Fighting For" , an original song written by Bill Hood and performed by the Gram Partisans. A wildcat strike is a strike action undertaken by unionized workers without union leadership's authorization, support, or approval. Music: Theme song: "Hold the Fort” (traditional) - Arranged & Performed by Tom Hawken & his band, 1992. Episode song: "Something Good Worth Fighting For", written and performed by Bill Hood and the Gram Partisans, 2024. https://youtu.be/Jw0uXmIT624 Sources: Peter Burton . Interview by Ken Novakowski. 28 November 2016. https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/oral-history/peter-burton / "Company Towns on Strike Kitimat Part 1." Audio recording, undated. Vancouver Co-op Radio. Allen Seager Fonds, B.C. Labour Heritage Centre. Follow us https://www.facebook.com/LabourHistoryInBC/ Browse https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/ Find us on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/bclhc.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bc_lhc/ Send your feedback info@labourheritagecentre.ca Thanks for listening!…

1
Ep. 28 - Union Women in the Fishing Industry 29:28

28 weeks ago29:28

29:28

In Episode 27, we brought you stories from women who worked in the province's once numerous canneries and fish processing plants. For some, this was a stepping stone to working on the fish boats. In Episode 28, we hear from Barbara Stevens, whose parents were both union activists in the United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union (UFAWU). Homer Stevens was jailed in 1967 for defying a court injunction during the Prince Rupert trawl fishermen’s strike. Barbara Stevens was an experienced hand in the fishing industry and an activist in her own right. Also featured is longtime Prince Rupert resident Joy Thorkelson, who held many positions in the UFAWU over the years, including President. Music: Theme song: "Hold the Fort” (traditional) - Arranged & Performed by Tom Hawken & his band, 1992. Episode songs: " Bossin, Bob. "What Can One Woman Do?" Performed by Stringband, sung by Mary-Lynn Hammond, 1983. Hewison, George. "Song of the Sockeye." George Hewison, 1982. Sources: Barbara Stevens . Interview by Patricia Wejr. 26 June 2024. Joy Thorkelson . Interviews by B.C. Labour Heritage Centre Oral History Project. 6 September 2019 and 19 September 2019. https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/oral-history/joy-thorkelson/ Follow us https://www.facebook.com/LabourHistoryInBC/ Browse https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/ Find us on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/bclhc.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bc_lhc/ Send your feedback info@labourheritagecentre.ca Thanks for listening!…

1
Ep. 27 - Canning Salmon 32:15

38 weeks ago32:15

32:15

This is the first of a two-part series on the role of women in BC ‘s once thriving fishing industry. This episode hears from women who worked in the fish canneries that once lined the west coast of BC. They bring to life a time when BC fish helped feed the nation and many parts of the world. Included are recordings of an indigenous woman who worked in canneries along the Skeena River from the age of 10. We also meet Josephine Charlie of the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation), interviewed in 1979. She and her husband travelled to Knights Inlet to fish and work in the canneries. We are also joined by Jackie Campbell, a long-time UFAWU activist who describes the fight to end two-tier gendered wages. Music: Theme song: "Hold the Fort” (traditional) - Arranged & Performed by Tom Hawken & his band, 1992. Episode song: "Canning Salmon" by Linda Chobotuck, 1985. Performed by Fraser Union, 2009. Sources: Backhouse, Frances. "The last BC Cannery Standing - and Why it Matters", The Tyee. 22 August 2018. https://thetyee.ca/Solutions/2018/08/22/Last-BC-Cannery-Standing/ B.C. Labour Heritage Centre (2014). "Canning Salmon." https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/canning/ "Early B.C. Coast Salmon Cannery Workers." Audio recording, undated. Vancouver Co-op Radio. Allen Seager Fonds, B.C. Labour Heritage Centre. Josephine Charlie interview, Simon Fraser University Archives. Women's Labour History collection, F-67-2-0-0-0-8 , Sara Diamond interviewer, 1979. https://atom.archives.sfu.ca/f-67-2-0-0-0-8 Jackie Campbell . Interview by Patricia Wejr. 13 June 2024. Follow us https://www.facebook.com/LabourHistoryInBC/ Browse https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/ Find us on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/bclhc.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bc_lhc/ Send your feedback info@labourheritagecentre.ca Thanks for listening!…

