Objective Conditions
At
the time of Confederation, in 1867, working conditions were dismal for
many labourers. Workers were made to work for up to twelve hours a
day, often in poor conditions. Moreover, workers were not allowed to form
unions. In 1869, the Toronto Printers Union began their campaign to reduce the
amount of working hours to fifty-eight hours a week, or around nine hours per
day. They sent petitions to all owners of Toronto newspapers. This request
was unanimously denied by all owners, including the prominent politician
and editor of the Globe, George Brown. As the situation escalated,
the request became a demand and the threats became actions. On, March 25,
1872 ten thousand Torontonians struck for a nine hour working
day. This did not have any palpable, immediate effect upon the employers,
who simply proceeded to hire labour from small surrounding towns. As
union activity, including going on strike, was forbidden, George Brown filed a
legal action against the printers which ended with the arrest of the
leaders of the movement. This created tremendous outcry for the repeal of
the "archaic" anti-union law. Sir John A. Macdonald, the
then Prime Minister, seeking to gain the vote of the working
classes, lifted the ban on unions that year.
In 1883, the Knights of Labour and the Toronto Trades and Labour Council merged to form the Trades and Labour Congress of Canada. This was the third attempt at a nation-wide labour union, succeeding the Canadian Labour Union and the Canadian Labour Congress. The TLC developed a platform of sixteen principles or objectives (a seventeenth point involving the vote of women was added in 1913) including free mandatory education, government inspection of industry, minimum wage, public ownership of lighting, telegraphs, railways, waterworks, etc., abolition of the Senate, abolition of child labour, abolition of property qualification for public office, and compulsory arbitration of labour disputes. The TLC was instrumental in obtaining the Ontario Factories' Act of 1884. The act forbade employment of juveniles, provided factory inspection, improved sanitation standards, restricted hours of work and type of work for women as well as declared Labour Day to be a holiday.
Although unions were legalized after the Nine-Hour Movement in Toronto in 1872, by the 1900's the labour issue in Canada was hardly solved. Unions had little legal standing other than the ability to organize strikes and could be dealt with violently by the government and their employers. During the First World War, prices skyrocketed do to the relatively low supply of manufactured commodities in comparison to the demand of these goods. The inflation did not carry over to the wages of workers and the lower class. Many found themselves in poverty as their income could not keep up with the increasingly high cost of living. In 1902, the largest wave of immigration in Canadian history began. Despite the fact that a shortage of skilled labour existed, there was a large surplus of unskilled labourers, a problem only worsened by the inflow of immigrants from Brittan and Eastern Europe. This is the Canada that returning soldiers found after the end of the war in 1919. Many were dismayed to find their old jobs occupied by immigrants. Without income of their own and with veterans pensions unsubstantial and seldom paid by the government, the soldiers were left unable to support themselves.
The Winnipeg General Strike began at 11 a.m. on May the fifteenth. Nineteen-nineteen as 30, 000 workers protesting against unemployment, the high cost of living, high rate of inflation, wage freezes and unsafe working conditions left their jobs. The walkout inspired sympathetic strikes across Canada. Opposition to the strike was organized by the Citizens Committee of One Thousand, an organization consisting of the city's elite such as business owners and lawyers. Fearing further spread of the unrest, the government sent the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Justice, Arthur Meighan, as well as the Minister of Labour, Gideon Robertson to Winnipeg. The two met with the Citizens Committee of One Thousand, however, declined requests for a similar hearing from the strike leadership. On June the seventeenth, the government arrested ten leaders of the Strike Committee and two propagandists from the One Big Union. Violence broke out on June the twenty-first as strikers attacked a streetcar and the police responded by shooting into the crowd. In the chaos that ensued many protesters were severely beaten by special police armed with baseball bats and wagon spokes. The Winnipeg General Strike was ended on Thursday, June the twenty-sixth by strike leaders who feared more bloodshed. Although, similarly to the Nine-Hour Movement forty-seven years before, the Winnipeg General Strike achieved none of the immediate goals set by the participants, the strike had a large long-term impact upon Canadian labour.
