WINNIPEG GENERAL STRIKE.   Term Paper ID:18525 Click to get this paper

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Paper Abstract: 1919 Trades & Labour Council strike. Background, causes, effects. Paper Introduction: INTRODUCTION In May 1919, the Trades and Labour Council of Winnipeg called a general strike in support of the metal and building trades in that city, who were on strike over the issues of higher wages, and the right to bargain collectively (Creighton, 1970). The opposing positions on the Winnipeg General Strike were, in 1919, couched in stark black and white (perhaps blue and red provide a better analogy) rhetoric. The Winnipeg General Strike represented, for both its opponents and proponents, a clash of absolutes. The difference in the two conceptions lay in the definition of the absolutes. For the societal elite in Canada, the Winnipeg General Strike represented a clash between "anarchy and Red revolt," on the one hand, and "order and decency," on the other hand (Allen, 1961, p. 228). Opposing this view, working Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. McNaught, K. In both the United States and in Canada, major employers andgovernment invoked the Red Scare bogeyman, in attempts to deflect publicsupport from the labour movement (Thompson, & Seager, 1985). In May 1919, the opposing positions on the Winnipeg General Strikewere, in 1919, couched in stark black and white rhetoric, and was, for bothits opponents and proponents, a clash of absolutes. For the societalelite in Canada, the Winnipeg General Strike represented a clash betweenanarchy and Red revolt, on the one hand, and order and decency, on theother hand. The farmerswere alienated by the actions of the Borden government in terminating theWheat Board, and giving authority to the chartered banks to "impose asudden credit halt" (McNaught, 1976, p. 225). Thus, two weeks after the building and metalworkers struck, the Winnipeg Trades and Labour Council voted to strike insympathy (McNaught, 1976). 226). On the emergence of Canadian social democracy, and the eclipse of theConservative Party, the Canadian Forum of Toronto observed that: Never in Canada have the devotees of law and order received a ruder shock . As anexample, when a government study found that $9.48 per week was the minimumrequirement to keep a female laundry worker alive in Manitoba, the CanadianManufacturers' Association strenuously objected to a government proposal toestablish a minimum weekly wage of $9.5 (Allen, 1961). Duringthis 35 year time period, all of the goals sought through the WinnipegGeneral Strike were incorporated into Canadian law, and a strong socialdemocratic party emerged. 224). Since the 196 s, however, the NDP have beena significant presence in Canadian politics. These demands were strongest among Canada'sworking classes. In 1919, it appeared that repressive government and social privilegehad crushed social justice in Canada, along with the Winnipeg GeneralStrike. Martin's. Opposing this view, working class Canadians, social activists,and the Methodist Church viewed the Winnipeg General Strike as a clashbetween plutocratic greed and oppression, on the one hand, and the rightsof man, on the other hand. THE WINNIPEG GENERAL STRIKE The Winnipeg General Strike began with strike actions in the buildingand metal trades, when employers refused to accept the right of workers tobargain collectively, or to increase wages (Mcnaught, 1976). The government felt that the probability was great that theelectorate would turn the Conservatives out, unless the union movementcould be crushed. The federal government"prepared for massive intervention in support of city and provincialgovernments and the businessmen's committee which was, in effect, directinganti-strike action" (McNaught, 1976, p. The CCF was eventuallyreorganized as the New Democratic Party (NDP). On the federal level, the NDP and Liberals both bury the rulingProgressive Conservatives in the 199 opinion polls. (1976). Nevertheless, the Borden government continued to takeactions, wherein investors were the prime beneficiaries, and which weresure to antagonize the very people whose support they hoped to enlist, suchas the farmers, or whom they intend to crush, such as labour. Harmondsworth,England: Penguin. . 