Harold Pritchett was born in Birmingham, England and arrived in Port Moody, B.C. in 1912. He began working at the Thurston-Flavelle Mill in 1919 and gradually became involved in union activities. By 1931, he was Chairman of the Fraser Mills Strike Committee and President of the Shingle Weavers Union in 1933. He was elected president of the Independent Federation of Woodworkers in 1936; then with the affiliation of the Federation of Woodworkers to the Congress of Industrial Organizations, he was elected founding president. Pritchett resigned from activities in the United States in 1940 and became President of District Council No.1 (IWA) for British Columbia. Following a split in the Union, Pritchett helped organize the short-lived Woodworkers Industrial Union.
From the description of Harold Pritchett fonds. 1933-1980. (University of British Columbia Library). WorldCat record id: 606461868
Harold Pritchett was born in England in 1904. He immigrated to Canada, and began working in a Port Moody sawmill at age 15. He was the first president of International Woodworkers of America, 1936-1940. Thereafter, he organized woodworkers in British Columbia and was a member of the British Columbia Federation of Labor.
From the guide to the Harold Pritchett papers, 1937-1971, 1940, (University of Washington Libraries Special Collections)
