History of Canadian Labor - Essay Example

History of Canadian Labor Compared to global standards, Canada is a late admission to the labor history scene. While we could get relevant researchentropies on labor history for the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia from the 1960s, we had to wait till 1971 to lay hands to the Committee on Canadian Labour History, a publication journal dedicated at chronicling the events that highlighted the course of labor movements in Canada. For some reasons, historians and scholars refrained from focusing too much on what they thought as 'narrow' areas of labor class in Canada. Instead, bulk of their historical works involved social conflicts. Another probable reason why it took so long for Canada to appear in the labor history documentation stage could have been lack of credible data. While plenty of research works paved the way for jotting down crucial historical components related to labor history in other countries, there wasn't too much of study materials for the historians to trace the labor history of Canada. However, with the publication of the Committee on Canadian Labour History, the history of Canadian labor, especially the changing context in the working class section, has assumed an important dimension. Historically, the working class people in Canada, despite their contribution to the economic growth and development of the country, and despite the fact that Canada has always depended more on factory production than service sectors, has remained in the shadows of negligence. The formation of trade unions in the 1880s and the working class revolt in the beginning of the twentieth century have played an important role in shaping the future of Canadian workers. Even today, majority of Canadians earn their livelihood from factory wages. But the changing scenario is best reflected in the fact that most labors are not registered to unions in modern day Canada. It might be noted however that labor unions, at present or in the past, have been devising effective strategies to take the workers' issues to the respective higher authorities, and this draws the working class into joining unions in large numbers. This paper is going to critically examine the changing situations in the labor history of Canada, especially between 1940 and 1975. Systemization of labor was a major area of focus in Canadian history. This was important because bulk of nation's revenues came from large-scale production. In the 1870s, the living environment of labors in Canada was not at all healthy and conducive to profitable outcomes. So it was important to build a foundation that could lead to prosperity of the workers for the greater welfare of the nation. Incepted in 1869 by Philadelphia garment cutters, the Knights of Labor was one of the prominent labor reformist organizations in the late nineteenth century. The main objective of this secret organization was to launch a campaign for cooperation and education among the working class fraternity, without gender or racial bias. The idea of maximizing the potential of skilled labors was given foremost priority. The age of rapid industrialization required deployment of efficient workers to get optimum output. While the experience and competency of veteran labors was an asset to the management, the youthful exuberance of the young working class brigade was nothing less an important area of contention. The integration of Canadian capitalism in the twentieth century brought a new era in working class history. Diversification of unions, the impending threat of a cold war, gender biases at workplaces, inconsistent wage structures and frequent workouts did not augur well for the overall economic growth of the country. Most workers lived a life of perpetual struggle for food, clothing and shelter. New managerial machinery, so to speak, was introduced to downsize excess workers. It sparked the labor unrest all the more as skilled labors did not appreciate the new rules. Earlier in the nineteenth century, majority of workers in Canada enjoyed supremacy at their workplaces. But with the turn of the new century, tension between the Canadian government and the workers' associations increased. Besides, labor unions also failed to gain ascendancy in terms of promoting labor solidarity. By the time of the World War I, working class divisions based on skill, race, ethnicity and gender became apparent, and this issue went out of labor unions' control. It was evident from the turn of the century that the working class unions in Canada were about to face ideological differences in terms of occupation, locality, industry, race, ethnicity and gender. In many cities, both union leaders and labors were white, male, Anglophone and francophone Canadians. A less radical approach of gaining labor solidarity was adapted by unionists in Quebec, but it eventually failed to produce the intended result. The onset of the First World War was undoubtedly a turning point in the history of Canadian labor. Apart from the globally disturbing situation, the nation at that time was facing the danger of a working class militancy that threatened from within. As mentioned earlier, workers in Canada could not come in terms with the new political agenda laid down by the capitalist market. Top union labors were ordered to follow the agenda. The government in turn made commitment that all the areas concerning labor wages, gender and racial bias and so on would be duly addressed. But this promise was far from being kept and frequent instances of strikes and other forms of protests ran rampant in the country. Shipbuilding and coalmining industries were among the two worst affected areas. Post war Canada witnessed dramatic changes in working class movements. The Trades and Labor Congress of Canada, which once intervened into the national machinery to voice the collective grievances of the working class, had to take a different stance in the wake of an economic lean period shortly after the First World