Vancouver & District Labour Council

06/19/2026

06/17/2026

06/16/2026

📣📣Today, dozens of Canadian civil society organizations released a statement in the Hill Times calling on the 🇨🇦 government to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Cuba, cornerstone rights of all states under international law. https://tinyurl.com/3xdseb27

Since President Trump's threats to 'take over' Cuba, Canadian civil society orgs and thousands of individuals from across the country have urged Ottawa to reject the U.S. blockade and threats of invasion that put lives, rights and the UN Charter at risk.

The 🇨🇦 government must:

🟢 Publicly oppose and work to stop a U.S. military intervention in Cuba;
🟢Speak out forcefully against unlawful U.S. coercive measures to withhold fuel and starve the Cuban people;
🟢Work more determinedly with the United Nations and other countries to get fuel and other life-sustaining supplies to Cuba.

Also today, Canada’s parliamentary Subcommittee on International Human Rights (SDIR) is holding a Briefing on Human Rights in the Caribbean Region. Like the February 26 Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development hearing before it, the witness list raises serious concerns about the balance and range of perspectives to be heard by the committee. Watch the hearing on CPAC this afternoon (more info at the link) https://www.ourcommons.ca/DocumentViewer/en/45-1/SDIR/meeting-22/notice

06/15/2026

06/12/2026

We have one last class this session before we take a break for the summer and start organizing for the fall education session!

Striking with History with Mark Leier
Saturday June 27, 2026 | 9.30am to 4.00pm
In-person at the Maritime Labour Centre
111 Victoria Drive, Vancouver
Cost: $25.00 which includes lunch and a copy of Mark's book, 'Rebel Life'

Register here: https://vdlc.ca/events/striking-with-history-2/

Striking with History combines training for activists with labour history to help people think creatively about today’s struggles and tactics. It will draw on the experiences of the participants, interactive role-play, and history from the struggle for the 9-hour day to the recent UniteHere hotel strike to develop critical thinking and organizing skills for activists and organizers.

Mark's book, 'Rebel Life', chronicles the life of labour organizer, revolutionary, anarchist and labour spy Robert Gosden. Robert Gosden was a migrant labourer, turned radical activist, turned police spy. In 1913, he publicly recommends assassinating Premier Richard McBride to resolve the miners' strike. By 1919, he is urging Prime Minister Robert Borden to "disappear" key labour radicals to quelch rising discontent. This book looks at the enigma that was Gosden, but it is much more: an introduction to BC labour history: a trove of rarely seen archival photograph, and sidebars rich with historical arcana which is a great resource for students and trade unionists alike.

Mark Leier is a history professor at Simon Fraser University. He has been a member of several unions over his working life, including the Glaziers, CUPE, TSSU, Carpenters, and SFUFA. Noted for his use of the banjo and labour songs in his classes, Mark is an award-winning teacher who has taught labour history at the CLC Winter School and for several unions. His books include Where the Fraser River Flows, a history of the IWW in BC; Bakunin: A Creative Passion, a biography of the 19th-century Russian anarchist, and Rebel Life: The Life and Times of Robert Gosden, a BC radical and police spy. His most recent project, with labour studies instructor John-Henry Harter, is Roles of Resistance: Game Plans for Teachers and Troublemakers.

In-Person at the Maritime Labour Centre. Lunch provided. Striking with History combines training for activists with labour history to help people think creatively about today’s struggles and tactics. It will draw on the experiences of the participants, interactive role-play, and history from the s...

06/11/2026

Canada’s airports belong in public hands, not private profit.

✍️Sign the petition to keep Canada’s airports public:
https://www.ourcommons.ca/petitions/en/Petition/Details?Petition=e-7453

06/11/2026

Last night, delegates representing our affiliated unions voted to endorse OneCity Vancouver's impressive slate of candidates for election to City Council, School Board, and Park Board in the City of Vancouver.

We look forward to making further endorsements for remaining seats at a future meeting, pending the narrowing of the field of mayoral candidates.

06/10/2026

Sharing for the information of delegates and other members in Vancouver-Quilchena!

Vancouver-Quilchena deserves an MLA focused on local priorities. Instead, Brodie devoted to her own political projects. Constituents see little engagement or advocacy. Vancouver-Quilchena wants an MLA who fights for their needs.

06/10/2026

Thank you to Tamara Ramusovic of Moore Edgar Lyster LLP for facilitating today's class on Drug and Alcohol Policies and Testing!

We're down to one final class in the Spring portion of our education program - Striking with History, on June 27th.

Watch for the Fall education program coming out in the next few weeks!

VDLC education programs are open, accessible, and affordable.  From labour law and progressive economics to public speaking and social policy, we offer training, seminars, and workshops on a range of topics that are timely and important to trade unionists and social justice activists. We limi...

06/10/2026

The next regular meeting of the VDLC will be held in person only on Tuesday, July 21st, 7:00pm at the Maritime Labour Centre, 1880 Triumph St. Prior to this meeting, we will host our annual summer BBQ starting at 6:00pm. Burgers (beef and veggie options), and refreshments, will be provided. Please register by July 15th, so that we know how much food to purchase.

Click here to register: https://vdlc.ca/events/vdlc-july-regular-meeting/