BC Labour Heritage Centre

03/25/2026

When Ken Novakowski organized for teachers to have a duty-free lunch hour, someone burned a cross on his lawn. Did that deter him?
"No, it just made me more resolved."

A high-school social studies and history teacher with experience in politics, Ken Novakowski went on to serve as the president of the BC Teachers' Federation (BCTF) from 1989-1992, and then as executive director for a decade. He was instrumental in setting up the BC branch of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, and was the chair of the BC Labour Heritage Centre from 2013-2019.

His two-part interview with volunteer ✨Rod Mickleburgh is the newest in our collection. Thank you to volunteer ✨Pete Smith for creating the transcript.

https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/collection/ken-novakowski-interview-pt-1-progressive-politics/

https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/collection/ken-novakowski-interview-pt-2-fighting-for-teachers/

03/20/2026

C'est la Journée de la Francophonie en Colombie-Britannique ! Saviez-vous que nous offrons gratuitement des plans de cours sur l'histoire du mouvement syndical en Colombie-Britannique, disponibles en français ? C'est vrai ! En voici quelques exemples tirés de notre catalogue qui en compte plus de 30:

It's BC Francophonie Day! Did you know that we offer free lesson plans on BC labour history available in French? We do! Here are a few examples from our catalogue of more than 30:

03/20/2026

In 2005, contract talks between the BC Teachers' Federation and BC Liberals fell apart. Rather than negotiate, the government imposed a collective agreement on the teachers, freezing their wages and providing no support for classroom conditions. The teachers were ready for this. They voted overwhelmingly to strike, knowing that they would be breaking the law.

03/16/2026

When women in this CUPE local were told they couldn't form a women's committee, they decided to run for union executive instead. After winning, they pushed for pay equity and helped raise wages for everyone.

Hear Colleen Jordan's full interview on our site!

03/12/2026

NEW ARTICLE!

"Shortly after 11:00 at night, as snow fell on the streets of Vancouver, the Mac-Paps completed the final leg of their long journey home."

In the 1930s, more than 1,500 Canadians volunteered to fight fascism in the Spanish Civil War. They became known as the “Mac-Paps.”

Many were trade unionists and working-class activists who saw the fight in Spain as part of a global struggle for democracy and workers’ rights.

A new article from guest author Kayden Russell Black explores how some of Vancouver's Mac-Paps were welcomed home, and what that tells us about the city and its people at the time.

Read “Solidarity City: The Mac-Paps Come Home”:
https://www.labourheritagecentre.ca/collection/solidarity-city-the-mac-paps-come-home/

Photos:
Group of MacKenzie-Papineau with banner, December 1937.
Harry Randall: Fifteenth International Brigade Films and Photographs, Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, C252.

James "Red" Walsh ad, March 3 1938. The People's Advocate newspaper.

03/11/2026

Former miners and police officers recall the Battle of Orgreave – a violent flashpoint during Britain's 1984/85 Miners’ Strike. Knowledge Network broadcasts "Strike: An Uncivil War" on March 10 and 11. Available for free across BC.

03/10/2026

Who were the Mac-Paps? Hear from the expert: David Yorke, whose full interview you can see in our Oral History Collection.

03/07/2026

Check your inbox or click below to read about the many ways the BC labour movement has "stirred the pot". From boycotts to bathtubs, farmworkers to fisher[men] -- we feed your appetite for labour history. Not getting our emails? Yikes! Follow the link and click "Subscribe" in the top left corner.
https://mailchi.mp/labourheritagecentre/march-2026

03/07/2026

On Sunday, March 8, please join us at 12:30 at Abbotsford's Matsqui Centennial Auditorium and the Golden Tree monument to remember three farmworkers — Sukhvinder Kaur Punia, Amarjit Kaur Bal and Sarabjit Kaur Sidhu — who were killed in the rollover of the overloaded van taking them to work.

03/06/2026

What can we learn from labour history?

Rod Mickleburgh, labour reporter and author of "On The Line: A History of BCs Labour Movement" learned a lot about fighting and losing. The labour movement lost over and over and over again, until something changed.

03/03/2026

Spaces are still available to join curator Heather Feeney this Thursday March 5th for an engaging tour and discussion of our brand new exhibition, Solidarity Forever. For more info and to register please visit the link in our bio.

03/03/2026