1919 Winnipeg General Strike
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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 bargan 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 Gen eral 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). Oppos ing this view, working class Canadians, social activists, and the Methodist Church viewed the Winnipeg General Strike as a clash between "plutocratic greed and oppression," on the one hand, and "the rights of man," on the other hand (Allen, 1961, p. 228).Over the seven decades since the Winnipeg General Strike, the absolutes of 1919 have softened, and a widespread general consensus has developed, in which it is recognized that (1) the principles for which the strike was waged were just, (2) the 1 2demands of labour were reasonable, and (3) the reactions of the political economic social elite to labor, its demands, and the strike were the source of most of the troubl
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. The chruch sought to end "the lure of private gain" in Canada, and to unite labour and capital in a "call to service" (McNaught, 1976, p. 224). Within a year after the drafting of the Methodist report, Canada was swept by "a wave of strikes and labour agitation" (Mcnaught, 1976, p. 224).
The stage was thus set for the Winnipeg General Strike. The Canadian nation was wracked by social unrest, and the social economic governmental elite was determined to crush the 6unrest, as opposed to effecting any corrective actions which might dilute their power and priviledge. As an example, when a government study found that $9.48 per week was the minimum requirement to keep a female laundry worker alive in Manitoba, the Canadian Manufacturers' Association strenuosuly objected to a government proposal to establish a minimum weekly wage of $9.50 (Allen, 1961). Such was the social conscience of the Canadian social elite in 1919.
THE WINNIPEG GENERAL STRIKE
The Winnipeg General Strike began with strike actions in the building and metal trades, when employers refused to accept the right of workers to bargain collectively, or to increase wages (Mcnaught, 1976). In addition to collective bargaining, the building and metal workers
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Approximate Word count = 2829
Approximate Pages = 11 (250 words per page)
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