Interesting fact: “more workdays were lost to strikes and lockouts in 1919 than in any other year in Canadian history.”

Working Conditions – reasons for unrest Unemployment (lack of jobs) Inflation (increasing cost of living) Long working hours Low pay Unsafe working conditions Denial of unions or collective bargaining Poor housing collective bargaining = negotiation of a contract between unions and management

Winnipeg General Strike May 1919 Why Winnipeg? Financial centre of Western Canada and its largest city

One Big Union (OBU) Established in March 1919, OBU represented all Canadian workers in one organization Goal: to help workers establish more control of industry and government through peaceful means Main weapon: general strike, a walkout by all employed workers Info from The Confident Years: Canada in the 1920s scrapbook

Winnipeg General Strike What was it? In May 1919, Winnipeg’s metal and building trades workers walked off their jobs This was to be Canada’s first and only general strike A complete withdrawal of services in labour, government, business, and industry…Winnipeg was paralyzed

Who was involved? 30,000 men left their jobs in sympathy for the trades workers who were already striking All labour services withdrew: factories, stores, warehouses closed Essential public employees walked out including: milkmen, garbage collectors, meat processors, bakers, firemen, postal workers, hydro employees, transit workers Strike Committee did negotiate to allow essential food items to be delivered.

Crowd gathered outside old City Hall, at Main Street and William Avenue, during the Winnipeg General Strike.

Who opposed the strike? Not everyone sympathized with the strikers Business leaders, politicians, and industrialists formed the Citizens Committee of One Thousand This committee saw the union leaders as part of a communist conspiracy to overthrow the government Wanted the city to restore order City fired police force; in its place hired 2,000 “specialists” – a militia to contain violent

Red Scare - fear that this strike was linked to a communist movement within Canada because it supported the rights of the worker.

Federal government response afraid this protest would spread to other cities in Canada, disrupting the economy created 2 laws: Amended the Immigration Act: officials could deport any “alien” or Canadian citizen not born in Canada for advocating the overthrow of the gov’t by force - now foreign born union leaders could be deported

any person claiming to be a representative was guilty by association. creation of a law within the Criminal Code to make unions illegal (unlawful association) a member was someone who attended meetings, spoke in favour of or distributed literature for the organization. Property belonging to the association could be seized by police without a warrant and forfeited to the Crown any person claiming to be a representative was guilty by association. “Any association ... whose professed purpose ... is to bring about any governmental, industrial or economic change within Canada by use of force, violence or physical injury to person or property, or by threats of such injury, or which teaches, advocates, advises or defends the use of force, violence, terrorism, or physical injury to person or property ... in order to accomplish such change ... shall be an unlawful association.”

Tipping Point Minister of Labour and Minister of Justice travelled to Winnipeg to meet with the Citizen’s Committee of 1000 but refused to meet with strikers On June 17, 10 strike leaders were arrested using the newly passed legislation

Bloody Saturday June 21, 1919 strikers held a parade to protest the Winnipeg mayor’s actions of firing civic workers and arresting strike leaders The parade turned violent when the RCMP and city’s special forces charged the crowd One striker died, thirty were injured, and many arrested Defeated, the strikers returned to work. Their protest had lasted forty-three days

Attacked the streetcar because it was operated by “scabs” hired by the Citizens’ Committee of 1000 A crowd attempts to tip over a tramway car during the Winnipeg General Strike, June 21, 1919.

Mounted Police charging down Main Street during the Winnipeg Strike, June 21, 1919.

What was achieved in the short term? Union leaders were sent to prison, setting back the union movement Striking workers were not hired back or were only hired back if they agreed not to join a union again Distrust amongst business owners and workers Canadians supported strikers by purchasing “workers’ liberty bonds” – money was used by the Workers’ Defence Fund to help pay for legal costs

What was achieved in the long term? A royal commission investigating the strike determined that the workers had valid reasons to strike Workers gained better pay, shorter work week, better working conditions, right to join unions and collective bargaining Some of the union leaders went on to hold government positions and fought for social reform J.S. Woodsworth founded a new political party – Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), the precursor to the NDP