1
Ep 26: Lenkurt Electric - Turning the Tide 30:05

52 weeks ago30:05

30:05

A 1966 wildcat strike* by 400 mostly women members of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) at Lenkurt Electric in Burnaby, BC was a turning point for the province's labour movement. This was a time when courts and police routinely jailed and fined union members during labour disputes, and Canadian members of international unions were demanding more autonomy. The story of the Lenkurt Electric strike is described by Ian McDonald, whose book "The Red Baron of IBEW Local 213: Les McDonald, Union Politics, and the 1966 Wildcat Strike at Lenkurt Electric" will be published in 2024. As a bonus, Bill Hood and The Gram Partisans debut their original song "Lenkurt Electric: Turning the Tide" . *wildcat strike: A wildcat strike is a strike that is started by a group of workers without the approval of their union. Music: Theme song: "Hold the Fort” (traditional) - Arranged & Performed by Tom Hawken & his band, 1992. Episode song: "Lenkurt Electric: Turning the Tide", written and performed by Bill Hood and the Gram Partisans, 2024. Sources: McDonald, Ian. Interview by Patricia Wejr, March 2024. Succamore, Jess. Interview by Sean Griffin and Ian McDonald, 24 February 2018. https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/oral-history/jess-succamore/ McDonald, Ian. Red Baron of IBEW Local 213: Les McDonald, union politics, and the 1966 wildcat strike at Lenkurt Electric. AU PRESS, 2024. Follow us https://www.facebook.com/LabourHistoryInBC/ Browse https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/ Find us on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/bclhc.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bc_lhc/ Send your feedback info@labourheritagecentre.ca Thanks for listening!…

1
Ep. 25: A Struggle Too Long: Paul Robeson Sings at Peace Arch Park 23:57

1 year ago23:57

23:57

This episode features two larger than life historical figures: Harvey Murphy, regional director of the International Union of Mine Mill and Smelter Workers Union and Paul Robeson, Black American superstar known around the world for his powerful singing voice and a fearless crusader for peace, universal justice and an end to racial discrimination in the United States. This was the cold war era, and the US government had Robeson pegged as a dangerous radical. Prevented from entering Canada to attend the union’s convention in Vancouver, Murphy arranged for a massive concert at Peace Arch Park, about 50 km south of the city. Some 25,000 people came to hear Robeson — standing on the back of a flatbed truck on the US side of the border — perform for the cheering throng in Canada. Host, Rod Mickleburgh, interviews historian Ron Verzuh who has researched and written about the Peace Arch Concert. We also hear the voices of Harvey Murphy and Paul Robeson recorded at the border in 1952. Sources: Verzuh, Ron. Interview . Conducted by Rod Mickleburgh, 7 February 2023. Paul Robeson. "The Peace Arch Concerts." Folk Era Records (1988). Theme song: "Hold the Fort” (traditional) - Arranged & Performed by Tom Hawken & his band, 1992. See also: Verzuh, Ron. (2012). Mine-Mill's Peace Arch Concerts: How a "Red" Union and a Famous Singer-Activist Fought for Peace and Social Justice during the Cold War. BC Studies , 61. Follow us https://www.facebook.com/LabourHistoryInBC/ Browse https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/ Find us on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/bclhc.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bc_lhc/ Send your feedback info@labourheritagecentre.ca Thanks for listening!…

