BC Labour Heritage Centre
@bclhc.bsky.social
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Working people and their unions in BC.
https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca
Meet Alma Faulds and Lydia Bastion, women who built union solidarity in the bountiful fruit packing plants of BC's Okanagan Valley.
www.buzzsprout.com/1312528/epis...
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Ep.33 - Apple Box Belles - On the Line: Stories of BC Workers
The hard-working women in the Okanagan Valley's bountiful fruit packing plants from the 1920s to the 1970s became known as the “Apple Box Belles”. While much has been written about Okanagan fruit-grow...
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1312528/episodes/18260023
1 day ago
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The day Led Zeppelin became part of the union. Learn about the historic 1975 Led Zeppelin rock concert co-sponsored by striking CUPE union members at a Vancouver radio station. Welcome back, Robert Plant!
www.labourheritagecentre.ca/collection/t...
14 days ago
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Show support for the original fighters against fascism. Organizers of the Mac-Pap Tribute are asking for volunteers to visit the graves of veterans around BC in the days leading up to November 11. If you can help please send an email to
[email protected]
with your location.
27 days ago
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Read about the beloved Black pioneer Abe Mortimer, lumber worker, union man, athlete, soldier, storyteller, and Hall of Famer.
www.labourheritagecentre.ca/collection/a...
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Abe Mortimer: Black athlete, storyteller | Article
Learn about the beloved Black pioneer Abe Mortimer, lumber worker, union man, athlete, soldier, storyteller, and Hall of Famer.
https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/collection/abe-mortimer-vancouvers-favourite-umpire/
about 1 month ago
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October 24, 2005, BC Teachers' Federation (BCTF) ended their two-week strike that defied a back-to-work order. Other unions, including CUPE school support workers, had walked off in sympathy. Mediator Vince Ready's recommendations were enough to end the impasse. Joshua Berson photos.
about 1 month ago
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reposted by
BC Labour Heritage Centre
"Your ability to survive as a worker is through the union. There's no other way." - Vince Ready, miner, union organizer and renowned mediator. New to the Oral History Collection. Find it at
https://buff.ly/4ghTIqx
12 months ago
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The Trade Union Research Bureau was a singular organization in BC, opening its doors in 1945 with roots back to 1920. Created by Bert Marcuse, Eric Bee, and Emil Bjarnason, TURB provided research and advocacy. Fred Wilson worked at the TURB in the 90s.
www.labourheritagecentre.ca/.../fred-wil...
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Interview: Fred Wilson, Creation of Unifor | Video
Fred played an active role in the anti-globalization movement. He tells the story of the New Union Project and his role in it, which created the Unifor, largest private sector union in Canada, from…
https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/.../fred-wilson.../
about 2 months ago
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On Thanksgiving, October 14, 1975, fretting over sky-high inflation and soaring wage increases, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau announced Canada’s first peacetime wage controls.
www.labourheritagecentre.ca/collection/o...
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Out to Fight Controls | Article
Read about the one-day national general strike in 1976 when a million workers brought the country to a standstill.
https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/collection/october-14-1976-out-to-fight-controls/
about 2 months ago
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October 7, 1977 BC ferry workers defied a government-imposed cooling-off period and went on strike against the 'new' BC Ferries Corporation. The workers stayed out until they had an acceptable negotiating process in place. 1/2
about 2 months ago
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Go behind the seams of Vancouver's garment industry! Join the "Lunch and Learn" Thursday, October 9. The October newsletter has all the goods on sweatshops and radical journalism.
mailchi.mp/labourherita...
2 months ago
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The cast of "plain, simple, common, ordinary everyday men and women who work hard for their living" were unionized garment workers from New York. 'Pins and Needles' received glowing reviews when this musical was performed in Vancouver in 1938.
www.buzzsprout.com/1312528/epis...
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Episode 10: 'Pins & Needles' - A 1930's Garment Workers' Musical - On the Line: Stories of BC Workers
In September 1938, the International Ladies Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) brought their theatrical musical hit “Pins and Needles” to Vancouver, BC, where it played to glowing reviews. Among the…
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1312528/episodes/9075628
2 months ago
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2 months ago
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Vancouver is not known today for its garment industry but some prominent factories (staffed largely by women), put the city on the map in the early part of the 20th century.
www.tickettailor.com/events/vanco...
