A QUEEN’S UNIVERSITY IRC ARCHIVE DOCUMENT Originally published by the IRC Press in 1988, as part of the Research and Current Issues Series, No 56 The Rise of Industrial Unionism in Canada – A History of the CIO Don Taylor Bradley Dow Industrial Relations Centre (IRC) Tel: 613-533-6628 School of Policy Studies Fax: 613-533-6812 Queen’s University Email: [email protected] Kingston, ON K7L 3N6 Visit us at: irc.queensu.ca ISSN: 0317-2546 ISBN: 0-88886-214-8 © 1988, Industrial Relations Centre Printed and bound in Canada Industrial Relations Centre Queen's University Kingston, Ontario Canada K7L 3N6 Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Taylor, Don, 1930- The rise of industrial unionism in Canada (Research and current issues series ; no. 56) Bibliography: p. 109 ISBN 0-88886-214-8 1. AFL-CIO — History. 2. Congress of Industrial Organizations (U.S.) — History. 3. Trade-unions - Canada — History. I. Dow, Bradley. II. Queen's University (Kingston, Ont.). Industrial Relations Centre. III. Title. IV. Series. HD8102.C66T38 1988 331.88'06071 C89-093019-8 In memory of Doc Ames, Cal Taylor and Jim Russell and to Henry Gareau leaders, all. i Table of Contents Preface ......................................................................................................................................................... vi 1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 1 The Canadian Labour Movement - Early Times ................................................................................. 1 The Radicals .......................................................................................................................................... 2 The Quebec Syndicates ......................................................................................................................... 2 The Communist Party ........................................................................................................................... 3 The CFL and ACCL .............................................................................................................................. 3 Slow Progress ........................................................................................................................................ 3 Work in Canada — 1935 ........................................................................................................................ 4 Employment Standards ......................................................................................................................... 4 Wages .................................................................................................................................................... 5 Occupational Health and Safety ............................................................................................................ 5 Social Security ...................................................................................................................................... 5 Industrial Relations and Collective Bargaining .................................................................................... 6 Union Membership and Collective Bargaining..................................................................................... 7 The American Influence ......................................................................................................................... 7 2. CIO Aims, Structure and Methods in Canada ............................................................................... 10 The CIO Comes to Canada .................................................................................................................. 10 The World War II Years ..................................................................................................................... 11 Government - A Biased Referee .......................................................................................................... 12 The Red Scare and Government Use of Police Powers ...................................................................... 13 Worker Determination and PC 1003 .................................................................................................. 14 Explaining the CIO's Success .............................................................................................................. 16 Structure ................................................................................................................................................ 16 Methods .................................................................................................................................................. 17 Education ............................................................................................................................................ 18 Administration .................................................................................................................................... 19 Racial and Ethnic Harmony ................................................................................................................ 19 Organizing Methods ............................................................................................................................ 20 Political Education and Political Action ............................................................................................. 20 Political Aims ......................................................................................................................................... 21 Music ...................................................................................................................................................... 21 3. The CIO at the Bargaining Table .................................................................................................... 24 The Evolution of the Industrial Collective Agreement ...................................................................... 26 Recognition During the War Years ..................................................................................................... 27 ii Making up for Lost Time: 1946-55 ..................................................................................................... 28 Consolidation and Rededication: 1955-66 .......................................................................................... 30 Preservation of Real Wage Gains: 1966-75 ........................................................................................ 31 The Fight Against Concessions: 1976-88 ........................................................................................... 32 Conclusion .......................................................................................................................................... 34 4. The CIO in Canadian Politics .......................................................................................................... 35 Public Policy and the Craft Unions ..................................................................................................... 35 The CCL Approach .............................................................................................................................. 36 The CCF ................................................................................................................................................. 36 Political Action in the '40s .................................................................................................................... 37 Worker Citizenship ............................................................................................................................. 38 Great Expectations .............................................................................................................................. 38 The Power of Political Potential ......................................................................................................... 39 PCO 1003 ............................................................................................................................................ 39 The CCL in World War II ................................................................................................................... 40 The Baby Bonus .................................................................................................................................. 41 Post-War Transition ............................................................................................................................. 41 The Industrial Unions and the Communist Party .............................................................................. 42 Beating the CCF in the Labour Centres .............................................................................................. 44 Our Line's Been Changed Again ......................................................................................................... 45 A Fundamental Struggle ..................................................................................................................... 45 Refashioning History .......................................................................................................................... 46 Post-War Growth and Merger............................................................................................................. 47 Founding of the CLC ...........................................................................................................................