Vancouver Historical Society NEWSLETTER ISSN 0042 - 2487 April 2015 Vol. 54 No. 7 Bread & Roses: Women and the Labour Movement April Speaker: Joey Hartman and the Re: Sisters “As we go marching, marching, in the By the first International Women’s Subsequently in the 1940s, most wom- beauty of the day, Day in 1911, almost 6,500 women of en found their union activism limited A million darkened kitchens, a thou- all nationalities represented 8% of the to women’s auxiliaries. Their hus- sand mill lofts gray, paid workforce in Vancouver. Most bands earned a “family wage” and few Are touched with all the radiance that worked as domestic servants, while women participated in waged labour. a sudden sun discloses, other jobs included fish workers, tele- For the people hear us singing “bread phone operators, seamstresses, teach- By the 1970s however, feminism and and roses, bread and roses.” ers and laundresses. economic necessity drove women into the workforce in large These lyrics speak to the need numbers. Unions started to for sustenance, as represented bargain women’s issues such by bread, and beauty in our as maternity leave extensions lives, by roses. Based on a and top up, family leave, flex- poem by James Oppenheim and ible hours, the ability to use inspired by a speech given by sick leave for family mem- Rose Schneiderman, it is as- bers and affirmative action. sociated with a successful 1912 Massachusetts textile strike; By the early 1980s, the however, the message is univer- struggle shifted to equal pay sal. for work of equal value, and other forms of equity. Two With photographs, quotes and feminist based unions were music, April’s speakers, Joey formed to advance women’s Hartman and the Re: Sisters Women building airplanes at Boeing plant on Sea issues in a labour climate feminist chorus, will describe that did little to recognize events and general trends of Island in Richmond in the mid-1940s. Photographer: Briddick, City of Vancouver Archives, AM54-S4-: Air P1.3 the need for change. Today, significance to women in la- the aims of women in labour bour, with a particular focus on indi- still reflect the need for sustenance and viduals in Vancouver and B.C. From the end of WWI to the end of WWII, it was a roller coaster ride for quality of life. It is not surprising that Aboriginal women in labour. In the 1920s, desir- Join us for this very unique approach women, having lived and worked in able work became available but disap- to women in the labour movement, an the lower mainland since time im- peared in the 1930s only to return in under appreciated but very important memorial, were at the vanguard of the WWII when women entered manu- part of Vancouver and British 700 mostly aboriginal women cannery facturing in huge numbers. However Columbia history. workers who struck in 1900. They at war’s end, over 80,000 Canadian helped win a settlement and improved women were laid off to clear their jobs Joey Hartman and Bruce M. Watson piece rate for salmon. for returning vets. Next Meeting: 7:30 p.m., Thursday, April 23, 2015 at Museum of Vancouver President’s Notes Bicycles and Motorcycles since 1914 oey Hartman’s talk this month on the history of n Vancouver, the Deeley name has been synonymous with Jwomen in the Vancouver labour movement draws my Imotorcycles since the Bromsgrove, England-born Fred attention to Irene Howard, a longtime Vancouver His- Deeley opened his first shop at 1075 Granville in 1914. Just torical Society (VHS) member who joined the Society three years later, Fred acquired a Harley-Davidson franchise. almost fifty years ago. Hartman’s talk will introduce us By 1925, Fred owned the motorcycle shop, a bicycle shop to key Vancouver individuals who sought social rights and one of the largest car dealerships in Canada. In that year, for women. One such individual was Helena Gutteridge, his son Fred Jr. took over the motorcycle business, which a trade unionist and social activist whose story Irene would eventually move to West Broadway. In 1953, Fred Sr.’s tells in The Struggle for Social Justice in British Colum- grandson, Trev, became the company’s General Manager. bia: Helena Gutteridge, The Unknown Reformer (1992). Although A cartoon from the book speaks volumes about the dif- Trev passed ficulties that Vancouver women faced in their struggle away in for social justice. Published on the front page of the 2002, the Vancouver Sun on March, 27, 1937, the cartoon shows business Helena standing in the City Council Chambers, a rolling continues pin in hand, saying: “Now let’s see — new curtains over today in there — flowers — ash trays — and er— the language!” a huge Helena Gutteridge, a member of the socialist CCF party, complex