1
Ep. 24: Tatsuro Buck Suzuki: Community advocate, union activist, environmentalist 34:26

1 year ago34:26

34:26

We celebrate the life of Tatsuro 'Buck' Suzuki, who spent his life advocating for the West Coast fishing community, first as a young liaison between Japanese Canadians and an industry dominated by Whites, then as a strong trade unionist, and finally, as an early environmental activist, fighting to protect salmon habitat. Included are recordings of Buck Suzuki made by the City of Richmond Archives in the 1970s, a few years before he died. We also spoke with Lorene Oikawa. Her father was Buck's cousin, yet she called him 'Uncle Buck'. Oikawa has carried on his legacy of trade unionism and social activism. For more information: T. Buck Suzuki Foundation Host: Rod Mickleburgh Research and writing: Patricia Wejr Technical wizard: John Mabbott Sources: Suzuki, Buck. Interview. City of Richmond Archives. April 26, 1973. Suzuki, Buck. Interview. City of Richmond Archives. January 15, 1976. Music: Theme song: "Hold the Fort” (traditional) - Arranged & Performed by Tom Hawken & his band, 1992. Hewison, George. "Song of the Sockeye." George Hewison, 1982. Hewison, George. "I Don't Want Your Millions Mister" by Jim Garland (1938), performed by George Hewison and The Rank 'N File Band. "Wonderful tribute to Buck. I recall meeting Buck for the first time at a UFAWU Convention, where my Dad was a delegate and considered Buck, not only a Union Brother, but a good friend. I was about 10 years old and knew a little bit about his legendary story. He was the small boat vice-president of the UFAWU for many years. As Vice President, as the podcast points out, Buck stepped in when Homer and Steve went to jail, but Buck's heroism went well beyond holding office. The 1967 strike and the courts had drained our treasury and we were broke. So Buck got on a plane for Rivers' Inlet and related the union's financial woes to the fleet, and they, mainly fishermen of Japanese ancestry, responded. Buck came back with about $50,000 in CASH to tide the Union over until income started to flow in from regular dues. Buck always spoke softly and eloquently, if not passionately, a true labour giant. Thank you so much to the entire team for telling his story."- -George Hewison. "In 1981, the UFAWU created the T Buck Suzuki Environmental Foundation to take on the work of protecting fish habitat. Buck Suzuki was a union activist. He joined the UFAWU in May 1949 and was instrumental in the fight to bring Japanese-Canadian fishermen back into the industry after WWII. Buck Suzuki was an active fisherman who served 11 terms as Vice-President of the Union and Acting President in 1967-68. He cared deeply about the environment and led the fight to protect the Fraser estuary against industrial pollution. T Buck died in 1977 and was made a Life Member of the Union" -- UFAWU/Unifor Facebook Follow us https://www.facebook.com/LabourHistoryInBC/ Browse https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/ Find us on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/bclhc.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bc_lhc/ Send your feedback info@labourheritagecentre.ca Thanks for listening!…

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Ep 23: Teamster Diana Kilmury: B.C.’s Tough and Fearless Truck-Driving Woman 39:38

1 year ago39:38

39:38

In this episode of On the Line, we present a compelling tale of British Columbia's Diana Kilmury, a bold and fearless truck driver who became immersed in the murky male dominated world of the Teamsters Union back in the days when women behind the wheel of big trucks were as scarce as generous employers. She took on both sexist attitudes on the job and a union that was then, in the United States, riddled by corruption, with a top down leadership that was closely connected to organized crime and crushed any challenge to the way the union was run. Yet against all odds, Kilmury eventually found herself in the highest echelons of North America's largest union. Host: Rod Mickleburgh Research and writing: Patricia Wejr Technical wizard: John Mabbott Source: Diana Kilmury Interview. Conducted by Rod Mickleburgh, 13 April 2023, https://vimeo.com/833432166 Music: Theme song: "Hold the Fort” (traditional) - Arranged & Performed by Tom Hawken & his band, 1992. "Truck Driving Woman” by Si Kahn (1974). Performed by Aya! Follow us https://www.facebook.com/LabourHistoryInBC/ Browse https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/ Find us on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/bclhc.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bc_lhc/ Send your feedback info@labourheritagecentre.ca Thanks for listening!…

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Episode 22: Darshan Singh Sangha: A Human Spirit that Transcended Boundaries 25:53

2 years ago25:53

25:53

This episode chronicles the exploits of someone who made a huge contribution to the early organizing efforts of the International Woodworkers of America and campaigned relentlessly for justice for South Asians like himself during the 1940s. That man is Darshan Singh Sangha. Yet few British Columbians outside the province's large South Asian community know anything about him. It's a captivating story that stretches from the Punjab where he was born, to Canada and then back to India. The episode includes a rare CBC Radio news report from the IWA's 1946 March on Victoria. Host: Rod Mickleburgh Voice of Darshan Singh Sangha: Harinder Mahil Research and writing: Patricia Wejr and Donna Sacuta Technical wizard: John Mabbott Sources: Andrew Neufeld and Andrew Parnaby. “The IWA in Canada: The Life and Times of an Industrial Union.” IWA Canada, 2000. Donna Sacuta, Bailey Garden and Anushay Malik. "Union Zindabad! South Asian Canadian Labour History in British Columbia." South Asian Studies Institute, University of the Fraser Valley, 2022. Sadhu Binning and Sukhwant Hundal. "Ten Years of Darshan in Canada" in Darshan: A Book on Darshan's Life and Contribution, ed. H. Daudharia (Darshan Singh Sangha 'Canadian' Heritage Foundation, 2004. "Strikers at Park Rally Appeal for Victoria Citizens' Support." Times Colonist , 17 May 1946, 2. Sukhwant Hundal's Podcast. Episode 21: "A Tribute to Darshan Singh Canadian-Oct. 12-1986" Accessed August 10, 2023, https://shows.acast.com/sukhwant-hundals-podcast/episodes/a-tribute-to-darshan-singh-canadian-oct-12-1986 News Commentary - Laurie Dillabough and Jim Nesbitt about the International Woodworkers of America and the workers strike on Victoria, B.C. 1946-06-14 . Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Radio: Vancouver. ISN 199793. Credit: CBC Licensing. Music: Theme song: "Hold the Fort" (traditional) - Arranged & Performed by Tom Hawken & his band, 1992. "There is Power in a Union" by Billy Bragg (1986). "IWA Marching Song" by Joe Glazer (1977). Indian Tabla & Veena Music Track - Copyright Free Music via YouTube. Follow us https://www.facebook.com/LabourHistoryInBC/ Browse https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/ Find us on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/bclhc.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bc_lhc/ Send your feedback info@labourheritagecentre.ca Thanks for listening!…

