
Blacklisted Brothers
Joe Naylor and Albert Goodwin
The two men were brothers in arms during the labour struggle. Leaders for the Cumberland workforce, and blacklisted by the mining companies, this is a snippet of the role these two historic figures played during the Big Strike.
Joe Naylor 1872-1946
Joe Naylor hailed from the industrial stronghold of Wigan in North East England. He worked as a miner most of his life, and begun as young as 10 years old, the legal age to work in Victorian England.
After years of sweat and toil he looked to new opportunities in America. Originally landing in Butte, Montana in 1908, he worked the Ore fields. Known for being a hotbed of socialist and union-driven workers, it was here that Joe Naylor became acquainted with the Western Federation of Miners. However, he did not stay long in Butte and in 1909 he crossed the northern border and landed in Cumberland, BC.
Joe was 37 when he arrived in Cumberland, and was already a steadfast unionist and socialist. He gained employment as a hewer at the No. 7 Mine near Bevan, and established himself in the worker's community. Shortly after he was elected president of the Local UMWA branch, while also being an active member of the Socialist Party and the recording secretary for Cumberland.

If the company had done business with us, it would not have been necessary to have a one-day holiday. We just did it as a protest.
Joe Naylor, in Roger Stonebanks, Joe Naylor: Man of Principle (1997).
With the arrival of strikebreakers and extra police in Cumberland, protesters became increasingly agitated, but under Joe Naylor’s guidance, the strikers remained mostly peaceful. However, in July 1913 a confrontation arose between a group of strikebreakers, led by a police officer identified as “Cane”, and the strikers on Dunsmuir Avenue. Joe tried to diffuse the situation. However, when tempers sparked a striker attacked Cane, and a brawl broke out.
A few days later, Joe was arrested for ‘unlawful assembly’ and thrown in jail. He was denied bail for months, removing him from the strike at a crucial time. Naylor had been identified as a key figure of the workers’ movement since day one. When the Cumberland mine superintendent was asked to name key-agitators, Joe’s name was top of the list.
His charge was eventually dismissed, but the intended damage by the authorities had been done.
… it is the white men, and especially the men who have come from the same country as myself… that are the real curse in this province, it isn't the Asiatics at all.
Joe Naylor, in Roger Stonebanks, Joe Naylor: Man of Principle (1997).

Legacy
Joe distinguished himself from other Union leaders with his refusal to adopt anti-Asain sentiments. The Company’s use of Asain miners as strikebreakers greatly angered the protesters, but Naylor advocated that they would not have worked if the choice had been their own. He rejected the established statement labelling them as ‘the curse of BC’ and called for their inclusion, not exclusion, from the labour fight.
In the years following the Big Strike, Joe continued to campaign for improved workers rights. Originally blacklisted from the mines, he eventually regained his coal mining job in Cumberland in 1923. The persistence and continued efforts to unionise the Cumberland mines eventually paid off in 1937.
Joe lived alone in a humble cabin on Comox Lake and died in 1946 at age 74. He was laid to rest in the Cumberland Cemetery next to his friend and Big Strike comrade, Albert Goodwin.
He was just a great old fellow. In my book, his heart was pure as gold.
Bronco Moncrief, in Roger Stonebanks, Joe Naylor: Man of Principle (1997).
Ginger Goodwin 1887-1918
Albert ‘Ginger’ Goodwin was born on May 10th, 1887, in the industrial north of England, in a small town called Treeton.
His father, Walter, was a hewer and at a young age Albert joined his father in the mines. By 1901, he was a pit corporal underground, in charge of the haulage boys, and later in his teens he became a pony driver.
Albert ‘Ginger’ Goodwin was born on May 10th, 1887, in the industrial north of England, in a small town called Treeton.
His father, Walter, was a hewer and at a young age Albert joined his father in the mines. By 1901, he was a pit corporal underground, in charge of the haulage boys, and later in his teens he became a pony driver.
At the age of 19, Albert emigrated to Canada. His journey led him to Halifax, where he arrived on September 1st, 1906. Shortly thereafter, he ventured further west and eventually settled in Cumberland during the fall of 1910. There, he secured employment as a mule driver and miner at the No. 5 Mine. Engaging wholeheartedly with the local community, he became a part of the No. 5 Thistles soccer team, representing the mine in the Cumberland league during the 1911-12 season.

In order to throw this system over we have got to organise as a class and fight them as class against class. And so I say we have got to back our forces against them, and our weapons are education, organisation and agitation ...
Albert ‘Ginger’ Goodwin, Western Clarion (August 1912).
Influenced heavily by Joe Naylor, Albert became a prominent member of the labour movement and an active member of the Socialist party in Cumberland. He wrote for the Socialist Canada Party’s newspaper, the Western Clarion, calling for a workers' revolution.
At the beginning of the Big Strike, Albert was a key activist, protesting against the working conditions and campaigning for union recognition. He gave passionate speeches, and was a figurehead the miners rallied behind. Blacklisted by the Canadian Collieries Co. for his leading role alongside Joe Naylor and other key antagonists, Albert was forced to leave Cumberland in search of work.
Arriving at Trail in the interior of BC in 1916, Albert worked at the smeltworks. His union activism and outspoken objection to the war led to his public profile growing significantly in 1916 and 1917. In 1918, after being initially found not fit for duty and following a controversial health re-evaluation, Albert was conscripted. A conscientious objector, Albert and the union attempted to have him exempted but were unsuccessful. Albert was forced to flee.
He returned to Cumberland, with deadly consequences.

Legacy
Albert Goodwin’s legacy transcends that of BC labour history.
In the spring of 1918, Ginger fled to the Beaufort mountains above Comox Lake, just outside of Cumberland. He was supported by sympathetic members of the Cumberland community - one of whom was Joe Naylor - who would bring him food and supplies. On July 27th, constable Dan Campbell, part of the special police tasked with tracking down conscientious objectors, shot and killed Albert at Comox Lake. The officer claimed he shot Albert in self-defence, but many believed it to be murder - a sentiment that remains today.
Albert’s death sparked outrage in the working class. On the day of his funeral, August 2nd, 1918, workers in Vancouver launched actions that led to Canada’s first general strike and a catalyst for the Winnipeg General Strike in 1919.