226). Duringthis 35 year time period, all of the goals sought through the WinnipegGeneral Strike were incorporated into Canadian law, and a strong socialdemocratic party emerged. The lesson is obvious yet it should be stated. (1985). Nevertheless, theBorden government, along with its allies, the major employers, investors,and the chartered banks, sought to crush the social unrest, rather thanattempt to take any constructive corrective action. . By election time, theProgressive Conservatives likely will not fare as badly as the pollsindicate, but the stature of the NDP in the polls is illustrative of thelegacy of the Winnipeg General Strike, and of the fact that social justicewas the winner, and oppressive government the loser in the Winnipeg GeneralStrike. The opposing positions on theWinnipeg General Strike were, in 1919, couched in stark black and white(perhaps blue and red provide a better analogy) rhetoric. That thisconsensus view is generally correct is supported by the facts that (1) themost important demands of labor and social activists made during theWinnipeg General Strike have been recognized and enacted into law bygovernment over the past 7 years, and (2) the political successor--the NewDemocratic Party--to the forces behind the Winnipeg General Strike hasemerged as a major political force in Canada. . example of the Russian Revolution, the brave new worlds and peaceful utopias of wartime oratory and idealism, had bred in many . The . The background to the Winnipeg General Strike,the strike itself, reaction to the strike, and the legacy of the WinnipegGeneral Strike are addressed in this research. In Canada, Prime Minister Borden and his Conservative governmentembraced "an authoritarian view of society in which 'law and order' wereequated with maintaining the rights of vested interests . The difference in the two conceptions lay in the definitionof the absolutes. Creighton, D. 158). In "the melee one spectator waskilled and thirty wounded" (McNaught, 1976, p. 221). With the strike leaders in jail on charges of seditious conspiracy,and the city patrolled by the military, the strike leaders called off theWinnipeg General Strike. The Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) was founded in 1933.The CCF was composed of representatives of farm, labour, socialist, andintellectual groups (McNaught, 1976). 179). After the strike had lasted for almost six weeks, the federalgovernment authorized the arrest of the strike leaders (Mcnaught, 1976).The actual arrest of the strike leaders provoked the one action in whichviolence was connected with the Winnipeg General Strike--a peacefulworkers' march in the face of a city ban on parades (McNaught, 1976). . The Methodist Church in Canada assumed a major role in the drive forsocial justice. 14 ). 158). 249).Old and discredited ideas die hard everywhere. 228).Opposing this view, working class Canadians, social activists, and theMethodist Church viewed the Winnipeg General Strike as a clash between"plutocratic greed and oppression," on the one hand, and "the rights ofman," on the other hand (Allen, 1961, p. The tightening of credit, high tariffs, and high taxes imposed toservice a governmental debt "swollen profiteering" convinced Canadianfarmers that the existing Canadian political system was both "corrupt andundemocratic" (McNaught, 1976, p. In additionto collective bargaining, the building and metal workers were demanding a44 hour week, and a wage of 85 cents per hour (Allen, 1961). In Quebec, the Roman Catholic hierarchy condemned the CCF as being"communistic, atheistic and English-speaking" (McNaught, 1976, p. In 199 , there remains in Canada, however, an element which continuesto view the Winnipeg General Strike in the absolutist rhetoric of 1919.For this element, the Winnipeg General Strike continues to represent aseditious plot to establish a Communist form of government in Canada.Fortunately, this element represents only a small fraction of thatapproximately 15 percent of the electorate in Canada which continues toplace its confidence in the Progressive Conservative government of PrimeMinister Brian Mulroney in 199 . The CCF strength was always in thewest. Sympathy strikes "broke out in a dozen othercities, including Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, and Calgary" (Allen, 1961,p. For the societal elite in Canada, the Winnipeg GeneralStrike represented a clash between "anarchy and Red revolt," on the onehand, and "order and decency," on the other hand (Allen, 1961, p. 226). That investigation, along with others, confirmed thatthe strike leadership had been Canadian, and of British heritage, and thatit was not, "as the employers and governments alleged, 'alien scum' whowished to subvert British law and order" (McNaught, 1976, p. The realgoals of the major employers and government in each country, however, wereto crush the union movement, and preserve elitist political control. More important legacies, however, were (1) theemergence of social democracy in Canada, and (2) the eventual death of theConservative Party, which reemerged as the Progressive Conservatives. His political advisors inOttawa, however, were urging him to come home, because they sensed that thecountry "was full of strange unrest, and noisy with extraordinarycomplaints" (Creighton, 197 , p. The shut-downs in the other cities were not as total as that inWinnipeg, however, and the government, somewhat assured that Canada was notheaded for anarchy, decided to exert its muscle in Winnipeg. Among the demands being made were those for a right tocollective bargaining, improved wages for all Canadians, and an end to thegrossest examples of social privilege. During this entire period,however, their parliamentary representation has not exceeded 14 percent.Until 199 , NDP strength was concentrated in just a few provinces. . 