Subjective Factors
Major Figures and Organizations in the Fight Against Unreasonable Working Conditions
In the fifty years from 1890 to 1939, numerous individuals and organizations stood up in the name of improved working conditions and worker's rights. Among these many influential figures and groups are:
Communist Party of Canada
The Communist Party of Canada was founded in 1921. Among its principles/goals, which were laid down at a meeting in Toronto, in 1923, are: preventing unemployment, achieving an 8-hour work day, achieving free speech rights, eliminating government-ordered injunctions as a means to end conflicts, and eliminating the use of police and military by employers or the government as a means of ceasing conflicts. An offshoot of the party, the Youth Communists’ League of Canada, was developed in 1923. This offshoot was developed in order to indoctrinate child labourers with communist ideology. Party membership increased reasonably, with some 4 300 people, spread amongst 144 separate branches, serving as members in 1928. The Youth Communists’ League of Canada had 40 schools with 2 000 children members. However, the party ultimately fell apart in the early 1930s, as a result of the arrest and deportation of Tim Buck – the political secretary, and other high-ranking members.18
Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)
The IWW, founded in 1905 in Chicago, Illinois before spreading to Canada, was an organization which attempted to improve the rights of unskilled workers (often foreign, especially from Southern or Eastern Europe), nicknamed "Wobblies," by encouraging the formation of a large unified assembly of workers, which would utilize strikes and other such forms of uprising in order to combat oppressive conditions (see the section about industrial unionism on the next page) The IWW would spread its propaganda and influence at large assemblages of workers. The group obtained political rights to freedom of speech following attempts of Vancouver authorities to prevent such gatherings (and thus the spread of their ideology), in 1912. Following this, the IWW organized the Fraser River Railway Strikes against poor working conditions and low salaries on the Canadian Northern Railway, which entailed some 7 000 workers. The failure of this strike combined with resistance from employers and a state of economic downfall put an end to the IWW.19
James Shaver Woodsworth
In the mid 1910s, this methodist minister gained controversy for his belief in collective bargaining and democratic socialism.20 Eventually, however, Woodsworth left his position as minister of a Manitoba Methodist Church and became a B.C. longshoreman, joining a union.21 At this time, he contributed to the development of the B.C. Federated Labour Party and contributed to a labour paper.21 Woodsworth later left on a speaking tour for labour unions, arriving in Winnipeg at the time of the General Strike of 1919.21 He decided to start speaking to crowds of gathered strikers and he also served as an editor for striker updates.21 This gained him popularity and he went on to be elected to the House of Commons in 1921, as a result of support from the Manitoba Independent Labour Party.20 His slogan being “Human Needs Before Property Rights."20 In the House of Commons, he advocated the ownership and maintenance of the tools of production by the general public and/or public/private jointly.20 He did not believe in revolutionary measures to achieve his goals.20 In 1927, he and William Lyon Mackenzie King created a new plan for pension for elderly members of society.19 In the 1920s, along with a group of radical progressives, he created the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (as it came to be known) – a federal party promoting democratic socialism.20In 1933, he was named the leader.20
One Big Union (OBU)
The first inklings of the One Big Union, an organization based on principles of industrial unionism (see Actions and Responses for more information) were developed at the Western Labour Conference in Calgary, on March 13th, 1919.22 Therein, representatives of Western Canadian unions exhibited much support for the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, among other such worker uprisings.22 These representatives sought to create a new revolutionary industrial union22 (one which would enforce principles of industrial unionism (see Actions and Responses) and the rights of workers through strikes and other such acts in work environments)23 and later created the One Big Union through a vote with other Canadian union representatives.22 Particularly noteworthy is the fact that this industrial union received such an overwhelming number of supporters (up to 50 000 in 1920), with many of these coming from mining, lumber and transportation.22 However, the OBU ultimately fell apart due to interference on the part of Craft Unions22 (basically unions which believed in the rights and power of skilled workers and opposed the idea of mixing skilled and unskilled workers in the same body).24
William Lyon Mackenzie King
Clearly a man of many trades, William Lyon Mackenzie King became both the editor of the Labourer’s Gazette and the Deputy Minister of Labour, in 1900.25 In response to the frequent use of violence by employers to end strikes, he used his editorial powers to publish stories of ongoing strikes, figures related to working conditions, and court decisions, in the Labour Gazette.25 This promoted the magazine as a fair, unbiased resource for current events.25 Over time, King gained a reputation as a great mediator for labour disputes, having achieved catharsis in such matters as the Lethbridge, Alta Coal Worker’s strike of 1906—1907.25 After having resolved this particular matter, he helped develop the Industrial Disputes Investigations Act of 1907, which encouraged the independent resolution of conflicts within primarily public services but also private industrial establishments, through negotiation between employers and labourers, as an alternative to striking.26 As Prime Minister of Canada, he and the liberals proposed a plan in 1919 which would lower tariffs, approve unions, improve working conditions and provide ill, elderly or unemployed people with insurance.25
Testimonies