J. S. Woodsworth emerged out of the turmoil of Winnipeg General Strike as a passionate advocate of the lower class and worthy leader of the Canadian labour movement. He ran as a Federated Labour Party Candidate in Vancouver in 1920, receiving 7444 votes, however ultimately losing the election. In 1921, he was elected into Parliament as an Independent Labour Party Member of Parliament for Winnipeg North. He proposed bills involving unemployment insurance and old age pensions. In 1932, at the beginning of the Great Depression, Woodsworth joined with various other organizations to form the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, a left-wing political organization which would later become the New Democratic Party. In 1933, the CCF became the official opposition in British Columbia and in 1934; they equaled this result in Saskatchewan. in 1935, seven members of the CCF were elected to Parliament, capturing 8.9 percent of the overall vote.
Labour issues persisted even after the Winnipeg General Strike and the formation of the CCF. Throughout the early 1920s, a series of bitter labour conflicts occurred in Cape Breton between coal miners and the British Empire Steel Corporation, a company which dominated the coal and steel industries in the Maritimes. The workers campaigned for recognition of their unions, improved working conditions and public ownership of the coal and steel industries. In 1922, when the company reduced wages by one third, the coal miners responded by reducing production by one third. In 1923, when the steelworkers struck for union recognition and the coal miners followed suit, going on a sympathetic strike, the police were sent in force to control the situation, arresting two strike leaders in the process. In 1925, when the company cut of credit at company stores, the coal miners went on a five month strike which drew sympathy from across the country at the dangerous conditions in the coalfields. The strike ended in a battle at Waterford Lake on June 11, 1925, where company police killed coalminer William Davis. Labour disputes were not limited to the Maritime Provinces. On May 8, 1937, 4000 workers from the General Motors plant in Oshawa went on strike for better wages, improved working conditions and the recognition of their union, the United Automobile Workers. GM did not want to recognize the UAW union as it was an affiliate of the Committee of Industrial Organization, an union which was organizing workers across Canada and the United States. Supported by the provincial government GM resisted the workers for 15 days before caving in to their demands at the fear of losing the market to its competitors. The event was considered to be the first major victory for the CIO in Canada as well as the birth of Industrial Unionism in Canada.
In 1883, the Knights of Labour and the Toronto Trades and Labour Council merged to form the Trades and Labour Congress of Canada. This was the third attempt at a nation-wide labour union, succeeding the Canadian Labour Union and the Canadian Labour Congress. The TLC developed a platform of sixteen principles or objectives (a seventeenth point involving the vote of women was added in 1913) including free mandatory education, government inspection of industry, minimum wage, public ownership of lighting, telegraphs, railways, waterworks, etc., abolition of the Senate, abolition of child labour, abolition of property qualification for public office, and compulsory arbitration of labour disputes. The TLC was instrumental in obtaining the Ontario Factories' Act of 1884. The act forbade employment of juveniles, provided factory inspection, improved sanitation standards, restricted hours of work and type of work for women as well as declared Labour Day to be a holiday.
Although unions were legalized after the Nine-Hour Movement in Toronto in 1872, by the 1900's the labour issue in Canada was hardly solved. Unions had little legal standing other than the ability to organize strikes and could be dealt with violently by the government and their employers. During the First World War, prices skyrocketed do to the relatively low supply of manufactured commodities in comparison to the demand of these goods. The inflation did not carry over to the wages of workers and the lower class. Many found themselves in poverty as their income could not keep up with the increasingly high cost of living. In 1902, the largest wave of immigration in Canadian history began. Despite the fact that a shortage of skilled labour existed, there was a large surplus of unskilled labourers, a problem only worsened by the inflow of immigrants from Brittan and Eastern Europe. This is the Canada that returning soldiers found after the end of the war in 1919. Many were dismayed to find their old jobs occupied by immigrants. Without income of their own and with veterans pensions unsubstantial and seldom paid by the government, the soldiers were left unable to support themselves.
