The Labour Wars

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The Labour Wars

• 1918-1919 Veterans Return
• Few Jobs, few benefits
• Not given compensation for the war
• No pensions, medical care
• Bosses have profited from the war (they are
  rich)

The veterans form the Royal Canadian Legion
(1925) to fight for veterans rights.
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• 1918-1919 Workers
• Price of goods soar
• Workers had taken lower wages to support the
  war, but after the war, the wages stay low.
• Long hours, terrible working conditions.

Unions are formed to fight for workers rights.
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• Philosophy
• Unions have left-wing ideologies.
• Due to what had happened in Russia, employers
  feared a new Bolshevik Invasion of North
  America.

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• Numerous Strikes
• The One Big Union forms in 1919
• Western Union Leaders
• Goal is to represent all workers
• More control over govt, industry
• New weapon the General Strike
• General strike is a Large-scale strike involving
  workers from many different trades. The
  objective is to shut down a city or community
  until the employers cave in.

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• 1919 Winnipeg General Strike
• Winnipeg was a hotbed of radical politics
  unionism
• Massive support for OBU and socialist ideals.
• Add negationsMetal Building industries
• Employers refuse to negotiate with unions.
• Unions ask trades and labour council for help.
• Take a vote on idea of general strike.
• 11,000 YES, 600 NO

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The strike is supposed to be peaceful. They shut
down almost all services in Winnipeg.
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• Supported by
• trades/building
• railway/factory workers
• police
• firefighters
• postal workers
• cooks/waiters
• tailors
• 30,000 walk out

• Opposed by
• Citizens Committee of One Thousand
• Business leaders
• Politicians
• Industrialists
• They saw the strikers as Bolsheviks trying to
  overthrow the government.The federal government
  intervened.

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Federal Government Immigration Act
AmendedDeported all foreign workers union
leaders
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• Strike lasts 6 weeks until
• Winnipeg Mayor hires new police arrests union
  leaders
• Workers gather downtown to protest
• Mounted Police special police sent out
• Armed with pistols and clubs, they beat the
  protesters. One dies.
• Finally, strikers return to work.
• RESULT THE STRIKERS LOST. UNIONS SUFFER A
  SETBACK.Many workers only rehired after
  promising not to join a union.