Harold Pritchett

Harold Pritchett was born in Birmingham, England, on May 9, 1904. He immigrated to Canada at age eight with his family and settled in Port Moody, British Columbia. He began working in a sawmill in Port Moody at age fifteen for ten cents per hour. Pritchett stated that his first exposure to unions was in 1921 when he attended a meeting with One Big Union (IWW in Canada), and he became one of the first members of the AFL-affiliated Shingle Weavers Union when it was established in 1925. It was around this time that some historians believe Pritchett became an active member of the Communist Party, though conclusive evidence has not been found. Though Pritchett always publicly denied Party membership, many labor leaders at the time were aware of the negative connotations associated with the Communist Party and sought to keep their membership private. The Communist Party owned property next door to Pritchett in Port Moody that it used for organizing activities, which Pritchett participated in. == Organizing the CIO ==

Expulsion from the Shingle Weavers Pritchett rose to prominence as a promising young organizer in the Shingle Weavers Union and was elected president of his local in 1932. He and his local, however, were expelled from the union in the same year due to alleged communist infiltration. Pritchett then became involved in the Federation of Woodworkers, affiliated with the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners, led by William Hutcheson, who Pritchett and others frequently clashed with. At a convention in Tacoma in 1937, the Federation of Woodworkers voted to disaffiliate from the Carpenters and Joiners and join the Committee for Industrial Organization (CIO). Organizing the IWA Following their decision to affiliate with the CIO, the Federation of Woodworkers became known as the International Woodworkers of America, and Pritchett was elected the first president. In the early years, Pritchett and other lumber workers found themselves embroiled in a power struggle. Violent clashes erupted as the Carpenters and Joiners sought to boycott all products made by IWA members and block production at IWA-controlled mills. Adolph Germer was sent by CIO president John L. Lewis to conduct an organizing drive and bring order to the union. Germer was a staunch anticommunist and collaborated with the CRDC to drive out Pritchett from his position. Pritchett's downfall from the IWA represented an early sign of a shift that occurred in the CIO, as the leadership tried to distance themselves from the union's radical roots. In 1940, Pritchett announced that he had applied for a permanent resident visa in the United States. Since 1936, he and his family had been living in the US continuously on visitor status, but the permit had expired and was unable to be renewed. In the hearing, Pritchett was barred from entry on the grounds that he was a communist and involved in subversive activities to undermine the US government's authority. Trapped in Vancouver, Pritchett was unable to attend the 1940 IWA convention and was forced to resign his position as international president. == Post-deportation and later life ==

Pritchett remained involved in the IWA in Canada and became president of a district in British Columbia. Distanced from American anticommunist reactionaries, he also became involved in the leadership of the Labor Progressive Party. == Further reading ==