On the Line: Stories of BC Workers

This edition of On the Line takes note of Indigenous History Month in June with a different aspect of BC's Indigenous history: one that is not very well known. We examine the contribution of Indigenous workers to the port of Vancouver, particularly in the first half of the 20th century, largely through the voices of those who worked the waterfront - and it's a union story, too. In 1906, the independent Lumber Handlers Union was established as local 526 of the Industrial Workers of the World (I.W.W.), with most of the 50 or 60 members being Indigenous. This is their story.
Learn more: https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/bows/
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.
"There is Power in a Union" written by Joe Hill (I.W.W.), performed by Joe Glazer & Bill Friedland, 1954, "Songs of the Wobblies" LP Record.
INTERVIEWS: Clips from the ILWU Canada Podcast "The Docker" episode 33. Full episode: https://thedockerpodcast.libsyn.com/ep33-first-nations-history-on-vancouvers-waterfront
Delbert Guerin interview is part of the (Re)Claiming the New Westminster Waterfront collection at the New Westminster Museum & Archives and Simon Fraser University.
RESEARCH: Research and script for this episode by Patricia Wejr & Rod Mickleburgh.
Parnaby, Andrew. Citizen Docker : Making a New Deal on the Vancouver Waterfront, 1919-1939 / Andrew Parnaby. University of Toronto Press, 2008.
ILWU Local 500 Pensioners. (1975) Man along the shore! : The story of the Vancouver waterfront : As told by longshoremen themselves : 1860's - 1975. College Printers.
Rod Mickleburgh. (2018) On the Line: A History of the BC Labour Movement. BC Labour Heritage Society, Harbour Publishing.

• 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 [email protected]
• Thanks for listening!

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 [email protected]
• Thanks for listening!

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, almost unnoticed, is a simple metal plate affixed to a stone.
This modest marker identifies the grave of coal miner Joe Naylor (1872-1946), an unsung hero of the labour movement and both comrade and mentor to Ginger Goodwin. A socialist, pacifist, modest, principled leader and supporter of working class aspirations for a better world. This is his story.
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.
"Nanaimo Jail" - Performed by Jon Bartlett. Part of a series of Co-op radio reel-to-reel tapes donated to the BC Labour Heritage Centre in 2019 by Allen Seager.
Butte Miners' Song - "I Once Was A Carman on the Great Mountain Con" performed by Jeff Burrows for the BC Labour Heritage Centre, 2020.
"Are You From Bevan?" Performed by Phil Thomas accompanied by Barry Hall (vocal, guitar) & Michael Thomas (mandolin), from Phil’s LP/CD Where the Fraser River Flows (1962).
VOICEOVERS:
"Joe Naylor" played by Jeff Burrows.
"Lester" played by Erik Jarvis.
BACKGROUND MUSIC:
"Ruy Blas Overture" (Mendelssohn) - Victor Herbert Orchestra (1913).
"Maple Leaf Rag" - Vess L. Ossman.
"Aguirre the Wrath of God" - Gary Lucas.
"Downfall" - Kai Engel.
"Homeroad" - Kai Engel.
"Bedroll" - Blue Dot Sessions.
"The Red Flag" - Ogg Vorbis.
RESEARCH:
Fighting for Dignity: The Ginger Goodwin Story by Roger Stonebanks. Canadian Committee on Labour History, AU Press, January 2004.
A Crisis of Commitment: Socialist Internationalism in British Columbia during the Great War by Dale Michael McCartney. B.A., Simon Fraser University, 2004. THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS In the Department of History © Dale Michael McCartney 2010.
BC Federationist – UBC Special Collections.
Western Clarion – UBC Special Collections.
The 1913 Vancouver Island Miners Strike by Jack Kavanagh.
Socialist History Project: The Vancouver Island Strike issued by the B.C. Miners’ Liberation League, Vancouver, B.C.
Seeing Reds: The Red Scare of 1918-19: Canada’s First War on Terror by Daniel Francis. Arsenal Pulp Press, 2010.
Founded on Coal - A History of a Coal Mining Community: The Parish of St. Matthew, Highfield and Winstanley by Ray Winstanley and Derek Winstanley, 1981.
When Toil Meant Trouble: Butte’s Labor Heritage by George Everett.
www.butteamerica.com/labor.htm
Joe Naylor, Staunch Trade Unionist, Dies. Canadian Mineworker Obituary, 1946.

• 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 [email protected]
• Thanks for listening!

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 [email protected]
• Thanks for listening!

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 [email protected]
• Thanks for listening!