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In 2006, forty Latin American tunnel workers building Vancouver's Canada Line discovered they were paid far less than Canadian and, later, European workers doing identical work underground. With help from Local 1611 of the Labourers' Union and researcher Joe Barrett, they unionized, survived a failed strike vote and a decertification attempt, and ultimately won a landmark BC Human Rights Tribunal ruling for wage discrimination. The five-year fight ended with a settlement that changed workers' lives back home in Costa Rica — and, as the episode reveals, quietly reset pay practices for foreign tunnel workers around the world.  Topics covered: Temporary foreign workers Canada, Tunnel workers union, Canada Line construction, Vancouver labour history, Migrant worker rights, Labourers' Union Local 1611, Union certification foreign workers. Hosted and written by: Rod Mickleburgh Guest: Joe Barrett Technician: John Mabbott Theme song: "Hold the Fort” (traditional) - Arranged & performed by Tom Hawken & his band, 1992. Episode music: "Five Long Years of Fighting", written and performed by Bill Hood and the Gram Partisans, 2026. Sources:  Joe Barrett. Interview by Rod Mickleburgh, August 2026.  Barrett, Joe. A Fight for Justice: The Compelling Story of Temporary Foreign Workers & Human Rights. [Publisher: Ronsdale Press], 2026.  Follow us https://www.facebook.com/LabourHistoryInBC/Browse https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/Find us on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/bclhc.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bc_lhc/Send your feedback [email protected] for listening!

A rare hand-painted fan donated to the Museum of Vancouver holds the signatures of roughly 35 Canadian volunteers who fought fascism in the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) — most from British Columbia, and 13 of whom never came home. In this special episode of On the Line: BC's Labour History Podcast, retired labour lawyer and historian David Yorke traces the stories behind the names on the fan, from BC loggers and miners who joined the Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion ("Mac-Paps") of the International Brigades, to the union movements of the Depression era that sent them to Spain, to the RCMP surveillance and decades-long fight for veteran recognition they faced on their return. Hosted by Rod Mickleburgh, and based upon an interview by Patricia Wejr and Donna Sacuta of the BC Labour Heritage Centre. Topics covered: Spanish Civil War · Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion · Mac-Paps · International Brigades · BC labour history · Museum of Vancouver · anti-fascism · Great Depression · union history · Canadian volunteers in Spain Host: Rod Mickleburgh Research and writing: Patricia Wejr Technician: John Mabbott Theme song: "Hold the Fort” (traditional) - Arranged & performed by Tom Hawken & his band, 1992. Episode music:  "¡Ay Carmela!" (traditional) - Performed by Gómez Naharro Sources:  Wejr, Patricia and Donna Sacuta. (2026). Interview with David Yorke [Audio Recording]. BC Labour Heritage Centre.  Liversedge, Ronald. Mac-Pap: Memoir of a Canadian in the Spanish Civil War. Edited by David Yorke. Vancouver: New Star Books, 2013.  Follow us https://www.facebook.com/LabourHistoryInBC/Browse https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/Find us on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/bclhc.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bc_lhc/Send your feedback [email protected] for listening!