The Winnipeg General Strike began at 11 a.m. on May the fifteenth. Nineteen-nineteen as 30, 000 workers protesting against unemployment, the high cost of living, high rate of inflation, wage freezes and unsafe working conditions left their jobs. The walkout inspired sympathetic strikes across Canada. Opposition to the strike was organized by the Citizens Committee of One Thousand, an organization consisting of the city's elite such as business owners and lawyers. Fearing further spread of the unrest, the government sent the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Justice, Arthur Meighan, as well as the Minister of Labour, Gideon Robertson to Winnipeg. The two met with the Citizens Committee of One Thousand, however, declined requests for a similar hearing from the strike leadership. On June the seventeenth, the government arrested ten leaders of the Strike Committee and two propagandists from the One Big Union. Violence broke out on June the twenty-first as strikers attacked a streetcar and the police responded by shooting into the crowd. In the chaos that ensued many protesters were severely beaten by special police armed with baseball bats and wagon spokes. The Winnipeg General Strike was ended on Thursday, June the twenty-sixth by strike leaders who feared more bloodshed. Although, similarly to the Nine-Hour Movement forty-seven years before, the Winnipeg General Strike achieved none of the immediate goals set by the participants, the strike had a large long-term impact upon Canadian labour.
J. S. Woodsworth emerged out of the turmoil of Winnipeg General Strike as a passionate advocate of the lower class and worthy leader of the Canadian labour movement. He ran as a Federated Labour Party Candidate in Vancouver in 1920, receiving 7444 votes, however ultimately losing the election. In 1921, he was elected into Parliament as an Independent Labour Party Member of Parliament for Winnipeg North. He proposed bills involving unemployment insurance and old age pensions. In 1932, at the beginning of the Great Depression, Woodsworth joined with various other organizations to form the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, a left-wing political organization which would later become the New Democratic Party. In 1933, the CCF became the official opposition in British Columbia and in 1934; they equaled this result in Saskatchewan. in 1935, seven members of the CCF were elected to Parliament, capturing 8.9 percent of the overall vote.
Labour issues persisted even after the Winnipeg General Strike and the formation of the CCF. Throughout the early 1920s, a series of bitter labour conflicts occurred in Cape Breton between coal miners and the British Empire Steel Corporation, a company which dominated the coal and steel industries in the Maritimes. The workers campaigned for recognition of their unions, improved working conditions and public ownership of the coal and steel industries. In 1922, when the company reduced wages by one third, the coal miners responded by reducing production by one third. In 1923, when the steelworkers struck for union recognition and the coal miners followed suit, going on a sympathetic strike, the police were sent in force to control the situation, arresting two strike leaders in the process. In 1925, when the company cut of credit at company stores, the coal miners went on a five month strike which drew sympathy from across the country at the dangerous conditions in the coalfields. The strike ended in a battle at Waterford Lake on June 11, 1925, where company police killed coalminer William Davis. Labour disputes were not limited to the Maritime Provinces. On May 8, 1937, 4000 workers from the General Motors plant in Oshawa went on strike for better wages, improved working conditions and the recognition of their union, the United Automobile Workers. GM did not want to recognize the UAW union as it was an affiliate of the Committee of Industrial Organization, an union which was organizing workers across Canada and the United States. Supported by the provincial government GM resisted the workers for 15 days before caving in to their demands at the fear of losing the market to its competitors. The event was considered to be the first major victory for the CIO in Canada as well as the birth of Industrial Unionism in Canada.
Table 4.1 Union Membership as a Percentage of Non-agricultural Paid Worker in Canada and the United States, 1920-90
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This table shows the declining trend in the rates of unionization during and immediately before the Great Depression, as well as the increasing trend during
World War Two.
World War Two.
