Working Class Militancy in Canada 1880-1920
This paper discusses the first Working Class Movement during the 1880 until 1920. It starts by discussing the Knights of the Labour which became a significant event in the growth of Canadian working class militancy. Also discussed in this paper is the solidarity and subsequent division of the working class due to differences in gender, race, skill and religion. It goes on discussing the different aspects of the labour movement from the effect of religion in the working class culture and their participation in the movement, the unemployed, racism towards ethnic groups, the growth of service sectors and the role of women in the Winnipeg strike.
In 1881, the Knights of the Labor which has spread so successfully in the United States was organized in Canada. The Knights provided for industrial organizations of the same type as to farmers through the Grange. The Knights of the Labor was not properly speaking, a trade union. It focused on education and agitation for the replacement of competitive system into a cooperative one. In Canada, they reached their greatest influence and membership in 1888 and declined sharply after that period.
According to , the Knights of the Labor and the Salvation Army were exclusively revivalistic movements. Both drew mass support from the working class of Ontario. The popularity of these two movements demonstrated the importance of class identity as well as religious beliefs in the working class of Ontario during the late nineteenth century. For instance, the religion could lead to passivity of the working class while it can also contribute to resistance against the dominant value system of the society. The nature of the working class support to these two movements though was different. The Salvation Army was more likely to attract working class women and unskilled men while the Knights of the Labor were more popular among skilled men.
The relationship between working class religion also played a part on the appeal of these two movements to the Ontarian working class. For many of the Knights, Christianity was clearly an important aspect that it fueled the class conscious critique of the nineteenth century society. Most of them are active participants in the society of Christian values. Knights are critical of organized religions preaching materialistic values and used Christian values in challenging the social and economic inequalities in the society.
On the other hand, the Salvation Army ignored contemporary social and economic issues. However, it provided a distinct working class religious alternative which was critical of the mainstream churches. It provided a cultural space which is free from control of the middle class in developing its own spirituality. This allowed the people to engage in more demonstrative practices than those of the established churches. Also, women played essential role in the army which demonstrated its special appeal on them.
The conditions of the female factory labour during the same period when these two movements became active were also a significant in the working class movement. As emphasized in her article, the voices of women are muffled during the process of the Royal Commission on Labour and Capital. The experiences of women and the apparent indifference of male towards them made women’s voices less audible.
The most notable is the experience of the Knights of Labour whose male Knights had chivalrous attitudes towards women. The economic dependence and the relations between men and women reflected the abuse endured by working class women. Further, women are not regarded with equal protection in the law and courts. It has become commonplace to expect women to endure such kinds of conditions.
The years that followed from 1895-1920 marked the remaking of the working class militancy. As Craig Heron wrote, labourism became the dominant ideology of independent working class politics. It is a form of reformism which remained distinct among other ideological currents in the Canadian left. Skilled workers expressed their quest for wider support in the working class through labourism. In a wider essence, it has remained to be a form of working class liberalism which became radicalism in the left wing of the liberal party but took an independent life in Canadian Politics.
The trade councils were an important step in building class solidarity. They acted as focal point of the community identity for wage earning craftsmen. They would coordinate strike activities mediate industrial disputes, correspond with workers organizations in the Canadian cities and abroad, lobby for legislative reforms and promote workingman’s place in the society. For a short period after the World War I, labourist allied with the Marxists and ethical socialists to produce a vision of political dimension in the upsurge of the working class during the post war. It has declined though in 1920 along with the craftsmen who started it for almost half of the century.
Industrial workers of the World (IWW) during the early 20th century placed its radicalism outside the dominant ideologies of the society. At that same period, there were large number of unskilled, migrant and immigrant workers in seasonal and labour intensive industries. The social and economic marginalization of such workers has put the radicalism in them while the IWW was preparing radical steps in the attempt to organize them. Schulze’s account of this period gives a clear picture of IWW’s role in mobilizing the people.
During the Depression of 1915-1919, the IWW organized the unemployed in Edmonton and Calgary. Most of these men were transient and unskilled while had just arrived from the construction camps where the IWW has led massive strikes. The tactics used included massive demonstrations, invasion of churches and the refusal to pay restaurant meals. The economic system was the real caused of the unemployment. This has challenged the integrity of the men as workers.
IWW’s ideology was aimed to seek solution for the concerns of those unemployed. While the protests was seen in other Canadian cities, only the IWW in Alberta fought for work at the best rate of general labour, 30 cents an hour and if this is not rendered they demanded for free food and accommodations. This was a result of their attempt of preserving the integrity of men as labourers based on the principle that unemployment is not an inevitable experience needed to be endured but rather a result of capitalism that should be resisted. The IWW promoted inter ethnic solidarity built on the basis of the right to work regardless of race and nationality.
However, the efforts of IWW were narrowly limited. The workers it represented had little economic bargaining power and in the time of massive unemployment, they were dependent on urban political authorities to whom they had no connection. The political force they had was only equal to the threat for public order and they had no match to the police. Further, the relief was trusted to the municipalities which had little to do in caring for the unemployed residents. In the end, the difficulties faced in terms of achieving material gains discouraged most of the workers and left the organization into a sense of instability.
Meanwhile, workers in Vancouver were also facing racism and nativism. Majority of the working class then was made up of Anglo Canadian workers. There were Asians, British and European extraction during the early 1911. As noted, there were Chinese and Japanese between 1895 and 1914 which formed the bottom of the Canadian immigrant hierarchy. The rights for citizenship were not extended neither to Asians nor the European immigrants.
