Lectures in Canadian Labour and Working-Class History Edited by W.J.C. Cherwinski and Gregory S. Kealey Lectures in Canadian Labour and Working-Class History edited by W.J.C. Cherwinski and Gregory S. Kealey Committee on Canadian Labour History & New Hogtown Press Copyright ® 1985 Committee on Canadian Labour History All rights reserved Committee on Canadian Labour History Department of History Memorial University of Newfoundland St. John's. Newfoundland A1C 5S7 ISBN 0-9692060-0-3 Photographic Research: Robert Hong, Memorial University Keyboarded at Memorial University, Newfoundland. Type and other pre-print production: Dumont Press Graphix. 97 Victoria St. North, Kitchener. Ontario N2H 4C1 Printed and bound in Canada les travailleurs de THE WORKERS' UNION OF Montmagny. Quebec Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data Main entry under title: Lectures in Canadian labour and working-class history ISBN 0-9692060-0-3 1. Labor and laboring classes — Canada — History — Addresses, essays, lectures. 2. Trade unions — Canada — History — Addresses, essays, lectures. I. Kealey, Gregory S., 1948- II. Cherwinski, W. J. C. (Walter Joseph Carl), 1942- III. Committee on Canadian Labour History HD8104.L43 1985 331 .0971C85-090162-6 LECTURES IN CANADIAN LABOUR AND WORKING-CLASS HISTORY Edited by W.J.C. Cherwinski and G.S. Kealey OVERVIEWS Eugene Forsey The History of the Canadian Labour Movement / 7 Gregory S. Kealey The Structure of Canadian Working-Class History / 23 THE NINETEENTH-CENTURY EXPERIENCE Michael S. Cross The Canadian Worker in the Early Industrial Age / 37 Bryan D. Palmer Labour in Nineteenth-Century Canada / 51 THE TWENTIETH-CENTURY EXPERIENCE Joan Sangster Canadian Working Women / 59 Joy Parr Women at Work / 79 Robert Babcock Gompers in Canada Revisited / 89 Ross McCormack Wobblies and Blanketstiffs: The Constituency of the IWW in Western Canada / 101 Ross McCormack The Western Working-Class Experience / 115 Ian McKay The Provincial Workmen's Association / 127 David Frank Workers in Atlantic Canada / 135 H. Landon Ladd The Newfoundland Loggers' Strike of 1959 / 149 Leo Roback Quebec Workers in the Twentieth Century / 165 Bryan Palmer "Taking It:" Ontario's Workers' Struggles / 183 Acknowledgements These lectures were first presented at Memorial University of Newfoundland in early 1983 under the auspices of the Committee on Canadian Labour History, the Department of History, and the Canadian Studies Programme. In fall 1983 and spring 1984 similar series of lectures were delivered at Laval University, the University of Winnipeg, and Simon Fraser University. The original Memo• rial University series was also televised and a set of edited video packages of that series are now available from the Committee on Canadian Labour History. All of this was made possible by a generous grant from the Secretary of State's Canadian Studies Programme. We would like to thank Anne Scotton and Jim Page of the Secretary of State Department for their help. We would also like to thank James Thwaites of Laval. Nolan Reilly of the University of Winnipeg, and Bryan Palmer, then at Simon Fraser University, for their co-operation. At Memorial our list of thanks is very long, but we would like to acknowledge the