Case Study: The Winnipeg General Strike In Canada
Labor Relation 4330
Assignment 1
The Winnipeg General Strike
Table of Contents
1.0 Executive Summary
The main purpose of this report is to analyze how the environment factors have effect on the goals, strategies, value and power of the actors in Winnipeg General Strikes. By the Industrial Relations System model in Canada, the internal factors of the actors in this strike will be intertwined with outputs of the Winnipeg General Strike and itself. Through the analysis by the industrial relation, the issue of this conflict will be clarified.
The Winnipeg General Strike happened in 1919 was finally ended without substantial payback to the strikers, but experts still approved …show more content…
the invisible positive effects in long term of run.
2.0 Introduction
The first year in Canada after the World War I was accompanied with high levels of unemployment and inflation.
Led by the outrage of the situation, workers from sorts of industries and trade started the labor movement which is called Winnipeg General Strike. In this memorable strike, interventions from employers and government had led to several key events, including the birth of Citizens’Committee of One Thousand, the amendment of the Immigration Act and the Criminal Act, the death and the injured on Bloody Saturday. The strike finally ended on June 26, which is the fifth day after the bloody events happened, and the strikers did not receive any wage increases or working environment improvement. In the next year of the strike, labor candidates won eleven which including four strike leaders. Besides that, as an independent labor, James Woodsworth was elected as the Member of Parliament and later the form of Co-operative Commonwealth Federation which become into the New Democratic Party today which related closely to him was deemed by experts to the impacts from the Winnipeg General …show more content…
Strike.
3.0 Situational Analysis
3.1 External Subsystems
3.1.1 Political Factors and Legal Factors
Just before two years of the strike in 1917, the federal election in Canada was called the “most corrupt in Canadian history” that manipulation on suffrage was openly made to ensure the party in power would remain and the ethnic wasstill in weak position (Francis,1984). Basing on the Borden government, a series of regulations issued in 1918 for suppressing foreign language publications, outlawing radical political organizations, and banning strikes in certain sectors of the economy. Francis, D. called the nervous at all the labor turmoil and the suspicion on the immigrants of Bolshevist political views. Actually, the Bolshevist views catalyzed by Russian Revolution in 1917 did indeed lead to an increase in socialist and labor ideas among Canadian workers, and that is the reason why the fear on the part of those in Borden government for revolution show obviously.
3.1.2 Economic Factors
At end of the World War I, soldiers from the war were falling to unemployment and the wages also falling far behind. War-time inflation resulted in the falling of real wages and the returning soldiers who actually contribute to the polarization of Winnipeg society resulted in the surplus in labor market which caused the high levels of unemployment(Brammel&McCormack 1979), all these factors crippled the wages.
3.1.3 Sociocultural Factors
Since 1900, the Winnipeg had grown rapidly with immigration about equally divided between industrial British and the new immigrants, mainly Slavs and Jews. Then by January in 1919 when mobs of returning soldiers wrecked the local offices of the Socialist Party of Canada, terrorized immigrants on the streets, the confrontation between returned soldier and enemy alien which labeled on immigrants by Canadian government through Alien Investigation Board had taken off (Bumsted, 1994). The confrontation between returned soldiers and the immigrants was caused by the highly unemployment and the returned soldiers considered that jobs held by the “aliens” should be back to them.
3.2 Internal Inputs
3.2.1 Goals and Strategies
Scared as the Borden regime is, the labor movement finally happened in terms of the economic decline and the distrust of the Borden government. For wages increases and the improvement of the working conditions, the building trades and metal workers started the strike, and within 24 hours, the strike group rapidly broadened with non-union workers, and the number of people within the strike group was between 20,000 and 35,000. “Old forms of organization were discarded in favor of ones adapted to the new level of industrial militancy and revolutionaries redefined their goals and a new range of organizational means and political weapons to achieve them(Peterson,1984).”
3.2.2 Values and Power
Basing on the condition of great diversity in Canada, the workers’radicalism was characterized and became the fuel of the labor movement with Communist style. As Peterson said, the experience of both industrial militants and revolutionary socialists during the industrial struggles of the period 1917-20 had been the leading factors that led to a re-evaluation of the their tactics, goals, ideologies, and organizations, which then resulted in a new synthesis of politics and economics within the Communist International.
4.0 Conversion Mechanisms
4.1 Collective Bargaining and Strikes
It is known that the Winnipeg Strike was started directly with the breakdown of the negotiations between employers and the building workers for pay increases and work condition improvement in Winnipeg, Manitoba. And this directly led to the start of the Winnipeg Strike, then on the second day of the building workers’ negotiations, employees of metal work factories had also encountered with the refuse of a collective bargaining and then they turned to the strike. Employer-employee relations in Winnipeg, Manitoba were totally broken down.
4.2 Third-Party Dispute Resolution Interventions
The government interventions in this strike had resulted in the Bloody Saturday for the fear of that the strike will evolved into a socialist revolution.
4.3 Joint Committees
During 1919, as the union separated from the Trade and Labor Congress for the conviction of workers, the One Big Union was closely related to the Winnipeg strike, but after the strike, the OBU had received a big defeat and faced with breakdown.