On February 18, 1965, a massive avalanche struck the remote Granduc copper mine camp, north of Stewart, BC. Twenty-six of the 150 workers on site were killed, mostly members of Labourers' International Union Local 168. The slide destroyed bunkhouses, the cookhouse, and other facilities with devastating force, even rebounding off the valley floor. The camp was fog-bound and isolated; an SOS was picked up by a ship in the Aleutian Islands, bringing in American Air Force helicopters. Survivors dug with makeshift tools, used sticks to probe for buried workers. One man was found alive after 79 hours buried under the snow, surviving in an air pocket. A government investigation cleared the company of negligence; the mine eventually reopened and operated until 1984. This episode features memories from survivors Vince Ready and Art Vibert, as well as music from Stompin' Tom Connors.  Host: Rod Mickleburgh Research and writing: Patricia Wejr Technician: John Mabbott  Voice of Art Vibert: John Mabbott  Theme song: "Hold the Fort” (traditional) - Arranged & performed by Tom Hawken & his band, 1992. Episode music:  "How the Mountain Came Down" (1973) music and lyrics by Stompin' Tom Connors. Episode Image: Ray Allan, Vancouver Sun. Sources:  Mickleburgh, Rod and Carmela Allevato. (2024). Interview with Vince Ready [Audio Recording]. BC Labour Heritage Centre https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/collection/vince-ready-interview-labour-arbitrator-mediator/ Disasters of the Century Season 7 Granduc Avalanche [Video Recording]. Copyright of Partners in Motion INC. https://youtu.be/7jZQxsL2C04?si=9AgWLsj18OylJLRL RBCM@Home: Stewart Museum (2020) [Video Recording]. Royal BC Museum. https://youtu.be/iEXrCBrxzcY?si=mfFYWASxUybd5z0h Vibert, Art. A Granduc Story. A personal travel diary to Granduc Mines. https://stewartbc.com/page99.html Lundberg, Murray. Death Came Silently: the Granduc Mine Disaster Stewart, BC. https://explorenorth.com/library/yafeatures/granduc.html Cobb, Michael. (1965 February 22). Weary Eyes Tell Story of Death. The Vancouver Sun. Porter, Bob.  (1965 February 22) Man Frozen White in Granduc Ordeal. The Vancouver Sun. Follow us https://www.facebook.com/LabourHistoryInBC/Browse https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/Find us on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/bclhc.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bc_lhc/Send your feedback [email protected] for listening!

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 or offer subtle opinions. When he spoke, people listened — they had no choice. This podcast episode pulls from two recorded interviews with Syd Thompson in which he traces his experiences in the Great Depression, including periods he spent in jail for his efforts to organize relief camp workers. He took that fighting spirit to the bargaining table with leaders of BC's forestry companies. Explicit language. Theme song: "Hold the Fort” (traditional) - Arranged & performed by Tom Hawken & his band, 1992. Episode music:   "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?" music and lyrics by Gorney, Jay, and E.Y. Harburg (1932), performed by Bing Crosby.  "Roll the Union On", music and lyrics by John Handcox and Lee Hays, performed by The Almanac Singers With Pete Seeger (1955). Sources:  Bostwick, Colleen. (1978). Syd Thompson Interview [Audio Recording]. Royal BC Museum and Archives, Item AAAB3922  Mickleburgh, Rod. (c. 1980). Interview with Syd Thompson [Audio Recording]. BC Labour Heritage Centre Archives (2024.1.6) Follow us https://www.facebook.com/LabourHistoryInBC/Browse https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/Find us on Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/bclhc.bsky.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bc_lhc/Send your feedback [email protected] for listening!

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-growing, the early union history has barely been mentioned. In this episode we hear from Alma Faulds and Lydia Bastian, two fruit packers who were active in their unions, the United Packinghouse Workers and the Fruit and Vegetable Workers. They discuss the hard seasonal work, long hours, occupational disease and accidents they endured. Faulds worked 35 seasons in the packing plants, sitting on the union executive and later becoming union business agent. Stories of union battles and workplace solidarity combined with a performance of Apple Box Belles, by Tiller's Folly, makes a compelling episode documenting their legacy. Theme song: "Hold the Fort” (traditional) - Arranged & performed by Tom Hawken & his band, 1992. Episode music:  “Apple Box Belles”, music and lyrics by Bruce Coughlan, performed by Tiller's Folly, 2025. https://youtu.be/5xZ9LgWLQKk?si=WAyDyBfitam3r_7- Sources: Apple Box Belles – A Colourful Tale from British Columbia’s Fruit Culture retrieved at https://stirringupghosts.ca/apple-box-belles October 28, 1937. “Mrs. Isobel Stillingfleet Awarded First Honours in Packing Competition” Kelowna Courier. Community Stories: Applebox Belles: The Women of Lake Country’s Packinghouses – an exhibit produced by the Lake Country Museum & Archives retrieved at https://www.communitystories.ca/v2/applebox-belles/story/71-2/   Research and writing 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.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bc_lhc/Send your feedback [email protected] for listening!