The following quotations are chilling accounts of working conditions in specific trades during this half-decade. During this approx. 50 year period of time, wages were extremely low but a poverty-stricken family of the time would desperately require any income to sustain themselves. In Montreal, for example, in 1912, a social welfare committee found that an average income was about $550 dollars per year. However, even achieving this much was an arduous undertaking (and would not provide much at all), as is pointed out in the following note by the committee: "To get this much, a man must have continuous work with no sickness, no changes in jobs, and he must not waste his money on drink or dissipation. Granted all this he can give a family of five a mere existence. No allowance is here made for sickness, recreation, church, house furnishings, lectures and savings. The family would also have to live, in insanitary quarters, sometimes below street level." In Montreal, also, a specific class of labourer which embodied the angst of workers of the time was the tailor. A 16 year old labourer named Israel Medres said that "The tailors officially worked 59 hours a week. Unofficially, during the busy season, they worked from dawn until dusk. The workers were embittered by poverty and misfortune. There was perpetual class struggle between the workers and their employers."27
This period was marked by the development of factories and industrialization. However, even though production output increased substantially, it was at the expense of the numerous labourers toiling in these factories. A particularly disturbing element of these factories was the rampant use of child labour. These child labourers could be subjected to horrific working conditions and be paid far less than an average adult labourer. A 15-year-old child labourer by the name of Irene Duhamel found herself the victim of such conditions. In a graphic account, she said the following: "Because I was small I had to climb into the needles and go between the threads with a little brush to lift the cotton debris. My hands were full of blood. There was no break. It was so hot in the factory. All the windows were closed to keep in the humidity so the cotton would stay soft. It could get as hot as 105 degrees. You worked mindlessly without stopping. The company hired a nurse to give us salt pills if we fainted.” Although the conditions in these factories were atrocious (Duhamel herself only earned about 8 dollars a week, for the agonizing labour described above), during the Depression, a factory occupation was still a coveted position due to the scarcity of any employment opportunities whatsoever. Duhamel pointed out that the desperation induced by mass unemployment, poverty and the fear of losing a necessary job was so terrible: "that one employee had her baby in the factory bathroom to avoid missing a day of work.”28
This period was marked by the development of factories and industrialization. However, even though production output increased substantially, it was at the expense of the numerous labourers toiling in these factories. A particularly disturbing element of these factories was the rampant use of child labour. These child labourers could be subjected to horrific working conditions and be paid far less than an average adult labourer. A 15-year-old child labourer by the name of Irene Duhamel found herself the victim of such conditions. In a graphic account, she said the following: "Because I was small I had to climb into the needles and go between the threads with a little brush to lift the cotton debris. My hands were full of blood. There was no break. It was so hot in the factory. All the windows were closed to keep in the humidity so the cotton would stay soft. It could get as hot as 105 degrees. You worked mindlessly without stopping. The company hired a nurse to give us salt pills if we fainted.” Although the conditions in these factories were atrocious (Duhamel herself only earned about 8 dollars a week, for the agonizing labour described above), during the Depression, a factory occupation was still a coveted position due to the scarcity of any employment opportunities whatsoever. Duhamel pointed out that the desperation induced by mass unemployment, poverty and the fear of losing a necessary job was so terrible: "that one employee had her baby in the factory bathroom to avoid missing a day of work.”28
Major Contributors to Poor Working Conditions and Unrest
Even as numerous individuals and groups rose up to combat unjust and unsafe working conditions, other groups and people were seen as having been enemies of progress -- contributors to the suffering endured by multitudes of labourers. Among these are:
Rt. Hon. Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett, a prime minister of Canada, generated much controversy and unrest due to his unemployment relief camps which were introduced in 1932 as a response to Depression-era mass unemployment.29 However, another possible motivation for the camps was that the military advisor of Bennett -- General McNaughton, feared the prospect of these restless, unemployed men rising up in a similar manner to the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia.30 These camps could transport these riled-up workers who would gather in public spaces into distant camps in rural areas where they would be stripped of their rights to vote or to resist, thus lessening the possibility of a revolution.30 The camps provided three meals per day,29 bunkhouses,29 medical care and a salary of 20 cents per day (approx. 10% of an employed worker’s).30 The occupants would have to clear roads, plant trees, clear bush and construct buildings for 44 hours each week.29 The camps closed in 1936 but not before harsh opposition due to the poor conditions and immense workload (see On to Ottawa Trek under Actions and Responses).29
John A. MacDonald
John A. MacDonald introduced the National Policy in 1879,31 in response to a 4-year long state of depression.32 The goals of the National Policy were to raise tariffs (taxes) imposed upon American products, which would promote the purchase of Canadian products and strengthen the national economy, to promote trade between eastern and western portions of Canada (industrially-produced products from east traded for agriculturally-produced products from west), to utilize a railway in the process of being constructed in order to ship these products, and to encourage immigration to northwestern portions of Canada.32 Later, as a result of higher product prices and in order to compete with successful central Canadian businesses, Western Canadian businesses were forced to impose lower salaries on their workers.33 Additionally, as a result of the increased immigration introduced by the National Policy, unionization amongst western labourers was hindered due to fears amongst labourers of losing positions to large groups of capable workers.33