RM 3-9-8 development of the early labour movements in Canada

RM 3-9-8 Development of Early Labour Movements in Canada Name: Course: Date: In Canada, union movements can be traced back to the early to mid-19th century. As the Industrial Revolution took hold, workers often found themselves facing very 'ustrating conditions. The large number of unskilled workers competing for jobs drove wages very low, and the lack of regulations led to working conditions that would be considered unacceptable by most people today. Conditions were often dangerous and unhealthy, with working days that were 13 to 16 hours long. The rst groups of workers to begin to organize were those who had special crafts or trades and thus were more highly skilled than most workers. Their skills gave them a little more power. Examples of such tradespeople include printers, shoemakers, and tailors. These workers found that as a group they could withhold their labour services in order to protest poor wages and working conditions. The success of their organizations was limited: the government made them illegal, and their leaders were often arrested. Businesses also harassed and red workers who participated in such organizations. As the 19th century progressed, workers in the railroad and mining industries began to organize into groups comprising many different skills that co-operated across industries. Groups such as the Nine Hours Movement, the Provincial Workmen's Association, and the Knights of Labour fought for shorter working hours, higher wages, and safer working conditions by supporting both general strikes (during which workers of a whole city would stop working in order to protest) and by bringing labour issues to election campaigns, sometimes even running candidates in elections. Once again, the successes of these organizations were few and far between. Businesses regularly red those workers associated with unions, and because most elected representatives were from the business class, the government and courts either actively worked against the unions or, at the very least, refused to intervene in disputes. The height of labour unrest in the early 20th century in Canada occurred in 1919. In that year, almost 150 000 Canadians went on strike, and over 3.4 million workdays were lost due to strike activity. Several labour organizations gathered together to form the One Big Union (OBU). The OBU advocated using the general strike as a key tool and announced its support of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. It wanted o'rcial recognition of unions, a six-hour, ve-day workweek, and better wages for workers. In May of the same year, workers in Winnipeg began a general strike. Virtually all work in the city stopped. Railways and factories ceased operation. There was no streetcar, taxi, mail, telephone, police, or reghting services. Even bars, restaurants, and barbershops closed down. The strike lasted for six weeks until the federal governmentworried about similar strikes starting up in other cities, fearing a \"Russian- type\" revolution, and aggressively lobbied by business interestsacted to end the strike by ordering federal employees back to work and arresting strike leaders. The resulting protest by workers on 21 June 1919 saw the mayor of Winnipeg call in the Royal Northwest Mounted Police (precursor to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police) to disperse protesters. Several hundred \"special police\" constables, who were deputized by the city during the strike and supplied by local businesses with baseball bats and wagon spokes, aided them. A confrontation occurred that saw two strikers killed and more than 30 injured in what became known as \"Bloody Saturday.\" Fearing more violence, strike leaders declared an end to the Winnipeg General Strike one week later. It was a blow that would set the labour union movement back until alter the Second World War. Many workers were prevented from returning to their jobs, and even those who did come back found that there was little change in their working conditions. While union organization did not stop completely after the Winnipeg General Strike, its growth was certainly slowed for almost a generation. It was not until after the severe economic hardships of the Great Depression, and the start of the industrial boom that occurred afterward, that union organization in Canada again began to see signicant gains. 5 an estions 1. What responses did business and government have to early attempts by workers to organize themselves? 2. Even though the costs of the Winnipeg General Strike were high, and the gains were relatively limited, many who promote unionization in Canada today point to it as an important moment in Canadian labour history. Why do you think this is the case