2 months ago
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An unsung hero of this province's early labour movement, socialist coal miner Joe Naylor took Ginger Goodwin under his wing and the two became fast friends.
www.buzzsprout.com/1312528/epis...
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Episode 1: Joe Naylor - On the Line: Stories of BC Workers
At the annual Miners Memorial Weekend held in Cumberland, British Columbia each June, participants lay roses at the grave of the famous labour martyr Ginger Goodwin. Nearby his distinctive headstone,…
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1312528/episodes/5287493
2 months ago
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"NO MEAT, NO WORK" With three large packinghouses on strike in September 1947, the Woodworkers and Mine-Mill unions warned that if the strike wasn't resolved, logging and mining camps couldn't operate. The strike was ended after a few tense weeks. The workers won an 11% raise.
3 months ago
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During a strike almost 100 years ago at Fraser Mills, French Canadian, British, Scandinavian, Japanese, Chinese, and South Asian sawmill workers showed unprecedented solidarity in the face of overwhelming odds, winning some, but not all, their demands.
www.buzzsprout.com/1312528/epis...
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Episode 2: The 1931 Fraser Mills Strike - On the Line: Stories of BC Workers
Nearly 90 years ago, in the dark years of the Great Depression, union membership and the number of strikes in B.C. fell dramatically; but every now and then, against all odds, workers took a stand. It...
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1312528/episodes/5754781
3 months ago
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Four great reads for your autumn bookshelf.
3 months ago
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Occupational diseases from hazardous workplace conditions have claimed a terrible toll. In 1956, Bea Zucco fought for (and won) WCB benefits for her hardrock miner husband who was stricken with silicosis.
www.buzzsprout.com/1312528/epis...
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Episode 7: Bea Zucco's Fight for Silicosis Compensation - On the Line: Stories of BC Workers
April 28th marks Canada's annual Day of Mourning. Of course, industrial accidents are not the only risk workers face; occupational diseases, brought on by hazardous workplace conditions, have also…
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1312528/episodes/8289979
3 months ago
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Former BCGEU President Stephanie Smith wanted people to say 'my union' not 'the union,' like it was something completely separate from them." She talks about this, as well as organizing, bargaining, and COVID-19. See the whole interview here:
vimeo.com/StephanieSmith
3 months ago
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As the Ironworkers bridge collapsed around him, Ken Johnstone kept working. Read his story and more BC labour history in today's newsletter.
mailchi.mp/labourherita...
3 months ago
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reposted by
BC Labour Heritage Centre
The Tyee
3 months ago
In the extensive media coverage that followed the tragedy of the Ironworkers bridge collapse, Ken Johnstone’s name is mentioned only once. He was praised for being “directly responsible for saving three men.” Elsewhere he is identified only as “the boatman.” 🛶
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The Man in the Boat | The Tyee
As the Ironworkers bridge collapsed around him, Ken Johnstone stayed on the job and saved lives.
https://thetyee.ca/Culture/2025/09/01/Man-in-Boat/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=editorial
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The Canadian Farmworkers Union was as much a social movement as a union. The historic founding convention took place on April 6th, 1980. It was a joyous occasion.Ten days later, bat-wielding thugs attacked the Vice President's home.
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Episode 18: How Many Deaths Will It Take? Remembering the Canadian Farmworkers Union - On the Line: Stories of BC Workers
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…
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1312528/episodes/11761206
3 months ago
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The Man in the Boat via
@thetyee.ca
thetyee.ca/Culture/2025...
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The Man in the Boat | The Tyee
As the Ironworkers bridge collapsed around him, Ken Johnstone stayed on the job and saved lives.
https://thetyee.ca/Culture/2025/09/01/Man-in-Boat/
3 months ago
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Nearly 40 years later, the historic 22-day occupation of Tranquille institution in Kamloops BC stands as one of the most radical, inspiring examples of workers using direct action and collective bargaining to protect not just labour rights, but human rights too.
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Episode 3: The 1983 Tranquille Occupation - On the Line: Stories of BC Workers
On July 19, 1983, members of the BC Government and Service Employees Union, better known as the BCGEU, learned that the large Tranquille Institution in Kamloops, British Columbia would be shut down.…
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1312528/episodes/6192556
3 months ago
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Joe Naylor did not leave a legacy of speeches and fiery actions against the ramparts of capitalism. But during the second decade of the 20th century, he was the most radical union leader on Vancouver Island.
