In the early s, corporations and households contributed the same share of income tax. With a changing economic landscape that continues to threaten certain industries and create whole new ones, the key lesson from the Winnipeg General Strike must be for workers to overcome fear and division to unionize and safeguard their rights.
We are committed to advocating on behalf of all working families — for universal pharmacare, pay equity, better pensions, safer workplaces, and much more. Hassan Yussuff is the president of the Canadian Labour Congress.
The year was fraught with discontent. Tags: Employment Standards History. Jobs, Economy and Environment. Out on the picket line for nearly a month, 37 unions across BC joined the sympathy strikes in such cities as Victoria, Prince Rupert, New Westminster, and Prince George. In Vancouver, 10, workers participated. The Winnipeg General Strike was more than just a strike. It marks a point in history where people became activated by and awakened to the grotesque inequality produced by industrial capitalism, off the heels of a devastating and seemingly senseless war waged off the backs of working class soldiers.
The strike was violently repressed. The business community hired and equipped 1, special constables to contain strike mobilizations and crack down on public assembly, alongside the Royal North-West Mounted Police, who were brought in to the city.
Opposition to the strike was organized by the Citizen's Committee that was formed shortly after the strike began by Winnipeg's most influential citizens. The committee declared the strike a revolutionary conspiracy led by a small group of "alien scum.
Fearing that the strike would spread to other cities, the federal government sent two cabinet ministers to intervene. The ministers met with the Citizen's Committee but not with the strike committee. On the advice of the cabinet ministers, the federal government ordered its federal employees back to work or face immediate dismissal and on June 17 ordered the arrest of ten strike leaders.
Four days later, about 25, strikers assembled for a demonstration. Robertson and Meighen refused to meet with the Central Strike Committee. It threatened to fire federal workers unless they returned to work immediately. Parliament changed the Immigration Act so that British-born immigrants could be deported. Four days later, strikers held a silent parade in support of the arrested leaders.
At City Hall, the crowd began to vandalize a streetcar. The Royal North-West Mounted Police charged at the protestors, beating them with clubs and firing bullets. The violence injured about 30 people and killed two. Police released six of the labour leaders. However, they arrested Fred Dixon and J. Woodsworth , editors of the daily Strike Bulletin. The combined power of the government and employers crushed the strike. Seven strike leaders were eventually convicted of planning to topple the government.
They received jail terms of six months to two years. The charges against Woodsworth were dropped. In the short term, the Winnipeg General Strike did not achieve gains for workers. It left a legacy of bitterness and controversy among organized labour groups across Canada. But in uniting workers around common goals, it also helped bridge divides between them.
In Winnipeg , for example, Canadian-born workers walked out with immigrants from Britain and mainland Europe. The general strike sparked more unionism and activism. Some strike leaders, including J. Woodsworth, were elected to government. Woodsworth and other former strikers helped found the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation. This socialist labour party later became the New Democratic Party.
Bolshevik originally meant a radical member of the Russian socialist party that took power in the Russian Revolution of
0コメント