Incidents of racist hostilities towards Asians were prevalent in the city. Thus, the labour movement was able to exploit this group of marginalized workers. Unions such as the IWW and the One Big Union organized immigrant workers. Due to the industrial unionism and their socialist belief in the working class, the Anglo Canadians were able to share a common cause with workers of various ethnic backgrounds despite the difficulties caused by prevalent racist and nativist attitudes. However, the formation of the Socialist Democratic Party (SDP) by the Socialist Party of Canada (SPC) made the difficulties more apparent.
The reason for the division was the position of the SPC not to allow deviation from the pure working class. Such ignored the cultural needs of the socialist coming from different ethnic groups. The SDP was then formed to allow the different ethnic groups to conduct activities suitable for their own culture. The racism against Asians continued to plague the labour movement and the working class.
The same split among workers of the labour movement was also recognized by Heron. According to him, class differences between the wage earners and the farmers also made it difficult for them to share common cause. Their interests are separated because wage earners sell their labour for wages while the farmers own properties and do not work for wages. Thus, a fundamental distinction between the two groups existed.
The relationship between labourism and feminism was also vaguely discussed by Heron although women in some localities formed their own Women’s Labour Leagues and Women’s Independent Labour Parties within the male dominated Independent Labour Parties. The female version of labourism had little social vision.
Working class women supported the agenda of labourism as well as separate organizations for women as a means of mobilizing women in defending the interest of the broader working class. But such organizations according to Heron did not recognize the position of women in the working class family. But women mobilized and largely supported the vision for a better society. They made a significant contribution to the working class movement and to the women’s movement as well.
The increasing presence of women in the labour force was brought by the trends in management and industrial organization paved the way for changes in the composition of the labour force. Lowe emphasized the clerical proletarization and the feminization of the Canadian office during the early twentieth century. During this time, there were huge demands for office and clerical workers that the white collar workers outnumbered the blue collar workers. One of the effects of this was the feminization of the clerical workforce.
The segmentation of the workforce provides an explanation for the many changes in wages and working conditions. The expansion of office during the administration revolution has depressed clerical earnings with the recruitment of cheap labour into these jobs. Male clerks are not significantly better off than their skilled counterparts. Within the female clerical sector, there were work degradation across industries within and among firms. In other parts of Canada, women are actively participating in the movement to fight for better work conditions and wages.
The video of Notorious Mrs. Armstrong depicted the role of women in the history of labour movement in Winnipeg. The life of Helen Armstrong specifically depicts the contributions of women which are often overlooked. In 1919, Mrs. Armstrong is a part of the radical agitation and had the reputation of making trouble during the year of the Winnipeg strike which is considered to be the largest uprising in Canadian history. The strike was driven by the fight for a living wage. During that time, many people went hungry and a bloody confrontation with the authorities took place.
Mrs. Armstrong’s involvement in the movement was greatly influenced by her father. When she was working in her father’s tailor in 1895, politically interested people used to gather around and discuss issues such as how women be in equal terms with men. In the years leading to 1919, she revealed how much she was influenced by her father’s principles.
In as early as 1904, she was part of the women’s movement fighting for the right to vote in Manhattan. Her involvement in the movement was strengthened when they moved to Winnipeg. Her husband ran for a provincial office in the city and it was then that she began campaigning for women’s right to be equal with men. Mrs. Armstrong though refused to be called a socialist and did not believe in the revolution. The only thing she agreed with the socialists is their opposition to the World War II. She believed that the government’s fight for territory should not include working class men to sacrifice their lives.
By 1917, she began educating women. With so many men at war, families became desperate for income. Women are left to fill the void and the industries offered starvation wages. Male during those times are able to negotiate with their rights and thus Helen and a group of labor women leaders decided they should do the same. They began organizing and declared that the object was to protect the women of Winnipeg from inadequate wage and extreme working hours through legislation that shall render a minimum wage and 8 working hours.
Armstrong headed the league and as the president she had her platform. That is to change the working conditions involving 12-14 hours a day, 6 days a week with no security of work. By 1917, women went on strike and drew attention to the poor working conditions and low wages. Helen and the labour movement fought for the provision of a minimum wage. In early 1918, she was at the forefront of the agitation for minimum wage. In March of that same year, Manitoba was the first to pass a minimum wage act. However, the post war period during the 1919 marked the end of the workers’ sacrifice and demanded a collective bargaining and a living wage. Hence, the general strike of Winnipeg. Helen encouraged women to join the strike and be with them in the line to let the government and the capitalist know they refuse to be treated unjustly.
Working class women suffered since they had no job, no money and no food. They have risked a lot in joining the strike. Recognizing the plight of the women, Helen organized the Labour Free Café to supply free meals to women on strike. She gave women presence in the movement and a sense of purpose. In June 10, tension arose when force was used against the strikers on downtown Winnipeg. The homes of labour leaders were raided and Helen’s husband was arrested. In that Bloody Saturday, 91 people are arrested and 11 are women. On June 25, the strike was called off and Helen was brought in to jail for counseling two labor leaders. Eventually she was acquitted of the charges against her.
Mrs. Armstrong led thousands of women and tried to get girls organized. She defied the authorities and was put into jail. She was a symbol of solidarity for the pursuit of a new voice for women.
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