{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"Unbreakable: The Spirit of the Strike","provider_url":"https:\/\/1919strike.lib.umanitoba.ca","title":"Strike Leaders - Unbreakable: The Spirit of the Strike","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"gdBvFdH8Yu\"><a href=\"https:\/\/1919strike.lib.umanitoba.ca\/index.php\/who-strike-leaders\/\">Strike Leaders<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/1919strike.lib.umanitoba.ca\/index.php\/who-strike-leaders\/embed\/#?secret=gdBvFdH8Yu\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Strike Leaders&#8221; &#8212; Unbreakable: The Spirit of the Strike\" data-secret=\"gdBvFdH8Yu\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/*! 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Strike Committee A sign allowing for the provision of essential services by permission of the Strike Committee. Pitblado Family fonds. UMASC. The Strike Committee was the primary governing body of the General Strike. However, the official Strike Committee was not established until May 21, seven days into the strike, and was therefore not itself responsible for organizing the strike in the first place. Rather, it was the Winnipeg Trades and Labor Council (WTLC) that called and organized the strike. The WTLC was an organization comprised of 95 unions across Winnipeg, representing about 12,000 individual men and women. Its function was to advocate on behalf of its member unions, either individually or as a whole, and to coordinate the efforts of these unions to increase the effectiveness of collective bargaining. How this was to be accomplished was the source of some division within the WTLC. Traditionalists advocated for a labour party and craft unionism (the division of unions by job and skill-set) while those of a more socialist persuasion advocated for direct action and industrial unionism (a single union representing an entire industry, regardless of job or skill-set). Nonetheless, the WTLC acted as a united front when Building and Metal Trades workers went out on strike in 1919, on May 1 and May 2 respectively. The WTLC organized a vote on whether to call a General Strike in support of two trades councils. Once the vote results came back in favour, the WTLC sent word to all affiliated unions that the General Strike would take place on May 15 at 11 am. To coordinate and govern the strike, the WTLC set up an interim committee until a more formal apparatus could be implemented. This committee consisted of R.B. Russell, John Queen, James Winning, H. Veitch, and J.L. McBride (Masters 1973, 45). On May 21, the Strike Committee was established, consisting of three members from each of the 95 unions and five members of the WTLC, which added up to 290 members in total (though it was often reported as 300). The Strike Committee proposed and voted on policy decisions and generally directed the strike. To support such a large committee, a bureaucracy was created that included positions such as Chairman and Secretary. As well, a smaller executive was created, consisting of 15 members to deal with matters of great importance that required expedience.\u00a0 The Strike Committee. Western Labor News, May 19, 1919. UML. Historian D.C. Masters differentiates between a \u201cGeneral Strike Committee\u201d, the 290-member committee, and a \u201cCentral Strike Committee\u201d, the executive (Masters 1973, 46), but the\u00a0Western Labor News\u00a0often used the latter term to refer to the 290-member committee as well (see, for example,\u00a0Western Labor News, May 19, 1919). The executive reported directly to the Strike Committee and its membership consisted of all those on the interim committee (excluding John Queen), as well as labour leaders such as E. Robinson and W.H. Lovatt. These men were all established names in the labour movement, were all of British descent, and were mostly moderate craft unionists, with the exception of R.B. Russell, a socialist and industrial unionist who was one of the most influential leaders of the strike. Resolution by the Strike Committee, May 22, 1919. Charles F. Gray Family fonds (2017.85_02.06_003). UCASC. During the strike, the day to day operations were carried out by various sub-committees that served specific functions, such as managing finances, press, relief, and food, as well as a commissariat that supported the strikers\u2019 efforts. The Strike Committee decided which workers left their posts and which remained. It also issued authorization documentation to certain businesses and services it felt were necessary to continue to operate, so long as it was known that it was at the Strike Committee&#8217;s behest. Information about these operations, as well as updates on the negotiations the Strike Committee was engaged in, were communicated through the Western Labor News\u2019 daily Strike Bulletin, and through daily gatherings in Victoria Park. On June 17 several of the strike\u2019s most influential leaders were arrested and charged with seditious conspiracy. Of these, R.B. Russell was the only member of the Strike Committee&#8217;s executive. On June 25, the Strike Committee called off the strike and it officially ended the following day. Though the Strike Committee had no more reason to exist, a new committee, the Defence Committee, took its place. This committee raised funds for the legal expenses of the strike leaders who were on trial, raised funds for their families, and began a nationwide awareness campaign, which included the accused touring the country while on bail and the publishing of pamphlets and literature. After the trials had ended and several of the strike leaders were convicted, the Defence Committee unsuccessfully attempted to appeal their verdicts and continued to provide money to the families of those imprisoned. Strike Committee Executive Mr. Allen\u00a0\u2022 G. Anderson\u00a0\u2022 Thomas Flye \u2022 W.H.C. Logan\u00a0\u2022 W.H. Lovatt\u00a0\u2022 J.L. McBride\u00a0\u2022 W. Miller\u00a0\u2022 Mr. Noble\u00a0\u2022 Laurence Pickup \u2022 E. Robinson\u00a0\u2022 R.B. Russell\u00a0\u2022\u00a0N. Shaw\u00a0\u2022 Mr. Smith\u00a0\u2022 H.G. Veitch\u00a0\u2022\u00a0James Winning J.L. McBride. The Voice, December 24, 1915. UML. Harry George Veitch. Winnipeg Tribune, October 23, 1918. UML. Ernest Robinson. Winnipeg Tribune, June 12, 1922. UML. Thomas Flye. COWA. Photograph Collection [OP6 File 5]. Trades Councils Building Trades Council The Building Trades Council (BTC) was formed in 1903 as a way for various building trades unions to collaborate and support one another. In Winnipeg, the building industry was booming, which almost guaranteed skilled building trades