The creation of the Canadian Farmworkers Union, as it would come to be called, was the first step in a struggle that continues to this day.

Because even now, farmworkers have far fewer rights than almost any other class of worker. And even today, the men and women who grow our food are subject to horrific working conditions and racial discrimination.

But to understand why the situation remains so bad, we need to go back in time to a moment when there was progress and hope. A moment when it looked like things might truly change for the better.

This is the first episode in a two-part series on farm labour.

Featured in this episode: Raj Chouhan

To learn more:

A Time To Rise by Anand Patwardhan & Jim Munro

Union Zindabad!: South Asian Canadian Labour History in British Columbia by Donna Sacuta, Bailey Garden & Anushay Malik

“Charan Gill: An ‘Epic’ Life of Advocacy” by David P. Ball in The Tyee

“1983: The Year BC Citizens and Workers Fought Back” by Rod Mickleburgh in The Tyee

Credits: Arshy Mann (Host and Producer), Jordan Cornish (Producer), Noor Azrieh (Producer), André Proulx (Production Coordinator), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)

Additional music from Audio Network

Sponsors: Douglas, Athletic Greens

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