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Episode 21: Construction Unions, the False Creek Rumble and Expo 86 26:45

2 years ago26:45

26:45

We look at the valiant efforts during the 1980s by B.C.'s unionized building trades to fight off the anti-union Social Credit government determined to break their hold on major construction projects in the province. It all came to a head in the run-up to Vancouver's World's Fair—Expo 86—and the building of the fair itself. Cheered on by fanatical anti-union contractors, the provincial government wanted to open the door to non-union contractors who bid on and won major projects that previously would have been built using union labour. Through the voices of union leaders of the day, this episode traces the politics behind the battle that gave the non-union construction sector a toehold which it never relinquished. This episode includes recordings with retired Building Trades Union executives Gary Kroeker, Bill Zander and Roy Gautier. Host: Rod Mickleburgh Voice of newspaper editorial: Lucie McNeill Research and writing: Patricia Wejr and Donna Sacuta Technical wizard: John Mabbott Sources: Kroeker, Gary. Interview by Jim Sinclair, May 3, 2017. BC Labour Heritage Centre, https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/oral-history/gary-kroeker/ Zander, Bill. Interview by Sean Griffin and Dan Keeton, June 6, 2016. BC Labour Heritage Centre, https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/oral-history/bill-zander/ “Webster! Full Episode January 27, 1984.” YouTube, uploaded by Royal B.C. Museum, 19 May 2016, Copyright: BC Archives, Credit: Jack Webster and BCTV, https://youtu.be/HoVS8aBTzyo “Webster! Full Episode March 19, 1984.” YouTube, uploaded by Royal B.C. Museum, 21 January 2019, Copyright: BC Archives, Credit: Jack Webster and BCTV, https://youtu.be/jtC9zXeQl-A “Webster! Full Episode March 3, 1986.” YouTube, uploaded by Royal B.C. Museum, 29 September 2016, Copyright: BC Archives, Credit: Jack Webster and BCTV, https://youtu.be/L2vJ1OL7pFg Music: Theme song: "Hold the Fort" (traditional) - Arranged & Performed by Tom Hawken & his band, 1992. "I Don't Want Your Millions Mister" by Jim Garland (1938), performed by George Hewison and The Rank 'N File Band. "Billy and the Socreds" by D.O.A. "The Workers Song" by Ed Pickford (1981), performed by The Longest Johns. "False Creek Change" by Ben Worcester and Tyler Bancroft (2009), performed by Said the Whale. Follow us https://www.facebook.com/LabourHistoryInBC/ Browse https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/ Find us on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/bclhc.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bc_lhc/ Send your feedback info@labourheritagecentre.ca Thanks for listening!…

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Episode 20: Grit and Working-Class Solidarity: B.C. Workers Respond to the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike 19:26