War. Some of the recently established corporate setups dominated and fueled the economy during this phase. Weak labor movements restricted the scope of prosperity significantly. By taking the method of collective bargaining, the Labor Congress addressed the issues of dues-paying members. (Morton 68) It might be noted in this regard that even though collective bargaining assumed prominence during the post-war Canada, its origin dates back to the nineteenth century when labor wages were kept aside from collective bargaining. The union leaders arrived at the 'price' of their workers; escalated the matter to the managerial departments and then either agreed upon the decision of the employers or negotiated the matter furthermore. The Brantford Local report published in August, 1871 clearly suggested that local unions in big cities enjoyed a freedom of sorts. (MacDowell 54) The collective bargaining practice was applied not just to set prices of goods, but also to strike a point of mutual agreement regarding the working hours of the labors. Labor strikes and workouts in the early twentieth century necessitated the enforcement of stringent measures. The Industrial Disputes Investigation Act was conceived of to effectively handle labor organization from the employer's points of view. The role of unions was not given as much importance in the IDI Act as it was the case with some of the earlier dispute-settlement regulations. It is a widely debatable issue among the historians as to how far this act benefited the workers. The root of the controversy lies in the fact that on one hand, it gave recognition of the labors, but at the same time employers used this act as a tool for blacklisting, stockpiling, discriminatory wage structure, hiring strike-breakers and so on. The shortcomings of the IDI Act were exposed in the strike of Bell Telephone Company operators in Toronto in 1907. This company was popular among women workers because of its favorable attitude towards them. But the investigation report proved otherwise as the King Commission chided the company for resorting to sweatshop methods and thereby, limiting the scope of growth for its women workers. Later on in 1910, the IDI Act failed to produce its intended, beneficiary results when a strike was called by the employees of Grand Trunk Railway. The act however remained in practice until 1948. According to Stuart Jamieson, a student of industrial relations in Canada, "The Act may well have delayed the evolution in Canada of mature collective bargaining. Particularly did this tend to be the case where King and subsequently other federal mediators and boards, frequently used the disputes settlement strategy of arranging agreements between employers and committees of their employees instead of with bona fide unions." (Morton 90) Post World War I situations didn't show much signs of collective bargaining as a potent force for the unions. The primary issue that was raised during these troubled times concerned hike in wages. The prevailing inflation and other economic factors compelled the workers to seek the assistance of union leaders who were supposed to bargain with the employers. Just after a war which was fought for 'democracy', it was obvious that Canadian labors asked for a collective voice that can fight for democracy and equality in the workplaces. As was the case, reform-minded political leaders promised a great deal going into the war, but their deeds did not reflect their commitments. Instead, a drastic economic downturn began in 1921, making the plight of the labors more miserable than before. During this phase, many companies deliberately did away with collective bargaining and took advantage of the predicament. So-called 'troublemakers' were fired at random; union representatives were pushed back and their authority was restricted and wages were rolled back to previously moderate scales. Thus, collective bargaining was abated by majority of organizations and employees got disillusioned when their demands were met with little or no response from managements. (MacDowell 151) It has been argued by experts that the collective bargaining method is more or less a spent force in corporations having a well organized and self-sufficient mechanism of conducting labor relations. Such organizations do not require unions to proclaim the rights of employees and workers. Now as we move ahead from the early nineteenth century scenarios to 1930s and 40s, we will notice a remarkable change in terms of growth and expansion of corporate structures in Canada. With the advent of technology, majority of the modern day organizations did not function arbitrarily and hence, collective bargaining trends were slowly going out of practice. Monopoly of economy is another point of contention when it comes to justify the method of collective bargaining in the context of Canadian labor history. The system, as opined by many experts, is fully realized at the peak of economy in the biggest companies belonging to the monopoly sector or the primary segment. On the other hand, peripheral companies mainly belonging to clothing and textile industries are unlikely to monopolize the market and take resolve employee issues on their own. These are described as secondary segment. (Kealey 341) From this construct of primary and secondary segments, we can come to the split labor market condition. In Canadian labor history, or for that matter the working class history of any nation, the target market areas are generally classified into a number of subdivisions. The primary segment which is related to market monopoly can be divided into two sub-groups: independent and subordinate. Independent workers enjoy a high degree of professional freedom and autonomy whereas subordinates need to follow strict routines imposed by their employers. They also have to do works that are repetitive in nature and closely monitored. Such divisions lead to slitting of employee unity and solidarity. This period of 'segmentation' continued nearly for