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Episode 1: Joe Naylor - On the Line: Stories of BC Workers
At the annual Miners Memorial Weekend held in Cumberland, British Columbia each June, participants lay roses at the grave of the famous labour martyr Ginger Goodwin. Nearby his distinctive headstone,…
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1312528/episodes/5287493
3 months ago
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This weekend, we gathered in Nanaimo to unveil a plaque remembering the 23 workers who were killed in 1951 when an airplane taking them home from the ALCAN project in Kitimat crashed. It was an event that shook the entire province. With gratitude to those who shared this solemn occasion.
4 months ago
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reposted by
BC Labour Heritage Centre
NanaimoNewsNOW
4 months ago
A new permanent bronze plaque is being unveiled today in Nanaimo, honouring the victims of one of Canada's worst air disasters.
#Nanaimo
nanaimonewsnow.com/2025/08/16/n...
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New plaque unveiled to honour Mt. Benson plane crash victims
NANAIMO - In place at the Bowen Rd. cemetery for several months, a new memorial dedicated to one of the countr...
https://nanaimonewsnow.com/2025/08/16/new-plaque-unveiled-to-honour-mt-benson-plane-crash-victims/
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reposted by
BC Labour Heritage Centre
Jack Mabbott
4 months ago
The BC Labour Heritage Centre has publish another “On The Line” podcast. This time about BC garment workers.
bsky.app/profile/bclh...
add a skeleton here at some point
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reposted by
BC Labour Heritage Centre
Government of British Columbia
4 months ago
Good morning! Is the sky really bluer here? Let's find out!
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Co-sponsored with Nanaimo Historical Society & BC Building Trades. Join this free public event, a reminder of the human story behind workplace tragedy. Details & RSVP here.
simpli.events/e/heritage-p...
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BC's Worst Aviation Disaster Kills 23 Workers: Heritage Plaque Unveiling, Saturday: August 16, 2025 | Simpli Events
Sponsored by BC Labour Heritage Centre, Nanaimo Historical Society, BC Building Trades Council. Pay tribute to 23 workers whose deaths on October 17, 1951 are a stark reminder that there is always a h...
https://simpli.events/e/heritage-plaque-unveiling
4 months ago
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Read about the Nanaimo airplane crash that killed 23 workers in 1951. The passengers and crew were returning to Vancouver from the ALCAN construction project in Kitimat. The crash will be remembered with a new heritage plaque on August 16.
mailchi.mp/labourherita...
4 months ago
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"That was when I first heard the word 'scab'." In 1924 Anne Marshall was a waitress and striking longshoremen sparked her interested in unions. Learn about organizing garment workers in BC.
www.buzzsprout.com/1312528/epis...
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Ep 32: Behind the Seams - Garment Workers in BC - On the Line: Stories of BC Workers
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 gl...
https://www.buzzsprout.com/1312528/episodes/17576119
4 months ago
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reposted by
BC Labour Heritage Centre
Pam Smith
4 months ago
This excellent article by Rod Mickleburgh described what happened after the shooting of
#GingerGoodwin
#FamilyHistory
#LocalHistory
#VancouverBC
www.labourheritagecentre.ca/the-ginger-g...
@bclhc.bsky.social
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The Ginger Goodwin General Strike - Working People Built BC
by Rod Mickleburgh Originally published in the Mickleblog August 2, 2018 At 12 o’clock sharp on Aug. 2, 1918 – one hundred years ago today –Vancouver transit operators stopped their streetcars in mid-...
https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/the-ginger-goodwin-general-strike/
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"You go home after the day, hearing the stuff, and you say 'We cannot have this again. It cannot happen again.'" Colin Snell was on the coroner's inquest jury after the tragedy at the Bentall Tower Centre IV that claimed four lives. You can see his interview at
vimeo.com/bclhc/colins...
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Colin Snell Feb 18 2025
Interviewed by Rod Mickleburgh Colin was born in northern England in 1940. His working-class consciousness developed at an early age. At 16, he apprenticed as a…
https://vimeo.com/bclhc/colinsnell
4 months ago
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reposted by
BC Labour Heritage Centre
Pam Smith
5 months ago
Wonderful to see the renovated gravestone of
#GingerGoodwin
at Cumberland Cemetery on#VancouverIsland and proud to represent the Goodwin family in this process.
