The Winnipeg General Strike.

Authors Avatar

The Winnipeg General Strike

                                                                                                                 

     

        The province of Manitoba has endured a tumultuous history. It was born as a result of the Riel rebellion and its capital city, Winnipeg, was the sight of the only general strike in Canadian history. The Winnipeg General Strike, which took place shortly after the end of the Great War, brought, in the eyes of some, the specter of revolution to Canada. In the end, however, the strike was, from a labour standpoint, an abject failure, as virtually no long-term gains were made. It is difficult to comprehend how this strike, which lasted from May-June 1919 and began with between twenty-four and thirty thousand workers walking off the job (only 12,000 of whom were unionized), could end in failure but, when the events of the strike are examined in detail, it becomes apparent that the strike leaders themselves were, ultimately, responsible for their lack of success as they continually took steps which undermined their ability to force a resolution on their own terms.

        Labour unrest had been rampant in Winnipeg for many years and, although trade unions had made some modest gains, it was the employers, backed by government and the courts, who usually emerged victorious from the numerous work stoppages which took place. Employers, in fact, relied on the courts as a means of settling labour disputes to such a degree that Winnipeg became known, in colloquial terms, as ‘Injunction City.’ The result was that a climate of conflict and mistrust existed between employers and employees which was difficult to overcome. Although employers, no doubt, believed they were protecting their interests by using court orders to defeat the various unions during work stoppages they were, in actuality, setting the stage for more serious labour disputes in the future. In addition to labour unrest Winnipeg was also experiencing a

2

growth in class consciousness and division while the city was rapidly becoming a hotbed of militant unionism. Socialist ideals were readily received on the shop floors and there was sympathy for, if not an outright desire to create, the One Big Union.

        The Winnipeg General Strike, which lasted from May-June 1919 began innocently enough. The building and metal trades resorted to strike action at the beginning of May in order to resolve disputes with their various employers. Their demands were reasonable and were, in fact, the same as many modern day demands which result in labour disputes and strike action. The building trade unions were seeking higher wages as their pay had only increased 18% in recent years while the cost of living had increased approximately 75% during the same period. Employers admitted that the workers claims were reasonable but insisted that they were unable to meet these wage demands due to higher costs which they, as employers, were forced to endure even as the amount of construction taking place in the city decreased.

        The metal trade unions, in contrast to the building trade unions, focused their demands not only on higher wages but, also, on formal recognition of a common Metal Trades Council as their primary bargaining unit. Although employers saw the building trades unions’ demands as reasonable they did not see the metal trades unions’ demands in quite the same light as the metal trade workers seemed to be determined to achieve a higher degree of control which the employers were unwilling to permit as they feared it would, ultimately, lead to demands for higher wages once the power of the employers

3

had been decreased. This set the stage for a labour conflict which would be difficult to resolve as neither side would be willing to back down for fear of relinquishing control over their industry.

        In order to garner support for their cause when their employers refused to negotiate both the building trades unions and the metal trades unions took their cases to the Winnipeg Trades and Labour Council on 6 May 1919. The timing was critical because, at this juncture, an atmosphere of confrontation existed in Winnipeg due to the fact that “Two trades were on strike, one was threatening to strike, and two were just emerging from bitter negotiations.” If this was not enough to cause the labour movement to unite in a show of solidarity with the building and metal trades unions another event took place which served only to fan the flames of labour unrest in the city. During the meeting it came to light that a German worker, who had been visiting metal trades shops on the instructions of his union local, had been arrested. This inflamed the passions of many of those present and some went so far as to form a delegation which went to investigate the arrest. This group was successful in securing the worker’s release from custody but this did little to placate those assembled who felt that this occurrence was, simply, another example of collusion between employers and the local government.

        The meeting went on to examine the ways in which solidarity could be shown for the building and metal trades workers and it was unanimously agreed, in light of recent

4

progress in organizing non-union workers throughout the city, that a general strike would be the most effective tool for advancing the worker’s cause. A referendum was taken during which over 11,000 members declared their support for a general strike while fewer than 600 stood opposed. Although support from other unions was expected it is unlikely that the organizers of the strike were prepared for the overwhelming show of solidarity which was expressed by other unions in the city. Although each union voted individually it had been declared that, in the event a majority of unions voted in favour of a general strike, all unions, including those that had voted against the measure, would cease work. In the end this declaration was unnecessary as each member union voted in favour of participating. Both the Mayor of Winnipeg and the Premier of Manitoba attempted to intervene in the building and metal trades disputes in the hope of averting a general strike but were unsuccessful. The general strike was, therefore, set to begin on 15 May at 11:00A.M.

When the general strike was called it was decided that a committee of five would oversee all aspects of the strike but this soon proved to be too great a task and, as a result, on 21 May, it was determined that each union should appoint two delegates to a central strike committee while the Winnipeg Trades and Labour Council elected five of its own members, in addition to its executive officers, to similar posts. This committee was to report back to a larger body of labour officials, numbering approximately 300, which

Join now!

5

would decide all matters of policy for the duration of the strike. The formation of this committee, while seemingly a prudent measure, did, in actuality, contribute significantly to tensions within the city and would be a primary factor in the failure of the strike as public opinion began to turn against the strikers when many came to view this committee as the de facto government of Winnipeg.

When resorting to strike action in order to achieve their goals unions, typically, attempt, as much as is possible, to avoid direct confrontation with the public as they see this as detrimental ...

This is a preview of the whole essay