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In a follow-up interview, Joy Thorkelson, President of the United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union, speaks to Rod Mickelburgh and Donna Sacuta as she continues to recall the issues and actions taken by West Coast unions in the fishing industry. She begins by discussing the many devastating impacts of the Mifflin Plan on the fishing industry and on the unions that had long-dominated the industry, as the numbers of fishers and boats steadily decrease and processing jobs have almost…

Jess Succamore arrived in Canada from England in 1952. He worked in a variety of jobs around British Columbia. He is best known for leading the campaign for independent Canadian unions. In this lengthy interview, Succamore recalls his relationships with many labour figures, strikes, organizing and internal disputes spanning more than five decades. His support for women workers and racialized workers was ahead of his time.  Throughout Jess's involvement in the union movement, he…

John Bowman grew up in the north end of Winnipeg and went to the University of Winnipeg studying labour history and journalism. He became active in progressive issues. John edited the student union newspaper while taking a full course load. He later worked for CUP for a year. While editing the student newspaper at U of W, John participated in many picket lines at the Griffin Steel Foundry where the issue was the CAIMAW foundry workers opposing compulsory overtime. It was a long battle…

Geoff grew up in Toronto and Ottawa and had a comfortable middle class upbringing. He became interested in left wing politics when he attended the University of Toronto, where he worked on the university paper and at the student radio station.

Geoff moved to British Columbia in 1974. In 1978 he became the editor of The Fisherman, a newspaper published by the UFAWU (United Fishermen and Allied Workers' Union). He held that job for 12 years. In the interview, Geoff discusses the…

Denise Kellahan became active in the Union FASWOC (Food and Service Workers of Canada) while she was working at the White Spot restaurant as a single mother with two small children. She helped shepherd the merger of FASWOC (a primarily service sector union) into the mainly industrial union CAIMAW (Canadian Association of Mechanical and Allied Workers). With the membership spread out all through the Province of BC, Denise and other members of the Local had to travel to 22 locations up and…