With social reformers in the city, there were efforts to unionize to help the working class. At the end of April 1919, the Metal Trades Council and Building Trades Council failed to secure contracts with their employers and they went on strike at the start of May. 🧵3/15 - ThreadSky

cdnhistoryehx.bsky.social • 4 days ago

With social reformers in the city, there were efforts to unionize to help the working class.
At the end of April 1919, the Metal Trades Council and Building Trades Council failed to secure contracts with their employers and they went on strike at the start of May.

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macterra17.com•4 days ago

Holy moly, the Find Soldier Decapitated is what really caught my attention there. I can almost read it.

cdnhistoryehx.bsky.social•4 days ago

In support of those councils, the Winnipeg Trades and Labor Council called for a general strike to begin on May 15, 1919.
That day, 30,000 men and women walked out of their jobs. The entire city shut down as there was no one to work in factories, shops or on trains.

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cdnhistoryehx.bsky.social•4 days ago

Before long, police, postal workers, telegraph/telephone operators, postal workers and utility workers all joined the strike.
To manage the strike, a Central Strike Committee was formed. Its members were elected and they bargained on behalf of the strikers.

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cdnhistoryehx.bsky.social•4 days ago

While police and firemen supported the strike, the committee asked that they remain on duty throughout the strike.
Women played an important part in the strike, with many female workers joining the strike and showing solidarity with the strikers.

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cdnhistoryehx.bsky.social•4 days ago

Helen Armstrong, who was nicknamed Ma, was a leader of the strike and sat on the Central Strike Committee.
She established the Labour Cafe, which provided three meals a day to strikers. The Cafe served upwards of 1,500 meals per day to feed the strikers.

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cdnhistoryehx.bsky.social•4 days ago

After the strike began, The Citizen's Committee of 1,000 formed to oppose it. It included business owners and politicians. They called the strike a revolutionary plot by "alien scum". Winnipeg's major newspapers criticized strikers and took the side of business leaders.

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cdnhistoryehx.bsky.social•4 days ago

With the strike continuing for weeks, the federal government stepped in. The government believed that the strike would cause strikes in others cities.
Minister of Labour Arthur Meighen and Senator Gideon Robertson came to Winnipeg to meet with the Citizens' Committee.

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