Labour Movement Unionism
Master-Slave Relationship
workers had few rights, the employer made all the rules
employment relationship = employers and employees
the law is generally invoked by employers
working conditions were poor
Pre-unionization
“Surplus children” emigrated to Canada to work as farm labour
Farmers would recruit children through advertisements in local papers
The Early Years (1900s to 1920s)
Craft unionism/new model unionism (late 1800s)
Rooted in the apprentice system
workers outside of the craft were excluded from representation
exclude other types of workers split the labour movement
these unions operated illegally until 1872
The Birth of Unionism
The nine-hour movement and the Trade Union Act of 1872
the nine-hour movement sought to reduce the workday for Canadian
workers
the formation of unions was henceforth legalized, but the right to strike was
still illegal
The American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Trades and Labour Congress
Samuel Gompers (1886)
Exclusive Jurisdiction
Labour Movement Unionism
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One union per craft
Business Unionism
unions should focus on servicing members, as opposed to broader
societal goals
Political Non-partisanship
Labour should not align with a single political party or group
The Knights of Labour
Guiding principles:
believed representing skilled and unskilled labour
opposed strikes
sought to establish cooperative businesses operates by union members
The Struggle (1900-1920)
The struggle to form unions. in the early 1900s was characterized by:
Large strikes
divide in the labour market
rapid economic development
Examples:
World War 1
The Berlin Convention
Industrial Disputes Investigation Act (IDIA)
Winnipeg General Strike (1919)
Building solidarity through One Big Union (OBU)
a subset of unionists who voted to separate from the TLC
Origins trace to the Knights of labor and the Industrial Workers of the World
(IWW)
Labour Movement Unionism
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Decline and Resurrection (1930s and 1940s)
National Labour Relations Act (Wagner Act, 1935)
greatly influenced Canadian labour law and has been replicated in the
provinces
Core stipulations of the Wagner act
1. Created in independent agency to enforce rights to collective bargaining
2. Employers were required to bargain with certified unions
3. Restricted unfair labour practices
4. Gave the NLRB power to order remedies for employer violations of the act
5. Enforced a doctrine of exclusivity (bargaining with one union selected by a
majority of workers)
6. Encouraged collective bargaining
Importing the Wagner model to Canada
Wartime Labour Relation Regulation (PC 1003)(1944) replicated the Wagner
Act
mechanisms for handling workplace disputes throughout collective
agreements
The Rand Formula followed
requires automatic due checkoffs for union and non-union employees
The Separation of Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO) from the AFL
Labour Movement Unionism
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