Grant MacNeil

Grant MacNeil – CCF Politician, International Woodworkers of America (IWA)

Download Grant MacNeil Part 1 (.mp3)
Download Grant MacNeil Part 1 transcript (.pdf)

Download Grant MacNeil Part 2 (.mp3)
Download Grant MacNeil Part 2 transcript (.pdf)

Charles Grant MacNeil

Charles Grant MacNeil 1890-1976 was a veteran of the First World War. Upon his return to Canada, MacNeil became secretary of the Great War Veterans Association and advocated for other returning soldiers. He was elected in 1935 as Member of Parliament for Vancouver North representing the CCF (Co-operative Commonwealth Federation). Defeated in the 1940 federal election, MacNeil was elected Member of the Legislative Assembly (CCF) representing Vancouver-Burrard in 1941. Later, he held various positions with the International Woodworkers of America (IWA) including Director of Public Relations and Editor of the B.C. Lumber Worker.

Part 1 begins with the1938 Blubber Bay strike, and goes on to detail the various unions in the woods prior to creation of the International Woodworkers of America, anti-Oriental sentiment in the labor movement, and the political affiliations of labor leaders. He describes his friendship with J.S. Woodworth in Ottawa which led him to the CCF and political involvement. MacNeil also touches on his role as secretary of the BC Security Commission during Japanese internment,

Keywords: Blubber Bay, Pacific Lime Company, Texada Island, Lumber and Sawmill Workers Union, International Woodworkers of America (IWA), Shingle Weavers, Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), One Big Union (OBU), Carpenters Union, Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), Workers Unity League, Communist Party, Lumber Workers Industrial Union, Canadian Congress of Labor (CCL), Canadian Labour Congress, BC Federation of Labor, Trades and Labour Council, Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), New Democratic Party (NDP), Harold Pritchett, Bob Gardner, Gordon Wismer (Attorney General), J.S. Woodsworth, Lucy Woodsworth, League for Peace and Freedom, Section 98 Criminal Code, Health Insurance Act, Ernie Winch, Fraser Mills, Harry Bridges, longshoremen, Taft-Hartley Act, white bloc, red bloc, Japanese internment, Security Commission, Dorothy Steeves, North Vancouver

Part 2 focuses on the power struggle between pro-Communist and anti-Communist factions within the union from the late 1930s to the late 1940s.The IWA was founded in 1937 as an industrial union, breaking away from the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners. This led to a bitter struggle with the Carpenters’ Union. In 1946, the IWA organized its first industry-wide strike, which laid the foundation for industry-wide bargaining.

Keywords: IWA (International Woodworkers of America), Lumber and Sawmill Workers, Carpenters’ and Joiners Union, John L. Lewis, CIO (Congress of Industrial Organizations), AFL (American Federation of Labor), Federation of Woodworkers, Communist Party, Harold Pritchett, Nigel Morgan, Bill Hutcheson, Marshall Plan, no-strike policy, Canadian Congress of Labor (CCL), white bloc, red bloc, Adolph Germer, New Westminster Local 1-357, BC Federation of Labor, George Home, Bill Mahoney, industry-wide bargaining, War Labor Boards, union security, Jack Greenall, Woodworkers Industrial Union of Canada (WIUC), JS Alsbury, Lloyd Whalen, Jack Squire, Gordon McEntree, Mike Sekora, Joe Morris, Jim Fadling, Danny O’Brien