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Archival description
Ian McDonald collection
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Ian McDonald collection

  • RBSC-ARC-1783
  • Collection
  • [1910?]-[before 2022]

The collection contains materials related to Ian McDonald's Master's thesis research on the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Local 213 “Class conflict and political factionalism: a history of Local 213 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, 1901-1961," and related to the activities of his father, Les McDonald, a trade union activist who belonged to Local 213 but was eventually suspended for leading the Lenkurt strike of 1966. Les McDonald was also a multi-sport athlete, and is credited with introducing the triathlon into the Olympics; some materials in the collection relate to Les McDonald's involvement in various sport and environmental organizations, as well as some of his personal papers. In addition to what he received from his father, Ian McDonald was also given papers by former IBEW Local 213 business manager Art O’Keeffe and Barry Sharbo, a board member of the Canadian Union of Electrical Workers (UE), as well as Alfie Huston, the former President of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 213 from 1985-1988, which are included within the collection.

The collection is largely comprised of newspaper and photocopied journal articles, correspondence between members of IBEW Local 213, legal documentation, newsletters and other printed ephemera related to IBEW Local 213.

The collection also contains sound recordings of interviews with numerous figures in IBEW Local 213 created by Ian McDonald during his thesis research. McDonald's thesis, submitted for the completion of a Master of Arts in History at Simon Fraser University, can be found in the Summit database: http://summit.sfu.ca/item/6361.

The collection also contains background materials accumulated by McDonald while writing his book “The Red Baron of IBEW 213,” including digital sound recordings of interviews, research articles, notebooks, consent forms, a draft royalty agreement, a draft chapter and a press marketing questionnaire.

McDonald, Ian

Oral history and audio history material re: British Columbia Labour History

The file contains audio recordings relevant to British Columbia labour history, including oral narratives and tapings of radio broadcasts. Interviewees include numerous IBEW Local 213 figures, such as Ernie Fulton, Dusty Greenwell, Terry Simpson, George Gee, Jack Ross, Art O'Keeffe and Angus McDonald.

The interviewer on most of the cassettes is Ian McDonald; some interviews were conducted by Simon Fraser University History professor, Allan Seager, who was also McDonald's supervisor for his Master's thesis.

[Lenkurt newspaper articles (2 of 2)]

File contains articles from various Vancouver-area newspapers documenting the events of the Lenkurt strike in 1966. Also contains an obituary for Jim Kinnaird and a retrospective article in the Pacific Tribune written in 1986.

[Lenkurt newspaper articles (1 of 2)]

File contains articles from various Vancouver-area newspapers documenting the events of the Lenkurt strike in 1966. Also contains an obituary for Jim Kinnaird and a retrospective article in the Pacific Tribune written in 1986.

[Issues of 213 Live Wire (3 of 3)]

File contains various issues of "213 Live Wire," the newspaper of IBEW Local 213. A few copies of "Live Wire," the newspaper of the Canadian Union for Electrical Workers are also within the file, as well as some IBEW Local 213 business manager newsletters. Also contains a copy of the December 1964 issue of the Electrical Worker's Journal with handwritten annotations by Les McDonald.

[Issues of 213 Live Wire (2 of 3)]

File contains various issues of "213 Live Wire," the newspaper of IBEW Local 213. A few copies of "Live Wire," the newspaper of the Canadian Union for Electrical Workers are also within the file, as well as some IBEW Local 213 business manager newsletters. Also contains a copy of the December 1964 issue of the Electrical Worker's Journal with handwritten annotations by Les McDonald.

[Issues of 213 Live Wire (1 of 3)]

File contains various issues of "213 Live Wire," the newspaper of IBEW Local 213. A few copies of "Live Wire," the newspaper of the Canadian Union for Electrical Workers are also within the file, as well as some IBEW Local 213 business manager newsletters. Also contains a copy of the December 1964 issue of the Electrical Worker's Journal with handwritten annotations by Les McDonald.

[Collected IBEW Local 213 materials, 1949-1959]

File contains affidavits, telegrams, letters and other correspondence related to political matters within IBEW Local 213 during the 1950s, including the gathering of testimony against George Gee and Alex Dorland, and IBEW representative Jack Ross reporting back to IBEW International secretary J. Scott Milne about "a good Local going bad."

[Materials related to the Canadian Union of Electrical Workers breakaway movement (3 of 3)]

File contains pamphlets, letters, newspaper clippings and other ephemera collected from Barry Sharbo, an electrician belonging to IBEW Local 213 who was charged for his involvement in the Lenkurt Strike and went on to join and become a board member of the Canadian Electrical Workers Union Local 1. The contents of the file relate primarily to the Lenkurt Strike and the formation of the Canadian Electrical Workers Union.

[Materials related to the Canadian Union of Electrical Workers breakaway movement (2 of 3)]

File contains pamphlets, letters, newspaper clippings and other ephemera collected from Barry Sharbo, an electrician belonging to IBEW Local 213 who was charged for his involvement in the Lenkurt Strike and went on to join and become a board member of the Canadian Electrical Workers Union Local 1. The contents of the file relate primarily to the Lenkurt Strike and the formation of the Canadian Electrical Workers Union.

[Materials related to the Canadian Union of Electrical Workers breakaway movement (1 of 3)]

File contains pamphlets, letters, newspaper clippings and other ephemera collected from Barry Sharbo, an electrician belonging to IBEW Local 213 who was charged for his involvement in the Lenkurt Strike and went on to join and become a board member of the Canadian Electrical Workers Union Local 1. The contents of the file relate primarily to the Lenkurt Strike and the formation of the Canadian Electrical Workers Union.

[Collected newspaper clippings]

File contains newspaper clippings from the Province, the Sun, Pacific Tribune and the Barker, mostly related to Art O'Keeffe or the use of injunctions in labor disputes.

Court Cases

File contains full text decisions of B.C. Dist. Telegraph Co. v. IBEW Local 213 (1965); IBEW Local 28 v. IBEW and Gordon Freeman, IBEW President (1961) and IBEW Local 28 v. IBEW Local 24 (1963). Although the file was explicitly grouped with the Art O'Keeffe papers in the received order of the collection (i.e. through the physical arrangement and a file list), O'Keeffe himself could not have collected copies of the court cases in 2016.

[Lenkurt suspension appeal documents]

File contains documents related to Art O'Keeffe's appeal of his suspension from the IBEW on the grounds of his involvement in the 'Lenkurt dispute' of 1966. Also contains "Injunctions have no place in labor disputes," the statement of Jeffrey James Power to the appeal court of British Columbia in support of Local 213 workers suspended after the Lenkurt Strike (published by the Marine Workers' & Boilermakers' Industrial Union Local #1), and some personal correspondence addressed to Art O'Keeffe supporting his position.

[Correspondence related to IBEW charges]

File contains copies of official correspondence related to charges brought against Art O'Keeffe by IBEW president Angus McDonald in November 1962, as well as charges against other IBEW members in 1965 and 1966 that O'Keeffe supported. Also contains a and an incomplete copy of O'Keeffe's appeal of his suspension.

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