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Art Kube was born in Poland where he attended a socialist kindergarten. He joined the Metalworkers Union in 1949 and became a member of the socialist faction of the Metalworkers Union. His mother was a socialist and trade unionist who had to raise her two children alone because Art's father was a prisoner of war in the Soviet Union. He left in 1954 to "see the world" and wound-up landing in Quebec, Canada where he became a member of the United Steelworkers union (USW). Art soon became…

Bill Zander was born at home in the small town of Myrtle, Saskatchewan in 1934, but spent his childhood in Vancouver, B.C. He started working in a lumber mill after returning from the Royal Canadian Airforce, and became a plant representative with the IWA. He eventually became President of the Provincial Council of Carpenters.

This is a secondary, follow-up interview with Ray Haynes. Ray provided the BCLHC with a number of materials (photos, newspaper articles, etc.) to digitize and archive, which much of this interview is based upon. In this interview, Ray reflects on his time at the BC Federation of Labour and tells stories about various characters, as well as detailing his activism in retirement.

Jackie Ainsworth was born in Ontario, attending a year at the University of Carlton before joining the Anti-War Movement and moving out west to Vancouver. She is a founding member of the Association of University and College Employees [AUCE] as well as United Bank Workers [UBW] Local 2 of the Service, Office and Retail Workers' Union of Canada [SORWUC].

This is an audio-only interview with Nick Carr. Nick was born in Croatia (former Yugoslavia) before moving to Canada as a young boy, where he spent his career as a fisherman. He became President of Local 1 of the United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union, and was a key player in the development of the union's Benefit Fund. Nick Carr passed away in 2021.

John Radosevic was born in Croatia (former Yugoslavia) before moving to Canada as a young boy. As a teenager he worked on an uncle's ranch in Alberta and in the dangerous job of tie-up man in seine fishing in B.C. In 1971, he began working as an organizer for the United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union (UFAWU). He later became a business agent, secretary-treasurer, and president of the union. When he retired after 34 years in the industry, he continued working on the Union Protein Project…

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…

Colin Gabelmann came to Canada as a child in 1947 from London, England. He was influenced by his family's ties to social democratic parties in Europe which continued in Canada where they were strong supporters of the CCF (Cooperative Commonwealth Federation) and the NDP (New Democratic Party). Gablemann became politically active at a young age, living in the Okanagan and moving to Vancouver to attend UBC. His involvement in the UBC NDP Club introduced him to the BC labour movement. After…

"Sy Pederson was born into a logging family of fallers in Courtenay and followed the family tradition when he turned 21. Falling was a dangerous job and Sy recognized the hazard posed by the piecework system. He organized fallers in an illegal strike in 1972, despite union opposition, where they stayed home to successfully achieve a day rate system. Active in his union, the International Woodworkers of America (IWA), he became president of his local as well as of the labour council.

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Patrice Pratt was born in Ohio in 1948 and grew up in Arizona in a staunchly Catholic family with five children. She attended Catholic schools and moved to San Francisco to attend the University of San Francisco, a Catholic Jesuit university. It was located two blocks from Haight-Ashbury, a neighbourhood made famous by the hippie movement of the time.
Patrice met her husband while at university and she moved to Canada with him in 1969 because he did not want to serve in Vietnam. They…

David Fairey's parents were working class immigrants from the U.K. His father was a carpenter and cabinet maker and his mother worked in domestic service, sewing at home, and in furniture and aircraft factories. After he finished high school, David started an apprenticeship in Toronto as a wood pattern maker in a medium-sized heavy manufacturing plant.

During his apprenticeship, he had his first experiences with unions. He became active in Local 28 of the International Molders and…

CFU's first tri-lingual paper with English front side (5-pages) and one French page and Punjabi front side (6-pages); Headlines: CFU on the move - 2 certifications won; Chavez attends Vancouver Rally; Jury raps living conditions; 250 attend meeting on health and safety; CUPE contributes $10,000 to CFU Delegates at NDP convention support farmworkers; Phoney union trying to sabotage CFU organizing; Racist attack on union organizer; Government responsible for deaths of four children in Fraser…

A tri-lingual newspaper with English front side (5-pages), two-page centerfold in French, and Punjabi front side (5-pages). CFU's new logo is presented on the front page. Headlines: CFU National Convention A Success; CFU Signs First Agreement; Ontario's Farmworkers Now Have A Union; Use And Misuse of Pesticides; Immigrant Women Exploited; The Attack at Osoyoos; Okanagan Farmworkers Attend CFU Public Meeting.

A tri-lingual paper with English front side (4-pages), and only the CFU 'President Message' in French, and Punjabi front side (3-pages). Headlines: Farmworker Dies Of Pesticide Poisoning; Agreement Signed At Jensen Mushroom Farm; UIC Discrimination Against Farmworkers Ends; Ontario Summer Legal Clinics; A Time To Learn; Film 'A Time To Rise' Banned in India;

A joint press conference oraganized by CFU with UFW President Cesar Chavez to launch a renewed Grape Boycott campaign to pressure California growers to stop using pesticides and poisoning farm workers and consumers. The CFU hosted Cesar Chavez promoting the UFW's second major table grapes boycott. CFU held a press conference to announce the start of the Canadian boycott at the CFU Burnaby office. Attending (right to left) Father Jim Roberts, BC Federation of Labour President Art Kube, CFU…