The Labor Union Movement in Canada and Canadian Unions

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The Labor Union Movement in Canada and Canadian
Unions

• Education Department of the Canadian Labour
  Congress
• Winnipeg General Strike-Canadian Archives
• Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU)

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How Labor Unions Started in Canada

• Labour unions have existed in Canada since the
  early 1800s. There is a record of some skilled
  tradesmen having a union organization in Saint
  John, N.B., during the War of 1812.
• Trade unionists say there is significance in the
  fact that one of the earliest records of union
  organization in Canada is found in legislation
  adopted in Nova Scotia in 1816 that made it
  extremely difficult for workers to form unions.
  The preamble to this act referred to union
  activity in Halifax and other parts of the
  province as being illegal.

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• But despite this opposition, groups of workers in
  many parts of the country formed their own
  organizations during the first half of the 1800s.
  These included printers in Halifax, Montreal,
  Quebec City, Toronto and Hamilton shoemakers in
  Montreal and Hamilton carpenters, shipwrights,
  seamen, stonecutters, blacksmiths, painters,
  bakers, tailors and others.

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• Initially, these early unions had close ties with
  Britain due to colonialism. Eventually these ties
  gave way to a closer relationship with the US
  trade union movement. This was the beginning of
  the international trade union movement.
• Initially, workers focused on fighting wage cuts,
  and the strength of these unions ebbed and flowed
  with the economy
• Gradually, however, the workers' organizations
  gained strength and confidence.

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What were these early unions fighting for?

• A key development came in 1872 when the printers
  in Toronto decided to mount a vigorous campaign
  for the nine-hour day. They still worked a
  six-day week and so what they were seeking was a
  54-hour week. Most Canadian workers today work a
  40-hour week and some work considerably less.
• The Toronto printers were part of a general
  effort to obtain shorter hours. This was being
  promoted by what were known as Nine-Hour Leagues
  in many centres. The Toronto publishers promptly
  rejected the proposal and countered with a
  proposal for 10 for a 60-hour week -- about 16
  -- cents an hour.

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Nine-Hour League Demonstration, ONTARIO, Late
1800s
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What did they gain and how did they gain it?

• The printers, led by Daniel O'Donoghue, decided
  to go on strike. The strike became a matter of
  considerable public concern in Toronto. The
  publishers' group was headed by George Brown,
  editor of The Globe and a prominent political
  figure of the day.
• Brown had consistently fought the idea of union
  activity by the printers. On a previous occasion,
  in 1854, he had invoked the law of conspiracy to
  lay charges against some printers who engaged in
  a dispute with the publishers. While the printers
  were found technically guilty, the judgment of a
  one-penny fine clearly indicated the court's
  opinion of the use of this legal technicality.

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George Browns Globe Newspaper Office, Toronto,
1967
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• In the 1872 strike, Brown adopted the same
  tactics. Just before a mass demonstration in
  support of the strikers was to be held, he laid
  formal charges and had 13 of the leaders
  arrested. The demonstration turned into a mass
  protest and 10,000 people gathered before the
  legislative buildings in Queen's Park, Toronto.

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..the right to form unions

• Eventually the charges were dropped and the law
  was changed in 1872 to make unions legal in
  Canada. The revision of the statutes was
  sponsored by Sir John A. Macdonald, who saw an
  opportunity to embarrass his political opponent,
  Brown.
• The provision, which made workers liable to
  charges of conspiracy if they formed unions and
  acted cooperatively through them, was an old
  British law which had since been revised.
  Macdonald initiated similar action in Canada, and
  the right of Canadian workers to form unions and
  to act through them to improve their conditions
  was established.

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Political Cartoon of the time, The Mail Brown
and MacDonald
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Towards one UnionOrganizing Group for Canada

• The attempt to use the conspiracy legislation
  against the Toronto printers alerted all unions
  to the precarious position they were in. A new
  awareness grew of the common interest they shared
  in getting the type of legislation that would
  establish legally the right of workers to have
  effective organizations.
• As a result, in 1873, the Toronto Trades
  Assembly, which was an organization of Toronto
  unions, sent out invitations to the first
  national convention of Canadian unions. There
  were then about 100 local groups scattered about
  the country. The convention was attended by
  representatives of 31 unions, all in Ontario. The
  Canadian Labour Union was formed, the beginning
  of a national labour organization

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and collective bargaining

• Another organization that made a dramatic
  appearance on the Canadian labour scene, but
  which subsequently disappeared, was the One Big
  Union. This organization was centered in the
  West, particularly in Winnipeg, and was set up on
  the principle of including all workers in one
  organization.