aid of Jim Hiller and the entire Department of History, the Canadian Studies Programme Coordinating Committee, Don Balsom and Memorial's Extension Division, and Craig McNamara and Fred Hollingshurst of Memorial's Educational Television Division. In addition a number of Memorial students provided help to the project including Linda Little. Sean Cadigan. Robert Hong. Sean Colbourne. and Roland Hannem. We would also like to thank the Newfoundland Federation of Labour and especially Nancy Riche and Bill Parsons for their support. Finally and perhaps above all others we would like to express our gratitude to Irene Whitfield who functioned cheerily as project administrator through the ups and downs of a long, two-year process. W.J.C. Cherwinski. and Gregory S. Kealey. January 1985 Illustrations CnV\!f - men and women at millloo mJ. Toronto. Onl .. (' . 1907. Source: Canada: A History or PholOgraphs. Hurli/( Pr~.I· s. 1981 . p. 8 - John Fleu. a Hamilton carpenler. becam~ one uf Ihe mosl phenomenall.'· .,ucces:iful union organi:"s in Canadian history. Source: Working People: An Illustrated History or Canadian Labour. Deneau & Grunber/(. 1980. p. I I - 1898 mUling 4the Trad.s alld Labor C onKu.", in the frot rill<' .econd from lefl. John Fleu. fourlh from I.fl. Daniel O' DonoKhue. Soura: Working People: An Illustrated History of Canadian Labour. Deneau & Greenberg. 1980. p. 15 - Firsl exuuli,·e. Canadian Labour Congress. Source: An Illustrated History of Canadian Labour. 1800·1974 . Canadian Labour Congress. 1976. p. IX - OBU Camp in 1926. Ihe on'" labour camp in Canada for the "hi/dun uf Ihe I<'orkin!! peopl• . Source: Survival: Labour's Trials and Tribulations in Canada. McDonald Houu. 1975. p. 40 - Afler 1858. an Allan Line .,hip. subsidi:.d by Canada. I~ft Liverpool nery I<'eek crol<'ded to the rails K'ith European emiKrants. Source: The Pioneers: An Illustrated History of Early Settlement in Canada: McClt'lland & Slel<'art. 1973. p. 14 - A .,hoemaker·s shop in the nineteenth centun. Soura: Les Cordonniers. arl isans du cuir. Boreal Pre.",/Mu.,~e nalional de I'Homme. 19110 . p. 43 -v Induslrial shoemaker. Source: Los Cordonniers. artisans eu cuir. Boreal Pre.uIMu.,ti. nallOnal d,' f'Homme. 19l1O. p. 46 - Workers demonslrale near Quebec Source: Les Cordonnlers. arlisans du cuir. Boreal Pu.I·.I·/M"s.e national de I'Homme. 1980. p. 53 - Union mine (JI Cumberland. BV.C .. c.1892 . Source: Canada: A History in Photographs. Hurti.~ Pres.' . 1981. p. 56 - Slrikin/( miners at Kirkland Lake. SOllrce: An Illustrated History of Canadian Labour. 1800·1974. Canadian Labour Conllress. 1976. p. 58 - A uamslr• .I ·.I' at the Member')' Maure.,s Company. 1920... S"ur<'e: All That Our Hands Have Done: A Picll>rial History of the Hamilton Workers. MO.,"i,· Pre.s. 1981 . p. 6H - Womm munitions factory workers. Source: Working People: An Illustratcd History of Canadian Lahour. De",'au & Grt'enberg. 19110. p. 75 - Wom.II ril·eler.' al SI.I('(I. SOllr('(': Baptism of a Uni"n: Stcico Strike ur I Y46 . McMa.I·It'r Ullin'nill'./981. p. 77 - Striking jf!trJ(J/t! (,"'ployt'e.~ of Prucior-S;I" x in P;('wn ;~ id~-Jlt!p ,Ire la ...: 10 I.:xprf!.\',\' tht';r op;"; ,,,, , SOItn·,·: IUE in Canada: A Histon . Cumllock Pre.l·s. 19l1O. p. N2 - Ma Bell'.l· Dau}!.hler.