2 years ago19:26

19:26

This episode highlights a remarkable but relatively unknown chapter of working-class solidarity. While waves of sympathy strikes to support the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike took place across Canada, the most pronounced of these was in Vancouver, B.C. Even after workers returned to their jobs, 325 women telephone operators stayed out for another two weeks. This was a time of unsurpassed working-class consciousness and resistance, the likes of which Canada had not seen before, nor since. You will hear from Vancouver's legendary firebrand socialist William Pritchard who spent a year in Manitoba's Stoney Mountain Penitentiary for making speeches during the strike. You'll also hear from seaman Jimmy O'Donnell who arrived in port unaware that a strike was underway, and joined it in the final days, losing his job as a result. SOURCES: Bernard, Elaine. "Last Back: Folklore and the Telephone Operators in the 1919 Vancouver General Strike" in Barbara K. Latham and Roberta J. Pazdo, eds., Not Just Pin Money: Selected Essays on the History of Women's Work in British Columbia (Victoria: Camosun College, 1984). William Pritchard. RG6 Brandon University fonds, Ken Hanly Collection (1974) https://archives.brandonu.ca/en/permalink/descriptions4067 Jimmy O'Donnell. Boag Foundation Tapes, BC Labour Heritage Centre Archives. MUSIC: Theme song: "Hold the Fort" (traditional) - Arranged & Performed by Tom Hawken & his band, 1992. “Strike!” By Danny Schur and Rick Chafe. http://www.strikemusical.com/home/music/ accessed April 2023 "Where the Fraser River Flows" by Joe Hill (1912), performed by Phil Thomas "Rebel Girl" by Joe Hill (1915), performed by Hazel Dickens Voice of newspaper editorial: Lucie McNeill Your affable host: Rod Mickleburgh Research and writing: Patricia Wejr and Donna Sacuta Technical wizard: John Mabbott More Resources: The 1919 Prince Rupert General Strike B.C. Sympathy Strikes in 1919 Follow us https://www.facebook.com/LabourHistoryInBC/ Browse https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/ Find us on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/bclhc.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bc_lhc/ Send your feedback info@labourheritagecentre.ca Thanks for listening!…

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Episode 19: Union Maids in Action - The 1918 Steam Laundry Strike 22:06

2 years ago22:06

22:06

A five-month long strike in 1918-1919 by Vancouver laundry workers, most of whom were women, is told through the words of one of its leaders. Ellen Goode began working in a steam laundry at 15, toiling over 10 hours a day, sometimes 60 hours a week. She and her fellow workers formed a union in 1918. In September 1918 they went on strike. Supported by the rest of the union movement in Vancouver, they gave as good as they got, going after strikebreakers and doing whatever else was necessary to prevail. Workers ended their strike in early January 1919. But that wasn't the end of union support for the laundry workers. Eighty strikers—60 women and 20 men—were not rehired by the vindictive laundry companies. The union movement provided financial assistance to all those blacklisted until they found work. This is truly an extraordinary example of union solidarity and an illustration of just how much the formidable laundry workers had touched union hearts. Nicol, Janet Mary. “Girl Strikers” and the 1918 Vancouver Steam Laundries Dispute , BC Studies no. 203, 53-81 Autumn 2019. Ellen Goode interview , Sara Diamond fonds, Women’s Labour History Project, VIVO Media Arts Centre retrieved at http://archive.vivomediaarts.com/ellen-barber/#1541915730445-ba5d9b8e-af6e Music: "Union Maid" (words by Woody Guthrie) modernized and sung by Peggy Seeger with Jack Warshaw retrieved at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CCOx1hqrKI "Union Woman", (music and lyrics by Peggy Seeger) from Different Therefore Equal Folkways Records FS 8561 1979 Episode image: "Girls working at mangle in Bonanno Laundry, 12 Foster Wharf. All are 15 years old and go to continuation school." Location: Boston, Massachusetts / Lewis W. Hine, published 1917. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, National Child Labor Committee Collection, LC-DIG-nclc-05196 See also: BC Teachers' Federation (2020, September 26). Classroom Resources: The 1918 Vancouver Steam Laundries Strike . TeachBC. Retrieved January 31, 2022, from https://www.bctf.ca/classroom-resources/details/the-1918-vancouver-steam-laundries-strike RESEARCH : Research and script for this episode by Patricia Wejr & Rod Mickleburgh. Production by John Mabbott. Follow us https://www.facebook.com/LabourHistoryInBC/ Browse https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/ Find us on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/bclhc.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bc_lhc/ Send your feedback info@labourheritagecentre.ca Thanks for listening!…

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Episode 18: How Many Deaths Will It Take? Remembering the Canadian Farmworkers Union 33:38