22 ). Any government which attempts to throttle free men in Canada or elsewhere will fall of its own weight and be fortunate if it does not bring crashing in ruins the structure which with clumsy hands it seeks to buttress (quoted in McNaught, 1976, p. Similar demands were being made inthe United States, where the ferocity of the opposition of the social-business-government elite made the responses of their counterparts inCanada look tame indeed, and in Britain, where the budding Labour party wasscoring some successes (Allen, 1961). That thisconsensus view is generally correct is supported by the facts that (1) themost important demands of labor and social activists made during theWinnipeg General Strike have been recognized and enacted into law bygovernment over the past 7 years, and (2) the political successor--the NewDemocratic Party--to the forces behind the Winnipeg General Strike hasemerged as a major political force in Canada. InBritish Columbia, as an example, the NDP is one of the two major parties--in both federal and provincial elections, the second major party in theprovince being the Social Credit Party, which, in 199 , is, essentially, aconservative, pro-business party. The world simply will not treat these people right. (1961). Within a year after the drafting of the Methodist report,Canada was swept by "a wave of strikes and labour agitation" (Mcnaught,1976, p. Canada: 1922-1939. The Royal Commission which investigated the strike confirmed that thegoals of the Winnipeg General Strike had been to secure the right tobargain collectively, to obtain higher wages, and to pursue social justice(McNaught, 1976). The difference in thetwo conceptions lay in the definition of the absolutes. 223). References Allen, R. The WinnipegGeneral Strike represented, for both its opponents and proponents, a clashof absolutes. 226). The aftermath of the strike demonstrated, however, that, in fact,social justice was the winner, and oppressive government the loser in theWinnipeg General Strike of 1919. As unimportant as it is, the idea that the Winnipeg General Strikerepresented a monstrous Communist plot to debase Canadian society providesthe focus of this research. SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL BACKGROUND TO THE WINNIPEG GENERAL STRIKE In the aftermath of the First World War, Canadian Prime MinisterRobert Borden (Conservative) was in Paris with other world leaders,attempting to formulate a new international political structure, whichwould be built around the League of Nations. Over the seven decades since the Winnipeg General Strike, theabsolutes of 1919 have softened, and a widespread general consensus hasdeveloped, in which it is recognized that (1) the principles for which thestrike was waged were just, (2) the demands of labour were reasonable, and(3) the reactions of the political-economic-social elite to labor" itsdemands, and the strike were the source of most of the trouble. A Royal Commission appointed by the Borden government concluded thatthe ostentatious display of wealth by the privileged classes was a leadingcause of social unrest in Canada (McNaught, 1976). Canada's first century: 1867-1967. Such was thesocial conscience of the Canadian social elite in 1919. The Canadiannation was wracked by social unrest, and the social-economic-governmentalelite was determined to crush the unrest, as opposed to effecting anycorrective actions which might dilute their power and privilege. . These are the same people whobegan digging foxholes when Bob Ray and the Ontario NDP won the recentprovincial election. ." (McNaught,1976, p. 224). an unquestioning belief that peace would bring a different and far better Canada in which government would do vastly more for them than it had ever done before (Creighton, 197 , p. In the aftermath of the Winnipeg General Strike, the Conservativegovernment was soon out of power, and, for the most part, remained out ofpower for most of the ensuing 35 years, until the Progressive ConservativeParty led by John Diefenbaker was voted into office in the 195 