>. S;",rc,': All That Our Hands Have Done: A Pictorial Histllry "f the Hamilton Workers. Mosaic Pre.,,,. 1981. p. H,5 - TlJrOJllo 1,,)~1t ",cJlOolreu('her.,· 011 strike ill lite ":;111(', of 1975·76. SOll,n': \\'urking Pel'plc: -\n Illustratc-d Hi s tor~ of Canadian Labour. Dent'au & Gr ..nber}!. 1980. p. 100 - IWW .llriker.' uiluinsl Canadian Norlhern Ruil ... ay . Yale Di.<lricl. (' .1912 . Sour('(': PLUNDERBUND and PROLETARIAT: A Histor~ of the IWW in B.C .. NeK' Slar Books. 19i5. p. 112 - Weslern Federalion of Miners slrike. Soulh Porcupine. Ont .. " .1910·1915. SOllr(',' : An Illustrated Histor~ of Canadian Labour. 1800·1974. Canadian Labour ConKre.>.\' . 1976. p. 130 - Glat'e Bal'. " .11190. Coal miners al Ihe lunl of Ille ,·.ntur... .wil/ used "'lid,' h'IIalt' oil lamps ul/uched 10 Iheir caps. SOllrc,': Thc Company Storc: John Bryson McLachlan ,md the Care Breton CII,,) \liners. 1900·1925. DOllbleda\' Callada. 19113. p. 139 and cover - Boy mine'T. 1909. AI the £1,1:(' of /lint! 11t(·y ",,'('re /orc('d 10 ('Iller ,It<, "';/1(' to add to llt(' fami!.\,' ,\· meagre income. Sourl'e: The Company Stort:: J{\hn Bryson McLachlan :.mu the Cape Breton (\'al ~iners . 1900-1925. Doubleda\' Canada. 1983 . p. 139 - Caledoniu. N .S .. 1903. Young miner.' posed ul pil.head. Sourn': Mining Photllgraphs am) Olher Pictures. 1948·1968. Press of III<' NOI'u Scolia Col/e/(e of Arl and Design. 1982. p. 139 - Cla.I·.\' .l'Iru/:gle il/ NOl'a S('(Ilia. SOllrce: The Worker. ~ /II April 1925. p. 139 - . 'Glace 8a,," b\' Lawf('n Harris. Sourn': Echoc;oi from Labor's \\ '~ II : InJu:-.lr i~ d (" .Ire Bretlln i r: Ihe I 920!\ . Sel" H(JKI~ / 'A ' JI Pn·ss . IY76. p. I~.:l - Tlte ("(!10k' betH'l" '" Ih(' CUP(' 8r('IIIII ('lIul miner,\' und Iht'ir ub.\'('IIH't' prupr;('wrs h'tJS ('.\·pr(',\','il't/ ill a c("""mporary ('arlOllll, SOl(r(' e: \Vorking Pcopl~ : An lIIuslraled Hislory or Canadian L ~ lhl\Ur. D"Il('(UI &: Greel/berg. 19110. p, 144 - Jume.\' BrysQII .\tcLue"'all. 1935. Sour,',': Mini ng Ph\)lograph:-. anu OthcI Pktun::-o , I "J4~-1 "J6~ , Pre,\',\' (!f' ,,,<' Nm'a Sn}/iu ColI".':(, t!lAri and D('sign , 1982 , p. 1~4 - Holt, Wi/UUIlt f . Cout('r, Prti.\'id(' nI 0lt"(' F .P .t.:. Sour('(': Hi s h1r~ l ~ f Iht: Fi'\hcrllll!n ', Pn\l!.!\.'lI \ l! Union. CreUl;\'t' Prin/('rs alld Publh/,,".,' Ltd .. 19X4 , p. 144 — F.P.U. Council at Squid Tickle, after parade. Source: History of the Fishermen's Protective Union. Creative Printers and Publishers Ltd.. 1984. p. 148 — H. London Ladd. President. District 2, International Woodworkers of America. Source: Western Star. 25 February 1959. p. 152 — Plane used to parachute union organizers into bush during Newfoundland loggers strike. Source: An Illustrated History of Canadian Labour. 1800-1974. Canadian Labour Congress. 1976. p. 154 — Living conditions. Newfoundland logging camps. 1958. Source:An Illustrated History of Canadian Labour, 1800-1974, Canadian Labour Congress. .976. p. 159 — RCMP with riot helmets herding striking loggers into buses in Badger. Nfld. Source: An Illustrated History of Canadian Labour, 1800-1974, Canadian Labour Congress. 1976. p. 163 — Wives, sweethearts, and supporters bring food to loggers jailed in armouries during Nfld.