David Frank - Provincial Solidarities: A History of the New Brunswick Federation of Labour

Working Canadians: Books from the CCLH

The Canadian Committee on Labour History is Canadas organization of historians and other scholars interested in the study of the lives and struggles of working people throughout Canadas past. Since 1976, the CCLH has published Labour / Le Travail, Canadas pre-eminent scholarly journal of labour studies. It also publishes books, now in conjunction with AU Press, that focus on the history of Canadas working people and their organizations. The emphasis in this series is on materials that are accessible to labour audiences as well as university audiences rather than simply on scholarly studies in the labour area. This includes documentary collections, oral histories, autobiographies, biographies, and provincial and local labour movement histories with a popular bent.

SERIES TITLES

Bert Whyte, edited and with an introduction by Larry Hannant

Alvin Finkel, with contributions by Jason Foster, Winston Gereluk, Jennifer Kelly and Dan Cui, James Muir, Joan Schiebelbein, Jim Selby, and Eric Strikwerda

Carmela Patrias and Larry Savage

Eric Strikwerda

David Frank

Copyright 2013 David Frank

Published by AU Press, Athabasca University
1200, 10011 109 Street, Edmonton, AB T5J 3S8
ISBN 978-1-927356-23-4 (print) 978-1-927356-24-1 (PDF) 978-1-927356-25-8 (epub)
A volume in Working Canadians: Books from the CCLH
ISSN 1925-1831 (print) 1925-184X (digital)

Cover and interior design by Natalie Olsen, Kisscut Design.
Printed and bound in Canada by Marquis Book Printers.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Frank, David
Provincial solidarities : a history of the New Brunswick Federation of Labour / David Frank.

(Working Canadians, ISSN 1925-1831 ; 5)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Issued also in electronic formats.
Co-published by: Canadian Committee on Labour History.
ISBN 978-1-927356-23-4
1. New Brunswick Federation of Labour History. 2. Labor unions New Brunswick History. 3. Labor movement New Brunswick History. I. Canadian Committee on Labour History II. Title. III. Series: Working Canadians (Edmonton, Alta.) ; 5

HD6529.N4F73 2013 331.88097151 C2012-905866-1

Publication of this book was supported by a Community-University Research Alliance grant provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund (CBF) for our publishing activities.

Assistance provided by the Government of Alberta, Alberta Multimedia Development Fund.

Please contact AU Press, Athabasca University at aupress@athabascau.ca for permissions and copyright information.

Many individuals and institutions helped in the preparation of this book, which has been one of the major undertakings of the Labour History in New Brunswick Project, a Community-University Research Alliance supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The councils generous support made it possible to undertake several initiatives in the field, including this book. For a project functioning in both official languages of the province and based on collaboration between researchers at the two provincial universities, the Universit de Moncton and the University of New Brunswick provided essential support. Members of the project team have made their own research contributions in the field and have also assisted in the preparation of this book. At the University of New Brunswick, Linda Kealey, Greg Kealey, and Bill Parenteau were always ready to provide advice and assistance. Nelson Ouellet developed the project website ( http://www.lhtnb.ca ) and coordinated work in Moncton, with the assistance of Denise Paquette. At the Universit de Moncton in Edmundston, Nicole Lang was a model of efficiency and cooperation at all times; in the production of this book, she provided expert editorial help in working with our excellent translator, Rjean Ouellette. Throughout the life of the project, our Fredericton project officer, Carol Ferguson, was indispensable in coordinating the work of the research team and our institutional partners. Student assistants participated in several phases of the work on this book, including the archival research and oral history. At the University of New Brunswick they included Christo Aivalis, Matt Baglole, Jazmine Belyea, Dana Brown, Kim Dunphy, Kelly Flinn, Steven Hansen, Courtney MacIsaac, Patrick Marsh, Mark McLaughlin, Don Nerbas, Lisa Pasolli, Amy Wallace, Leta Waugh, and Michael Wilcox; at the Universit de Moncton they included Zo Lessard-Couturier, Valerie McLaughlin, and Philippe Volp. The responsibility for insisting that I undertake work in New Brunswick labour history belongs to Raymond Lger, who was already making notable contributions to the field as a researcher, educator, and activist long before this project was initiated; he has been a source of encouragement and advice for many years. Jean-Claude Basque, Education Representative for the Canadian Labour Congress in Moncton, was also an early advocate for this project. I am very grateful to George Vair, a former president of the Saint John and District Labour Council and a pioneer in Saint John labour history, who has always been ready to provide practical assistance. In the preparation of this book, the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick, under the direction of Marion Beyea, made a home for the records of the New Brunswick Federation of Labour as well as for the oral history and administrative files produced by the project. When the idea of this history was discussed in the 1990s, Federation president Tim McCarthy provided support and encouragement, as did members of the Federations Education Committee. The late Blair Doucet, president of the Federation of Labour at the time the project was organized, understood the importance of sharing labours story with union members and the wider public. His successor, Michel Boudreau, has continued to provide cooperation and assistance. In the final stages of editorial work, the Busteed Fund at the University of New Brunswick assisted in securing illustrations. I am grateful to Athabasca University Press for undertaking to publish this book, in both English and French editions; a special thank-you is extended to Pamela MacFarland Holway, for supervising the editorial process, and to Natalie Olsen, for the handsome design.