s. Ordeal by fire. Forthis element, the Winnipeg General Strike continues to represent aseditious plot to establish a Communist form of government in Canada. In Canada, the Liberals and the Progressive Conservatives (or theirpredecessor, the Conservative Party) are the only two parties which haveformed a national government. Prime Minister Borden, whileacknowledging that major employers were unified and organized, neverthelessproclaimed that unification and organization of labor would be disastrousfor Canada (Allen, 1961). In the aftermath of the Winnipeg General Strike, the conservativegovernment was soon out of power, and, for the most part, remained out ofpower for most of the ensuing 35 years, until the Progressive ConservativeParty led by John Diefenbaker was voted into office in the 195 s. 228). Toronto:McClelland and Stewart.----------------------- 13 . It soon became apparent that the building and metal employers werenot going to bargain with labour, and that the employers had the support ofthe federal government. The Pelican history of Canada. NewYork: St. Themost vigorous anti-union efforts in Canada were made by the "managers ofAmerican-owned branch plants" (Thompson, & Seager, 1985, p. Thompson, J.H., & Seager, A. Canadian farmers were highlyinfluenced by the populism of the rural United States, not by subversiveCommunists. This Neanderthal social and politicalfaction, thus, reflects only a fragment of conservative opinion in Canada,and is of even less consequence in the broad spectrum of Canadian society. CONCLUSION In 199 , there remains in Canada a small element which continues toview the Winnipeg General Strike in the absolutist rhetoric of 1919. Among the more legacies of the Winnipeg General Strike were (1) theemergence of social democracy in Canada, and (2) the eventual death of theConservative Party, which reemerged as the Progressive Conservatives. "Overnight, Canada's third largest city layhalf paralyzed and stagnant" (Allen, 1961, p. On condition that the strike be called off, thefederal government had agreed to appoint a Royal Commission to "investigatethe causes of labour's unrest and the conduct of the strike" (McNaught,1976, p. The stage was thus set for the Winnipeg General Strike. The 19 metaltrade unions attempted to bargain with employers as a unit; however, theemployers' group refused to recognize the Central Metal Trades Council. Over the seven decades since the Winnipeg General Strike, theabsolutes of 1919 have softened, and a widespread general consensus hasdeveloped, in which it is recognized that (1) the principles for which thestrike was waged were just, (2) the demands of labour were reasonable, and(3) the reactions of the political-economic-social elite to labor, itsdemands, and the strike were the source of most of the trouble. In 199 , however, the NDP won the provincialelection in Ontario, and now forms the government in Canada's richest andmost industrialized province. Thisperception of the Winnipeg General Strike has been rejected by severalgovernmental and scholarly investigations, yet it continues to persist onthe far right fringe of Canadian politics. In the post-war period, ordinary Canadians wanted an end toprivations, unequal sacrifice, and grossly contrasting benefits ofprosperity (Creighton, 197 ). The church sought to end "the lure of private gain" inCanada, and to unite labour and capital in a "call to service (McNaught,1976, p. REACTION TO THE STRIKE The policy of the Winnipeg General Strike leadership was one of non-violence (McNaught, 1976). 178). By contrast, "the entire city police force wasdismissed and replaced by 'specials,' while militia and Mounted Police wereassembled" (McNaught, 1976). Economic and social pressures pentup by the war were now being released into Canadian society. (197 ). THE LEGACY OF THE WINNIPEG GENERAL STRIKE Among the legacies of the Winnipeg General Strike was an antagonismbetween social classes which permeated Canada for decades afterward(Thompson, & Seager, 1985). INTRODUCTION In May 1919, the Trades and Labour Council of Winnipeg called ageneral strike in support of the metal and building trades in that city,who were on strike over the issues of higher wages, and the right tobargain collectively (Creighton, 197 ). TheRoyal Commission which investigated the strike confirmed that the goals ofthe Winnipeg General Strike had been to secure the right to bargaincollectively, to obtain higher wages, and to pursue social justice. The NDP has always been strong inManitoba and Saskatchewan. Garden City, NY: Doubleday. Themarch was broken up by Mounted Police and reserve soldiers which had beenactivated at the beginning of the strike. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.