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 features an interview with Anne Marshall, a garment worker who became an organizer and business agent for the International Ladies' Garment Workers Union (ILGWU) in Vancouver beginning in the 1940s. We also hear from Esther Peters who worked at Vancouver's West Coast Woolen Mills. She became a shop steward and then president of the Textile Workers Industrial Union of BC.  Theme song: "Hold the Fort” (traditional) - Arranged & Performed by Tom Hawken & his band, 1992. Episode music:  “Look for the Union Label”, lyrics by Paula Green, music by Malcolm Dodds. International Ladies' Garment Workers Union, 1975. https://all-together-now.com/story/the-ilgwu-in-canada/ "Bread and Roses" (traditional) - performed by So-So-So Solidarite, Justice! (Compact Disc). Canadian Union of Postal Workers, n.d. Sources: Anne Marshall. Audio interview by Sara Diamond, Women's Labour History Project. 1979.  Courtesy VIVO Media Arts Centre and SFU Archives.  Esther Peters. Video interview by Geoff Peters. 1981. (personal collection) Cornell University IRL School The ILGWU in Canada. The Kheel Center ILGWU Collection. https://ilgwu.ilr.cornell.edu/announcements/27.html Research and writing by Natasha Fairweather and 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.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bc_lhc/Send your feedback [email protected] for listening!

This podcast episode tells 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 Amalgamated Transit Union, which ensured they had the same rights, privileges, and wages as the men. The union played an important role in supporting the women, including helping one get her job back after she was fired for becoming pregnant. Featured are interviews with three former conductorettes - Pearl Wattum, Vilma Westerholm, and Edra McLeod - who describe their experiences on the job, including the challenges they faced, such as dealing with unruly passengers and the close supervision by company supervisors.  The podcast also provides historical context on the streetcar system in Vancouver, the role of unions, and the transition to buses and trolleybuses that eventually replaced the streetcars.  The episode highlights the important contributions these women made to keeping the city's transit system running during a critical time, and how their experiences shed light on the changing role of women in the workforce during the war years. Theme song: "Hold the Fort” (traditional) - Arranged & Performed by Tom Hawken & his band, 1992. Episode music:  "I'm a TTC Skidaddler," written and performed by Stompin' Tom Connors, Bud the Spud and Other Favourites (1970) "The Trolley Song," Judy Garland, from Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) Episode photo: Greta Vesterback selling tickets for B.C. Electric Railway, 1946. Courtesy Rod Mickleburgh. Sources: Amalgamated Transit Union, a history (n.d.), accessed May 20, 2025, https://www.atu.org/downloadable-asset/history-of-atu.pdf TransLink, "The Conductorettes: The first women to drive transit in Vancouver," The Buzzer Blog, July 16, 2015, https://buzzer.translink.ca/2015/07/the-conductorettes-the-first-women-to-drive-transit-in-vancouver-2/.  Pearl Berrington (Wattum). Audio interview by Richard Payment, Vancouver Historical Society. 1981. University of British Columbia Special Collections. Pearl Barrington (Wattum). Audio interview by Sara Diamond, Women’s Labour History Project. 1982. Courtesy VIVO Media Arts Centre and SFU Archives. Edra McLeod. Audio interview by Richard Payment, Vancouver Historical Society. 1981. University of British Columbia Special Collections. Edra McLeod. Audio interview by Sara Diamond, Women’s Labour History Project. 1979. Courtesy VIVO Media Arts Centre and SFU Archives. Vilma Jensine Westerholm. Audio interview by Richard Payment, Vancouver Historical Society. 1981. University of British Columbia Special Collections. 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.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bc_lhc/Send your feedback [email protected] for listening!

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.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bc_lhc/Send your feedback [email protected] 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.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bc_lhc/Send your feedback [email protected] for listening!

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.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bc_lhc/Send your feedback [email protected] for listening!

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.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bc_lhc/Send your feedback [email protected] for listening!

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.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bc_lhc/Send your feedback [email protected] for listening!

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.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bc_lhc/Send your feedback [email protected] for listening!

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.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bc_lhc/Send your feedback [email protected] for listening!

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.socialInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/bc_lhc/Send your feedback [email protected] for listening!