workers were in high demand. Building trade workers had a relatively good relationship with their employers in the Builders\u2019 Exchange, which represented contractors, suppliers, and other employers in the building industry. Though the two often attempted to outflank each other in negotiations, the Exchange generally recognized the negotiating power of the BTC and employees rarely made public attacks on their employers (Bercuson 1990, 27-28). However, this began to change in 1913, when a depression set in, and worsened in 1914, after the outbreak of the First World War. As all necessary funds were being diverted to the war effort, the rate of building dropped considerably. Many of the BTC\u2019s members were out of work, forcing it to subsidise their union dues. As employment dropped, so did membership. The Builders\u2019 Exchange was also affected by the drop in construction and sought to mitigate their losses by undercutting and underpaying their employees. Employment improved by 1916, but it left a lasting tension between employees and employers (Bercuson 1990, 27). These tensions ramped up in April 1919, when the BTC began to negotiate contracts with the Builders\u2019 Exchange directly, rather than via the Manitoba Fair Wage Board. While this new arrangement was initially welcomed by the Exchange, as being able to make a single, industry-wide deal appealed to it, both sides had different ideas about what was a fair increase in wages. The cost of living had skyrocketed in post-war Winnipeg, and the BTC wanted a wage to reflect this. On April 24, they demanded a 20 cent per hour increase for all employees across the board. This amounted to an increase of up to 50 percent for some employees. The Exchange acknowledged that anything less than what was being asked for would not constitute a living wage, but claimed they could not do business with such an increase. In a counter offer made April 28, they offered a 10 cent increase for some workers and as low as 5 cents for others. Furthermore, if the deal was not accepted, the Exchange threatened to undermine the BTC by refusing to recognize its authority and would only negotiate with individual trade unions. This was unacceptable to the BTC and on April 30, they took a strike vote. The decision was not an easy one. As the BTC was now an industrial union that was not sanctioned by the international union, its members would not receive strike pay (Bercuson 1990, 112). Nonetheless, on May 1, they walked off the job. After the General Strike began on May 15, partly in sympathy with the BTC, negotiations began between the BTC and the Strike Committee (primarily represented by James Winning), their employers, the Citizens\u2019 Committee of One Thousand, and the City of Winnipeg. However, these negotiations went nowhere, as the Citizens\u2019 Committee had convinced the Builders\u2019 Exchange that nothing other than unconditional surrender should be accepted. This ground negotiations to a halt. Even after the strike ended on June 26, it wasn\u2019t until June 30 that the BTC and the Exchange finally reached a settlement. Despite the Exchange\u2019s earlier rhetoric, the employees received wages in excess of that which the Exchange had offered prior to the strike \u2013 as high as 15 cents per hour. But these increases were the result of negotiations between the Exchange and individual trade unions, not the BTC as a whole. Image Source:\u00a0Builders, 1946. COWA. Photograph Collection (P28 File 1) Metal Trades Council The Metal Trades Council (MTC) was formed in April 1918, when railway shop unions began a campaign to organize all metal trades into a single, industry-wide union. The MTC was comprised of six different unions with J.R. Adair as its President and future General Strike leader R.B. Russell as its Secretary. It immediately began a campaign for recognition by employers. In June, it demanded higher wages and better conditions from 45 shops across Winnipeg, threatening a strike on June 10 if their demands weren\u2019t met. The proposed wages were far higher than what was provided elsewhere in Canada, but the true purpose of the demands were to gain recognition by employers (Bercuson 1990, 72). The iron masters (a term used collectively for Winnipeg\u2019s metal works employers, especially those of the three big shops, Vulcan Iron Works, Manitoba Bridge and Iron, and Dominion Bridge Co.) refused to even negotiate with the MTC. Several attempts at negotiation failed and on June 26, Justice T.G. Mathers was appointed to lead a royal commission to investigate the dispute. Mathers was joined by Winnipeg Alderman George Fisher and Winnipeg Trades and Labor Council (WTLC) president F.G. Tipping. R.B. Russell represented the MTC. The two sides became deadlocked and Russell called an industry-wide strike on July 22. Furthermore the WTLC threatened to hold a general strike vote if a settlement wasn\u2019t reached (Bercuson 1990, 74). Mathers\u2019 report was submitted on August 2 and listed recognition of the MTC as the most significant dispute between the two sides, but also heavily critiqued the actions of the MTC. Though the MTC strike fizzled out soon after, Tipping\u2019s signature on the report lost him his position as WTLC President. While the MTC continued to fight for better wages, better conditions, and recognition, the iron masters continued to refuse to negotiate with it. In spring 1919, new demands for better wages and conditions were sent to various employers, but only three responded. On April 30, the MTC voted to strike if one final attempt to negotiate failed. Workers walked off the job on May 2. As the strike unfolded, the interests of the MTC were represented by the Strike Committee as a whole, and R.B. Russell, who was present at most settlement negotiations, up until his arrest on June 17. \u00a0These negotiations were usually facilitated by Mayor Charles Gray and City Council. The iron masters were initially open to negotiations, but they were even more open to the Citizens\u2019 Committee of One Thousand, which convinced them to shut down all negotiations until the men were back at work. The best the iron masters offered was on June 16, when they offered to recognize individual trade unions. Recognition of the MTC was never on the table. When the General Strike ended on June 26, the MTC continued to fight for a few more weeks, but workers continued to trickle back to work and by early July, their resistance had run...","thumbnail_url":"http:\/\/1919strike.lib.umanitoba.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/elementor\/thumbs\/PC58_0003_008_0139-o5xvnwxw47rzp83y218xxhu0w28ebqavawx5n7k35s.jpg"}