On the contrary, another committee which is called Citizens’ Committee of 1000, organized by Winnipeg business leaders, including elites from the politicians, bankers, and manufacturers had made a quick work of this strike, without any hesitation, linked the strike to world revolution(Thomas, 1975), though the workers were just asking for wages, collective bargaining opportunities and the improvement of working conditions.
5.0 Outputs Analysis
5.1 Employer Outcomes
From the visually outcomes to say, the employers had won the final success without any concession that a successful labor movement will bring to, despite the expense during the strike, the efficiency finally recovered.
5.2 Labor Outcomes
After the strike, though the labors did not achieve goals in this time and there seemed to be no reward in this effort, the strike actually scared the Borden regime. For the fear of another unrest, or revolution, in the next year of the strike, 11 labor candidates won the election and then there are huge changes within the Member of Parliament.
5.3 Worker Perceptions
Though without the goals achievement, the strike is the experiment in reality basing on the longing for the 1917 Russian Revolution. From this strike, the workers received active experience in the light of the socialist idea, the experience together with the idea then were gained by labor movement leaders in the following series of strike. And it can be called a progress on the idea of socialist for workers.
5.4 Conflicts Resolution
After Bloody Saturday led to by the intervention from government, worry about more death and the injured would happen, the strike was ended in the fifth day of the black day.
The Citizens’ Committee of 1000 had been crucial impacts of ending the strike.
6.0 Conclusion
In conclusion, during the strikes in Winnipeg, the diversity of Canada and the radicalism related closely to the socialist mind of OBU of the workers are the internal factors that changed by the economic factors to happen this strike. Because the socialist mind of the strike, the substantialgoals of the strikers were distorted by employers committee as a political revolution which is targeted by the government. This situation resulted to the end of the strike.
7.0 Reference
Brammel, L., &McCormack, A. (1979). THE GREAT TRIBULATION: Winnipeg's First General Strike. Labour / Le Travail, 4187-209.
Bumsted, J. M. (1994). The Winnipeg general strike reconsidered. Beaver, 74(3), 27.
Francis, D. (1984). 1919: THE WINNIPEG GENERAL STRIKE. History Today, 34(4), 4
Peterson, L. (1984). Revolutionary Socialism and Industrial Unrest in the Era of the Winnipeg General Strike: The Origins of Communist Labour Unionism in Europe and North America. Labour / Le Travail,
13115-131
Thomas, L. G. (1975). Confrontation at Winnipeg: Labour, Industrial Relations, and the General Strike (Book). Labor History, 16(3), 430-431.
Assignment 1
The Winnipeg General Strike
Table of Contents
1.0 Executive Summary
The main purpose of this report is to analyze how the environment factors have effect on the goals, strategies, value and power of the actors in Winnipeg General Strikes. By the Industrial Relations System model in Canada, the internal factors of the actors in this strike will be intertwined with outputs of the Winnipeg General Strike and itself. Through the analysis by the industrial relation, the issue of this conflict will be clarified.
The Winnipeg General Strike happened in 1919 was finally ended without substantial payback to the strikers, but experts still approved …show more content…
the invisible positive effects in long term of run.
2.0 Introduction
The first year in Canada after the World War I was accompanied with high levels of unemployment and inflation.
Led by the outrage of the situation, workers from sorts of industries and trade started the labor movement which is called Winnipeg General Strike. In this memorable strike, interventions from employers and government had led to several key events, including the birth of Citizens’Committee of One Thousand, the amendment of the Immigration Act and the Criminal Act, the death and the injured on Bloody Saturday. The strike finally ended on June 26, which is the fifth day after the bloody events happened, and the strikers did not receive any wage increases or working environment improvement. In the next year of the strike, labor candidates won eleven which including four strike leaders. Besides that, as an independent labor, James Woodsworth was elected as the Member of Parliament and later the form of Co-operative Commonwealth Federation which become into the New Democratic Party today which related closely to him was deemed by experts to the impacts from the Winnipeg General …show more content…
Strike.
3.0 Situational Analysis
3.1 External Subsystems
3.1.1 Political Factors and Legal Factors
Just before two years of the strike in 1917, the federal election in Canada was called the “most corrupt in Canadian history” that manipulation on suffrage was openly made to ensure the party in power would remain and the ethnic wasstill in weak position (Francis,1984). Basing on the Borden government, a series of regulations issued in 1918 for suppressing foreign language publications, outlawing radical political organizations, and banning strikes in certain sectors of the economy. Francis, D. called the nervous at all the labor turmoil and the suspicion on the immigrants of Bolshevist political views. Actually, the Bolshevist views catalyzed by Russian Revolution in 1917 did indeed lead to an increase in socialist and labor ideas among Canadian workers, and that is the reason why the fear on the part of those in Borden government for revolution show obviously.
3.1.2 Economic Factors
At end of the World War I, soldiers from the war were falling to unemployment and the wages also falling far behind. War-time inflation resulted in the falling of real wages and the returning soldiers who actually contribute to the polarization of Winnipeg society resulted in the surplus in labor market which caused the high levels of unemployment(Brammel&McCormack 1979), all these factors crippled the wages.
