1. Winnipeg General strike

2. After WW1 ended, soldiers returned home to Canada. 1
After WW1 ended, soldiers returned home to Canada What would they expect life to be like upon their return?
2. What is the Reality?

3. What is happening?

4. Simulation Activity
You will be placed in groups of 3 and be given a role:
Metal Workers Union
Building and Trades Union
Industry Owners
Winnipeg Trades and Labour Council
Citizens Committee of One Thousand
Winnipeg City Government
Federal Government
Non-Union Workers, Veterans, the Unemployed
In each group chose who will be:
Group leader – role is to move and negotiate with other groups
Negotiator – stay at table and negotiate with leaders that visit you
Recorder - record all deals and alliances

5. What do you need to do?
Read your card - be sure you understand your group’s status and your goals
Brainstorm: Who will you try to convince? What will you say?
Send out group leader to make alliances to further your cause
the recorder will write down the negotiated details to prove the alliance helps you in order to earn the points
How can you win?
Every group has points
You collect points for every alliance made that furthers your goal. (no points for alliances that work against your goal)
Group (or alliance) with the most points wins

6. Conclusions: What was the result? Who met their goals?
Who made alliances?
What do you think happened in Winnipeg in 1919?

7. Veterans & life at home What was life like for returning soldiers?
What do workers demand?
Soldiers return to few jobs, no medical services for wounded, no veteran pensions
Employers were rich, veterans poor
Costs have risen & wages haven’t
No pensions, unemployment, or workers compensation yet in Canada
Result: workers demand higher wages, better working conditions, unions

8. Workers strike across Canada
Where were workers going on strike? Why?
Strikes:
Coal and steel workers on Cape Breton Island
Closing wartime industries
community was single industry: British Empire Steel Corporation
Labour wars – poverty, violence
Western Canada
Strikes – across prairies and BC

9. Socialism and Western Unions
What influenced the West?
What is the OBU?
How will they get what they want?
Western union leaders influenced by Bolshevik revolution in Russia (communism)
1919 Western Labour Conference – founded One Big Union (OBU) for all Canadian workers
Goal to get workers more control over industry and government through peaceful means
How? The General Strike

10. Winnipeg General Strike
How does the first General Strike begin?
How is Winnipeg affected?
May 1919: Winnipeg metal and building workers walk off job & demand higher wages, shorter work collective bargaining
Winnipeg trades and Labour Council vote for general strike
30,000 workers go on strike
Result: Paralyze Winnipeg
(no postal workers, firefighters, streetcars, etc)

11. First reaction Who opposes the Strike? How does the Gov. React?
Opposition: “Citizen’s’ Committee of One thousand”
Business leaders, politicians
Fear communist conspiracy to take over government
Government reaction:
Federal: Immigration Act: deport foreign born union leaders
Municipal: special police, fire civic workers, arrest union leaders

12. Bloody Saturday What is Bloody Saturday? How does the Strike end?
June 21: protest parade
RCMP and Special Police (armed with pistols and clubs) charge into crowd
Violence
Strikers: 1 dead, 30 injured, many arrested
Defeat: strikers return to work
Length: 43 days

13. Result of Strike How is the strike a set back for workers?
How was the strike a success?
7 leaders convicted of conspiracy to overthrow gov yrs in prison
Many workers lost jobs, or had to sign contracts not allowing them to join a union
Royal Commission : finds workers grievances are valid (over time, will get demands)

14. Watch:
Canada a People’s History: volume 8 ( ordeal by fire)
chap. 10: Winnipeg General Strike
(11 mins)