#FamilyHistory
#Mining
@familytreeuk.bsky.social
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BC Labour Heritage Centre
Pam Smith
5 months ago
Good to be at the archives in
#CumberlandBC
again. Lots of
#GingerGoodwin
memorabilia here. Heartwarming conversations with local people whose ancestors knew him.
#FamilyHistory
#LocalHistory
#Mining
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BC Labour Heritage Centre
Pam Smith
5 months ago
Still stops me in my tracks. Fellow family historians will get it - seeing my Great Great Uncle Albert ‘Ginger’ Goodwin immortalised on the wall of a supermarket in Cumberland. A bit faded now, but his spirit lives on!
#GingerGoodwin
#FamilyHistory
#Genealogy
#CumberlandBC
#LabourLegacy
#Mining
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BC Labour Heritage Centre
Pam Smith
5 months ago
So good to see the completed work in person.
#GingerGoodwin
#FamilyHistory
🌹
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Ginger Goodwin's headstone at the Cumberland Cemetery has received a facelift. Unauthorized alterations and vandalism have been corrected, as has the date of Goodwin's death. It will be another 6-8 months before the cleaning process is complete. We expect the sandstone will look like new again. 1/2
5 months ago
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The 1919 Prince Rupert General Strike (June 10 - July 4) marked a milestone on the road to building a strong labour movement in northwest BC. The strike was based entirely on support for workers over a thousand miles away.
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The 1919 Prince Rupert General Strike - Working People Built BC
“A Duty to Organized Labour and Workers Throughout the Whole Dominion” When the Winnipeg General Strike began on May 15, 1919 sympathy strikes in communities across Canada soon broke out. In British…
https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/the-1919-prince-rupert-general-strike/
5 months ago
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5 months ago
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"We are not just Japanese or Asians, but workers of the world, and we sincerely hope that you will be able to replace exclusion with fraternity." Learn about BC's Japanese Camp and Mill Workers' Federal Union, formed in 1920, excluded by labour until 1927, and destroyed by mass internment in 1942.
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July 2025 Newsletter
https://mailchi.mp/labourheritagecentre/july-2025
5 months ago
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"The more forcefully you exclude us, the more we are exploited by the capitalists." Japanese Camp and Mill Workers' Union wanted to be included in the labour movement in order to combat Asiatic Exclusion, but were refused. Learn about this story in our July newsletter.
mailchi.mp/labourherita...
5 months ago
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June 25, 1919 the Winnipeg General Strike came to an end. Workers in BC who supported the Winnipeg strikers returned to work, with the notable exception of the Vancouver's women telephone operators, who remained out for another 13 days. Praise came from the labour press.
#bclab
#bchist
#labourhist
5 months ago
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"Look, it's not the PPWC or the IWA, it's you people. The union is you. It's not anybody else." Hear Sucha Deepak's union story as a millworker, business agent and troubleshooter.
vimeo.com/bclhc/suchad...
#LabourHistory
#PrinceGeorge
#UnionStrong
@uswmetallos.bsky.social
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Sucha Deepak Dec 2 2024
Interviewed by Dr. George Davison Sucha Singh Deepak was born in 1948 in Punjab, India and immigrated to Canada in 1970, where he worked in lumber mills in Quesnel,…
https://vimeo.com/bclhc/suchadeepak
6 months ago
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2025 is the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Ballantyne Pier, a pivotal event in BC longshore history.
#bclab
#bchist
#bcunion
6 months ago
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6 months ago
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reposted by
BC Labour Heritage Centre
Working Class History
6 months ago
#OtD
14 Jun 1872 unions were legalised in Canada through the Trade Unions Act after a wave of illegal strikes and protests. Still the law didn't compel employers to recognise or bargain with unions, and picketing remained illegal
stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8584...
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Miners Memorial Weekend with Jane Player, Joey Hartman and Sussanne Skidmore at Ginger Goodwin's grave in Cumberland, BC.
#bchist
#bcpoli
#bclab
6 months ago
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Listen to three women who were the first to drive transit in Vancouver. Unlike wartime workers in shipyards and factories, these women kept their jobs after World War II, thanks to their union. This, and much more in today's newsletter!
#bchist
#bcpoli
mailchi.mp/labourherita...
6 months ago
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