two decades from 1940s to late 1960s, but faced an unstable situation ever since. The tension was apparent in the first national postal strike that occurred in 1965. The resentment was mounting up for a long time due to paltry pay structures, partiality in supervising and a few other elements. Federal post office employees did not pay attention to the warning that "only a big wage increase would keep employees on the job during the summer of 1965." The lengthy negotiation process seemed to fetch very little result as Montreal postal workers walked out of their duties. The strike rapidly spread to Toronto, Vancouver and other major cities. Now with regards to the thesis question, one might ask what changes do a strike of such magnitude trace in the history of the Canadian working class. From the nature of the strike it is quite apparent that union leaders lost complete control of their members. If compared to the events of the late nineteenth century and post World War I, it leaves no doubt that Canadian labors and employees refused to listen to the negotiations and their 'possible but not probable' outcomes. However, the postal strike was withdrawn at a settlement of $550. This event marked out a visible route of renewed labor unrest in the history of Canada. It all began with the much anticipated Labor Code was declared by the Quebec Liberals in 1963, demanding "union check-off and a sharp reduction in government meddling with collective bargaining decisionsThe rival Quebec Federation of Labour called a special convention and talked of a general strike. Unpaid hospital workers staged illegal walkouts. In August, 1963, the once conservative teachers' federation insisted that any right of association would be meaningless without the right to strike." (Morton 260) Researches on the long-term implications of collective enterprises in the Steel industry of Canada have paved the path for further readings. While it can be empirically supported that the steel industry of Canada has been the forte of economic development in the country as a primary segment, it cannot be overlooked also that the same industry has always gone through issues such as lack of productivity, destabilization of manpower and reduction of labor turnover. Once the transitional phase in the 1920s got settled to some extent, many workers began to rejoin the steel sector, even for short spells of appointment. The pattern of production, however, was irregular and inconsistent as far as meeting the nation's demand was concerned. It has been argued vehemently that the steel industry of Canada has always worked for the welfare of its citizens and hence, employee retention was never really an issue. But when we look at this point of welfarism from the perspective of unionism, theoretical conflicts surface with ample supports from what happened in 1946. Industrial unionism presented its loyal face in the steel strike of 1946. About 1000 long-term employees did not revolt against the company. Here again we see that unions failed to provide financial sustenance for the employees. The most salient aspect of the steel strike in 1946 is the underlying message it conveyed: how far is industrial unionism necessary as far as meeting the financial requirements of employees is concerned (Heron 108) Job security for women working in factories was never a problem prior to the commencement of the First World War. Although racial and gender bias has always troubled the working class fraternity in the country, unions ensured that women workers should not be harassed by gender-related issues. A large percentage of women workers in Canada hailed from Finland and other nations, with bulk of them employed as servants at private homes. During the 1920s, the Finnish domestic servants constituted of 7-8% of all women immigrants. Researchers mainly depend on the Finnish Immigrant Home Records for gathering the required information. These directories suggest that there was a hefty variety of skills among the immigrant female workers to Canada. Letters of recommendation issued the Finnish Home Ministry would indicate their distinct areas of competence - "this woman is a skillful masseuse" or "she is also an experienced seamstress". (Iacovetta 168). While Canadian women workers enjoyed the benefits of having a voice of their own at workplaces, protection of a union and so on, the immigrant women labors had to rely on extremist leaders who were sensitive to their cultural needs and professional insecurities. However, in the wake of change in labor movements between 1940 and 1975, many women had to adapt to different working environments such as pulpwood industries, clerical and retail jobs. Language was also an issue, especially with the advancement of corporate sectors in the 1930s and 1940s. The happening course of Canadian labor history introduces before us compelling evidence that reveals the real state of affairs in post war Canada. The interrelation between the ongoing capitalist market and labor force was primarily economic. Later on however, constant tides of inflation have pushed back the economy of Canada to a fearful extent. The country is yet to fully overcome the setbacks it received during the disturbance in mid-1970s. The Canadian Labor Congress, once a force to reckon with, has become a spent force almost with contradiction in its approaches. Works Cited Morton, Desmond. Working People: An Illustrated History of the Canadian Labour Movement Montreal: McGill-Queen's Press, 1998. MacDowell, Laurel Sefton, and Ian Walter Radforth. Canadian Working-class History: Selected Readings. Toronto: Canadian Scholars' Press, 2006. Kealey, Gregory S. Workers and Canadian History. Montreal: McGill-Queen's Press, 1995. Iacovetta, Franca, and Mariana Valverde. Gender Conflicts: New Essays in Women's History. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1992. Heron, Craig. Working in Steel: The Early Years in Canada, 1883-1935. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1988. Read More