3.1.3 Sociocultural Factors
Since 1900, the Winnipeg had grown rapidly with immigration about equally divided between industrial British and the new immigrants, mainly Slavs and Jews. Then by January in 1919 when mobs of returning soldiers wrecked the local offices of the Socialist Party of Canada, terrorized immigrants on the streets, the confrontation between returned soldier and enemy alien which labeled on immigrants by Canadian government through Alien Investigation Board had taken off (Bumsted, 1994). The confrontation between returned soldiers and the immigrants was caused by the highly unemployment and the returned soldiers considered that jobs held by the “aliens” should be back to them.
3.2 Internal Inputs
3.2.1 Goals and Strategies
Scared as the Borden regime is, the labor movement finally happened in terms of the economic decline and the distrust of the Borden government. For wages increases and the improvement of the working conditions, the building trades and metal workers started the strike, and within 24 hours, the strike group rapidly broadened with non-union workers, and the number of people within the strike group was between 20,000 and 35,000. “Old forms of organization were discarded in favor of ones adapted to the new level of industrial militancy and revolutionaries redefined their goals and a new range of organizational means and political weapons to achieve them(Peterson,1984).”
3.2.2 Values and Power
Basing on the condition of great diversity in Canada, the workers’radicalism was characterized and became the fuel of the labor movement with Communist style. As Peterson said, the experience of both industrial militants and revolutionary socialists during the industrial struggles of the period 1917-20 had been the leading factors that led to a re-evaluation of the their tactics, goals, ideologies, and organizations, which then resulted in a new synthesis of politics and economics within the Communist International.
4.0 Conversion Mechanisms
4.1 Collective Bargaining and Strikes
It is known that the Winnipeg Strike was started directly with the breakdown of the negotiations between employers and the building workers for pay increases and work condition improvement in Winnipeg, Manitoba. And this directly led to the start of the Winnipeg Strike, then on the second day of the building workers’ negotiations, employees of metal work factories had also encountered with the refuse of a collective bargaining and then they turned to the strike. Employer-employee relations in Winnipeg, Manitoba were totally broken down.
4.2 Third-Party Dispute Resolution Interventions
The government interventions in this strike had resulted in the Bloody Saturday for the fear of that the strike will evolved into a socialist revolution.
4.3 Joint Committees
During 1919, as the union separated from the Trade and Labor Congress for the conviction of workers, the One Big Union was closely related to the Winnipeg strike, but after the strike, the OBU had received a big defeat and faced with breakdown.
On the contrary, another committee which is called Citizens’ Committee of 1000, organized by Winnipeg business leaders, including elites from the politicians, bankers, and manufacturers had made a quick work of this strike, without any hesitation, linked the strike to world revolution(Thomas, 1975), though the workers were just asking for wages, collective bargaining opportunities and the improvement of working conditions.
5.0 Outputs Analysis
5.1 Employer Outcomes
From the visually outcomes to say, the employers had won the final success without any concession that a successful labor movement will bring to, despite the expense during the strike, the efficiency finally recovered.
5.2 Labor Outcomes
After the strike, though the labors did not achieve goals in this time and there seemed to be no reward in this effort, the strike actually scared the Borden regime. For the fear of another unrest, or revolution, in the next year of the strike, 11 labor candidates won the election and then there are huge changes within the Member of Parliament.
5.3 Worker Perceptions
Though without the goals achievement, the strike is the experiment in reality basing on the longing for the 1917 Russian Revolution. From this strike, the workers received active experience in the light of the socialist idea, the experience together with the idea then were gained by labor movement leaders in the following series of strike. And it can be called a progress on the idea of socialist for workers.
5.4 Conflicts Resolution
After Bloody Saturday led to by the intervention from government, worry about more death and the injured would happen, the strike was ended in the fifth day of the black day.
The Citizens’ Committee of 1000 had been crucial impacts of ending the strike.
6.0 Conclusion
In conclusion, during the strikes in Winnipeg, the diversity of Canada and the radicalism related closely to the socialist mind of OBU of the workers are the internal factors that changed by the economic factors to happen this strike. Because the socialist mind of the strike, the substantialgoals of the strikers were distorted by employers committee as a political revolution which is targeted by the government. This situation resulted to the end of the strike.
7.0 Reference
Brammel, L., &McCormack, A. (1979). THE GREAT TRIBULATION: Winnipeg's First General Strike. Labour / Le Travail, 4187-209.
Bumsted, J. M. (1994). The Winnipeg general strike reconsidered. Beaver, 74(3), 27.
Francis, D. (1984). 1919: THE WINNIPEG GENERAL STRIKE. History Today, 34(4), 4
Peterson, L. (1984). Revolutionary Socialism and Industrial Unrest in the Era of the Winnipeg General Strike: The Origins of Communist Labour Unionism in Europe and North America. Labour / Le Travail,
13115-131
Thomas, L. G. (1975). Confrontation at Winnipeg: Labour, Industrial Relations, and the General Strike (Book). Labor History, 16(3), 430-431.