on had become the first woman elected to Council. Clearly, Boundary being taken seriously as a woman in politics was going Road just to be a challenge. north of Broadway. Helena had arrived from England in 1911. Born into The building The Deeley shop at 563 West Broadway in the working class, trained as a tailor, and active as an houses 1926, where it had now been for a year since English suffragist, she immediately made her mark in a unique moving from Granville. An advertisement in Vancouver as a trade unionist, labour researcher, cor- museum the window touts “80 miles per gallon” for one respondent, and voice for working class women about showcasing of their motorcycles. Photo: Trev Deeley Collection suffrage. She fought to make visible the issue of female over 250 unemployment and in 1918 successfully promoted the historic motorcycles. The collection — representing over 50 passage of BC’s first bill to establish minimum wages manufacturers from around the world — is considered to be the for women. In the 1930s, housing became Helena’s finest private collection of motorcycles in Canada. main issue, prompting her to question housing condi- tions in the West End and spearhead the struggle for Join our affable host, Terry Rea, for a tour of this fascinating social housing. museum on Saturday, April 25th at 1:00 p.m. Now retired, Helena offered an attractive subject for a writer like Terry is a former Deeley employee, who has been involved Irene Howard. Born in Prince Rupert to Swedish im- with motorcycles and car racing in the Lower Mainland since migrant parents, Irene grew up in mining camps around his teens. Terry will talk about the Deeley family history as Smithers and the Bridge River area. Their lives were well as the motorcycle collection. Even if you have never shaped by her father’s work as a miner, a story she told had an interest in riding a motorcycle, the Deeley story and in her fourth book, Gold Dust on His Shirt: The Story collection is a unique part of Vancouver history and not to be of an Immigrant Mining Family. But it is her first book missed. that connects her most directly to the VHS. Presented This tour is free for VHS members and $9 for non-members first in 1968 as one of a series of papers on Vancouver’s (if space is available). There are a limited number of tickets ethnic history, the talk emerged in 1970 as Vancouver’s so please reserve early by calling the Vancouver Historical Svenskar: A History of the Swedish Community in Van- Society’s Info-Line at 604-878-9140 and leaving your name, couver, the Society’s first major publication. Congratula- phone number and email (if available) so our tour coordinator tions, Irene. can reply with a confirmation. Tickets are available on a first- Bob McDonald, President come basis. [email protected] The Society is Looking for You Upcoming Speakers he Vancouver Historical Society is a volunteer organization Tthat depends on members for its success and continuity. The VHS invites everyone (including non-members) The Society is always looking for individuals with talent to attend our monthly talks. The talks are free and and skills that help the organization to promote an interest in are held at the Museum of Vancouver, 1100 Chestnut Vancouver history. If you have any background in accounting, Street (close to Vanier Park) at 7:30 p.m. on the publicity, media, organization, writing, event planning, man- fourth Thursday of every month except June, July, agement, or similar fields, we would be interested in meeting August, December). you. That kind of background is always needed on the Soci- ety’s Executive Board. You don’t have to be an expert or even Thursday, May 28, 2015 know much about Vancouver history. (You’ll pick that up eas- Daughters in the City: Mennonite Maids in ily enough if you’re interested.) The Executive Board meets for Vancouver about 90 minutes once a month, nine times a year to direct the Speaker: Ruth Derksen Society’s goals. Terms for Board members are one year. Please In the early 1930s, young Mennonite women — contact [email protected] for mostly adolescents — began to arrive in Vancouver, more information. seeking work as domestic servants. Most had recently come to Canada as refugees from Russia, having escaped from the terror of Stalin’s regime Len McCann 1927-2015 and consequently their desperate families owed a We are all substantial debt to the Canadian Pacific Railway saddened by the for their journey. These indomitable young single death of Len women, however, were pioneers of their community McCann, one of for they broke through the barriers of the “evil city,” the Vancouver the English language and the upper-class British Historical culture.