2 years ago33:38

33:38

This is the inspiring tale of a group of dedicated individuals who took up the cause of BC’s Fraser Valley Farmworkers who toiled in dreadful, unregulated conditions in the 1970s and ‘80s. It is a saga with death and violence and courageous union organizing. Drawing upon interviews from the University of the Fraser Valley’s South Asian Institute Union Zindabad! Project, led by the BC Labour Heritage Centre, we hear from those who saw the many wrongs taking place in the fertile fields and vowed to do something about it. It was a social movement as much as a unionizing drive and a meaningful story to this day. Raj Chouhan. Interview by Dr. Anushay Malik and Bailey Garden. Union Zindabad! Oral Histories. https://vimeo.com/647845189/cd079d62d4 Sarwan Boal. Interview by Dr. Anushay Malik, Donna Sacuta and Bailey Garden. Union Zindabad! Oral Histories. https://vimeo.com/647864515/77bddc099f Paul Gill. Interview by Dr. Anushay Malik. Union Zindabad! Oral Histories. https://vimeo.com/647886074/b1d321eea2 Harji Sangra. Interview by Dr. Anushay Malik. Union Zindabad! Oral Histories. https://vimeo.com/647925942/55a2bb3e2b Paul Binning. Interview by Dr. Anushay Malik. Union Zindabad! Oral Histories. https://vimeo.com/647891048/1d6bb7438e Harinder Mahil. Interview by Dr. Anushay Malik. Union Zindabad! Oral Histories. https://vimeo.com/647930201 MUSIC and Cesar Chavez: A Time to Rise. Directed by Anand Patwardhan and Jim Monro, 1981. National Film Board. Used with permission. Donna Sacuta, et al. “Union Zindabad! - Labour History Research - South Asian Canadian Legacy Project (SACLP).” South Asian Canadian Legacy Project , University of the Fraser Valley, South Asian Studies Institute, 23 June 2022, https://saclp.southasiancanadianheritage.ca/union-zindabad-labour-history/ . RESEARCH : Research and script for this episode by Patricia Wejr & Rod Mickleburgh. Production by John Mabbott. Follow us https://www.facebook.com/LabourHistoryInBC/ Browse https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/ Find us on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/bclhc.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bc_lhc/ Send your feedback info@labourheritagecentre.ca Thanks for listening!…

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Episode 17: Asbestos - A Lethal Legacy 23:21

3 years ago23:21

23:21

This episode looks at the grim toll taken by exposure to carcinogenic fibres of asbestos. Because it often takes decades for diseases such as mesothelioma - a cancer caused by asbestos exposure - to develop, its legacy is ongoing. We’ve known about these dangers for decades, yet the widespread use of asbestos continued long after its lethal properties were beyond dispute. It routinely found its way into a startling range of construction materials and, ironically, safety products. In September 2022, the BC Labour Heritage Centre officially dedicated a remarkable memorial to the victims of asbestos. The Asbestos Memorial is located on the Vancouver waterfront as part of the Vancouver Convention Centre's Art Program with a commanding view of Burrard Inlet, where workers once loaded asbestos onto cargo ships. Lee Loftus , a third-generation member of the Insulators Union Local 118 talks about his role in raising awareness and understanding the risks of asbestos exposure. Tracy Ford , co-founder of the Asbestos-Related Research, Education & Advocacy Fund (AREA), recalls how the disease caught up with her father. Dave Pritchett , a longshoreman who worked at the Cassiar Asbestos dock in North Vancouver, explains how he and fellow longshore workers were on the front lines of handling asbestos. Linda Brace , widow of a smelter worker in Trail BC, recounts Cominco's response to her husband's death from mesothelioma at the age of 53. FEATURED MUSIC : Theme song: "Hold the Fort" - Arranged & Performed by Tom Hawken & his band, 1992. Part of the "On to Ottawa" film produced by Sara Diamond. "More Than a Paycheck" written by Ysaye Barnwell and performed by Solidarity Notes Labour Choir, from the CD "A New World for Our Heirs". "Sit Down" written by Maurice Sugar and performed by Manhattan Chorus. Tracy Ford, "A History of Asbestos in BC", BC Labour Heritage Centre and WorkSafeBC, 2015. https://youtu.be/uEOgZt2y1_I Dave Pritchett, Oral History interview, BC Labour Heritage Centre, 2018. Linda Brace, "Asbestos - The Silent Killer", United Steelworkers Local 480, 2008. https://youtu.be/H9IkIr3Jm5Y RESEARCH : Research and script for this episode by Patricia Wejr & Rod Mickleburgh. Production by John Mabbott. Follow us https://www.facebook.com/LabourHistoryInBC/ Browse https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/ Find us on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/bclhc.bsky.social Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bc_lhc/ Send your feedback info@labourheritagecentre.ca Thanks for listening!…

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Episode 16: The Union Archive That Almost Didn't Make It 27:27

3 years ago27:27