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One Big Union was an International Movement
for Worker Rights
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• The O.B.U. came into existence about the time of
  the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919.
• This is an event which holds an important place
  in Canadian labour history. Workers in both the
  building and metal trades were involved, and the
  issues included the right to bargain collectively
  and higher wage rates. The general strike was
  effective, but the government intervened,
  arresting some of the leaders and threatening to
  deport those who had come to Canada from other
  countries.

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Winnipeg General Strike of 1919
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• The Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 was an
  important event in the history of Canada because
  it was a turning point. The strike was an illegal
  six week action fought by underprivileged
  Canadian Workers to have their right of
  collective bargaining recognized by the Canadian
  Government and by wealthy business owners.
• It was very threatening to the Canadian
  Establishment because it occurred at a time in
  history when similar displays of activism by the
  movement were leading to insurrections and
  revolutions. The fear of revolution generated by
  the strike caused the government to overreact and
  allow the RCMP and a force of special
  constables to brutalize demonstrators and occupy
  the streets until the strike was defeated

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Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 Workers
brutalized by RCMP
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• While the outcome was by no means acceptable to
  organized labour, the employers in the metal
  industry, who had previously refused to recognize
  the union, agreed to accept the principle of
  collective bargaining.

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and now we have the Canadian Labor Congress

• Meanwhile, from 1901 to 1921, a number of small
  unions had come into being in Quebec under the
  guidance of Roman Catholic clergy. In 1921, they
  combined to form the Canadian and Catholic
  Confederation of Labour, which later became the
  Confederation of National Trade Unions.
• Important developments were also taking place in
  the larger central body, the Trades and Labor
  Congress of Canada, and other groups that were
  formed, largely as a result of conflict between
  skilled trades and industrial workers
• In 1956, the Trades and Labor Congress of Canada
  and the Canadian Congress of Labour merged to
  form the Canadian Labour Congress. In 1911, there
  were some 133,000 union members in Canada. Today,
  the CLC represents 2.3 million unionized workers.

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Some union basics

• What is Labor Law?
• What is a Collective Agreement?
• What is the origin of the words Shop Stewards?
  What are some modern-day equivalents?
• How is the CA enforced?- a complaint an informal
  process towards resolution a formal process
  towards resolution if these steps are not
  successful, the case is referred to an
  Arbitration Board

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What do Unions do for us as a society? Linkages
among Labor Union Density, Collective Bargaining
Coverage, and National health Outcomes (please
also refer to Class handout (OECD, 2009)
National Health Outcomes
Workplace Health Labour Union Density
National Poverty Rates
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What did/do Unions do for Nurses?

• The 40 hour work week
• Limitations on being asked to work more than,
  say, 11 shifts in a row
• The right of casual workers to benefits (in the
  context of the casualization of the nursing
  workforce)
• The right to scheduled breaks
• The right to representation in disputes with
  employers (the Collective Agreement)
• Wage parity with comparator male groups (eg.
  Police officers)
• Union density in the workplace is directly
  proportional to worker overall health around the
  world, including in Canada (Raphael, 2006)
• ..the list is very long

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• Some serious outstanding issues for Canadians and
  Canadian nurses
• The international context--Free trade and
  unions---the sweatshop
• The dynamic tension between worker union
  protection and protecting the patient- a false
  dichotomy?

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The Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU)

• The Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions (CFNU)
  was established in 1981 to facilitate interaction
  among nursing unions in Canada and provide a
  united front on issues which affect unionized
  Registered Nurses and the quality of health care.
  The CFNU was reconstituted in 1999 as the
  national affiliating body for nurses to the
  Canadian Labour Congress.
• The mission of the CFNU is to provide a
  proactive, unified, national voice for quality
  health care and the socio-economic welfare of
  nurses and others. The strategic focus of the
  CFNU is building a national voice for
• the role of nurses
• the protection and preservation of public health
  care
• the advocacy of social justice and equity and
• the development of an international network and
  solidarity of nurses.
• Lets HAVE A LOOK---http//www.nursesunions.ca/