This graph shows the immigration arrivals in Canada from 1852 to 1960, including the period discussed in this website, 1867-1939. It shows the largest immigration wave in the history of Canada, from 1902 to 1914.
This image shows a plaque with a summary of the Nine-Hour Movement of 1872.
Historical Photo Analysis
1. General Motors Strike." Digital image. Canadian Encyclopedia. Accessed February
8, 2013. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/oshawa-strike.
There is a caption on the photo: The General Motors strike of 1937, with workers gathered in Oshawa, Ontario.
2. The photo was taken in Oshawa, Ontario.
3. There are the workers cars. There are houses. There are trees.
4. The people in the photo are General Motors employees. They are young; in their thirties and twenties. They are all male.
5. The striking workers are gathered. They are having discussions with each other, presumably about the strike.
6. This is a high-quality picture, therefore it was taken by a professional. I believe that this photo was meant to be published since there is little reason I can find for someone to wish to obtain a personal photo of this event. I believe this photograph was taken in order to inform the public about the strike. Yes, I believe that this photo has informed many people about the General Motors Strike of 1937.
7. This photo was taken during the General Motors Strike of 1937 in Oshawa, Ontario. The workers are gathered to discuss the strike.
On May 8, 1937, 4000 workers from the General Motors plant in Oshawa went on strike for better wages, improved working conditions and the recognition of
their union, the United Automobile Workers. GM did not want to recognize the UAW union as it was an affiliate of the Committee of Industrial Organization, an
union which was organizing workers across Canada and the United States. Supported by the provincial government GM resisted the workers for 15 days
before caving in to their demands at the fear of losing the market to its competitors. The event was considered to be the first major victory for the CIO
in Canada as well as the birth of Industrial Unionism in Canada.
This photo provides objective conditions that there was a social problem. The union of the workers has not been recognized, so the workers must go on strike in order to obtain union recognition. As well the workers are meeting outside in the cold because they cannot afford to rent or purchase a gathering hall. It illustrates the low rates of unionization among workers in that time period. Without unions there was no one to fight for workers' rights. As a result workers' rights were violated and workers were made to work in often terrible conditions for little pay.
8, 2013. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/oshawa-strike.
There is a caption on the photo: The General Motors strike of 1937, with workers gathered in Oshawa, Ontario.
2. The photo was taken in Oshawa, Ontario.
3. There are the workers cars. There are houses. There are trees.
4. The people in the photo are General Motors employees. They are young; in their thirties and twenties. They are all male.
5. The striking workers are gathered. They are having discussions with each other, presumably about the strike.
6. This is a high-quality picture, therefore it was taken by a professional. I believe that this photo was meant to be published since there is little reason I can find for someone to wish to obtain a personal photo of this event. I believe this photograph was taken in order to inform the public about the strike. Yes, I believe that this photo has informed many people about the General Motors Strike of 1937.
7. This photo was taken during the General Motors Strike of 1937 in Oshawa, Ontario. The workers are gathered to discuss the strike.
On May 8, 1937, 4000 workers from the General Motors plant in Oshawa went on strike for better wages, improved working conditions and the recognition of
their union, the United Automobile Workers. GM did not want to recognize the UAW union as it was an affiliate of the Committee of Industrial Organization, an
union which was organizing workers across Canada and the United States. Supported by the provincial government GM resisted the workers for 15 days
before caving in to their demands at the fear of losing the market to its competitors. The event was considered to be the first major victory for the CIO
in Canada as well as the birth of Industrial Unionism in Canada.
This photo provides objective conditions that there was a social problem. The union of the workers has not been recognized, so the workers must go on strike in order to obtain union recognition. As well the workers are meeting outside in the cold because they cannot afford to rent or purchase a gathering hall. It illustrates the low rates of unionization among workers in that time period. Without unions there was no one to fight for workers' rights. As a result workers' rights were violated and workers were made to work in often terrible conditions for little pay.