“The years 1900 to 1919 were characterized by widespread unrest and violence in Canada. ” (Wejr and Howie; pg. 5) The above quotation explains what it was like to be a labourer during the early 1900’s. Canadian employers during this era would act out violently towards striking or under performing labourers. Hiring secret police was a common practice used by retaliating employers against strikers. Labourers had no say in their wages and had no one to back them up; not even the government.
There were unions started up in this era to protect the workers but they were fairly weak and easily shut down by the employers of the company. Labourers worked long hours with low earnings. Employers did not care about their workers safety and as a result, numerous work-related injuries occurred. Labourers hired in this era were underpaid and mistreated thus unions needed to be formed to rectify the situatuion. (Wejr and Smith; pg. 5-19) Labourers worked long hours with little pay. Labourers in a cotton mill factory, in the early 1900’s, were paid one dollar a day and worked nine hours per day.
The following poem vividly describes the easy time the employers had compared to the labourers’ hard work and poor treatment. “With fingers that never new toil / with nose-tip swollen and red/ a delegate sat in an easy chair / eating the labours bread / Strike-Strike-Strike! / Nor dare return to your work, / and still with his swaggering, insolent air/ he sang the song of the shirk. ” (Desmond; pg. 81) In 1913, the British Columbia Federation, a newspaper publication, explained how the labourers were treated at one of the Canadian Northern Railway camp:
They (the labourers) are told that there is no work for them at their trade or on the conditions they were originally hired, and they will have to work as common labourers with pick and shovel, or any other work they may be set at. The wages run from one dollar and seventy-five cents to two dollars and twenty-five cents. One dollar per day is charged for board, twenty-five cents per month is charged for mail they never get, and a dollar per month for a doctor they never see. The price of boots is twelve to eighteen dollars, and other things in proportion.
(Williams; pg. 90 (the original document is from 10 January, 1913 (c) British Columbian Federation newspaper)) The labourers were trapped; there was no other way to buy their items, not even if they were willing to pay for their own transportation, to and from the camp. The only way they could purchase their items was through the company store. (Desmond; pg. 81-83, Williams; pg. 86-88) The employees could not demand pay raises. They were paid what the employer paid them and were unable to obtain pay raises.
When labourers went on strike because of financial reasons, which most strikes of that time period were for, employers would fire those employees or even hire special police to punish the workers. In one instance, during a 1913-1914 Vancouver Island coal strike, the employer hired special police and militia and requested any striking employee to be brought to a concentration camp. During a 1906 labour strike, militia, hired by the strikers’ employer, perused down the streets of Winnipeg, armed with machine guns.
In a 1910 mining strike, striking labourers had their wages reduced by ten percent; the employer did not take any requests from the employees, but instead punished the workers for striking. (Desmond; pg. 77-81, Lipton pg. 98-103) Safety measures in the mines and factories during this time period were very poor. In a case of a child labourer, The “Farry Boy”; “He was put to work at thirteen by his widowed mother. On his first morning, the boy was put on the sharpening machine, a primitive tool that even to veteran hands would be considered dangerous.
Within four hours, he was under chloroform having the stumps of his fingers bound up. His employer denied any responsibility. ” (Desmond; pg. 86) In another case, a Brantford girl, while working in a factory, was caught by an unfenced, moving, wire rope and killed instantly. Vancouver Island coalmines during the early 1900’s were known for their high quality coal, but very dangerous working conditions. (Desmond; pg. 83-87) Employers did not care about their labourers. In 1890, safety measures, respect of employees, and fair wages were diminished.
This was all because of rallying employers who wanted their own rules for their factories. They did want external factors invading their factories and establishing standard rules. Employers did what ever they wanted to their employees. There was no established minimum wage to pay their employees, thus, the employers would pay their employees very low wages. In addition, there were no labourer rights therefore the employers had their labourers work long hours with a standard, low cost wage. In 1912, “West Coast Wobblies” from the Canadian Northern Railroad had a large strike.
The strike was an issue because the railroad labourers felt that their employer was not respecting them, and was treating them like unskilled, low class, slaves. The employer denied any of this, and instead of listening to what the labourers had to say, and modifying their practices, the employer reduced their wages, and restricted their privileges within the company even further. Labourers found the mining and textile fields to be extremely difficult and “The craft workers who had survived the First Industrial Revolution soon found the second phase to be traumatic” (Heron; pg.
31) (Heron; pg. 28-34 + Desmond pg. 74-77) Labourers had many struggles with their rights as a worker during the beginning of the twentieth century. Employers would not listen to the labourers’ suggestions or wants, and never changed their policies to better suit the labourers. An outside body was needed to resolve the ongoing conflicts between the labourers and the employers, and allow the labourers to have a chance at winning their rights. Unions were created in the early 1900’s for these reasons. Unions could side with the labourers and help them battle through their troubles.
Employers soon found out about the unions and their goals to represent the employees and their rights. The employers were not going to take this. Employers used their money and power to shut down any forming unions. In some instances, employers were known to use special police, labour spies and militia to rid any unions forming, or in power. The employers would hire labour spies, who would go around to unions, and secretly spy on their meetings. The labour spies would then report back to the employers and when the employers identified the union individuals, he would have his special police and militia arrest the union officials.
For example, the Western Federation of Miners was set up in 1906 to help miners with their rights struggle, but was quickly shut down because the employers refused to recognise the labourers’ rights. As well, unions had a tough time presenting their cases in courts. This was due to the fact that the government wanted a better economy, and therefore usually favoured the capitalist earning employers to the labour unions. The thought being that If the employers kept earning money, Canada’s economy would rise. If factories had to modify their rules and wages, or had to be shut down, Canada’s economy would suffer. (Desmond pg.
87-93) It is clear that labourers had a tough time during the early 1900s. They made very little money and could not acquire any pay raises. “While capitalists have amassed riches, the condition of the toiler has remained little changed. While one class lives in luxury, and the other exists in comparative poverty, there can be no harmony between capital and labour; for capital in its modern character too often consists of unpaid labour in the form of profits. ” (Williams; pg. 99) The above quotation easily shows the power of the employee over the labourer and how he would use this to his advantage to accumulate large profits.
With employers not caring about the safety of their employees there were many work related injuries and deaths during this time. There would need to be an outside body to help the labourers with their troubles. Unions were started up, but the profit-hungry employers easily demolished any unions. Secret police were hired by the employers to arrest any suspected union member, which in turn caused any forming unions to collapse. For these reasons, labourers hired in this era were underpaid and mistreated, thus unions needed to be formed. (Williams pg. 99)