1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,920 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:06,600 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hey y'all, I'm Eves and Welcome to This 3 00:00:06,680 --> 00:00:09,720 Speaker 1: Day in History Class, a podcast that proves history is 4 00:00:09,800 --> 00:00:24,560 Speaker 1: made every day. Today is due. The day was June 5 00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:29,680 Speaker 1: nineteen nineteen. The Winnipeg General Strike officially ended when the 6 00:00:29,720 --> 00:00:33,440 Speaker 1: strike leaders called it off. In Winnipeg, the capital of 7 00:00:33,479 --> 00:00:38,040 Speaker 1: Manitoba and Canada, early twentieth century workers faced poor living, 8 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:42,880 Speaker 1: in working conditions, and other social inequalities. In the late 9 00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:45,960 Speaker 1: eighteen hundreds, immigrants made their way to Winnipeg to work 10 00:00:45,960 --> 00:00:50,800 Speaker 1: in agriculture and other growing industries. At the same time, 11 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:54,240 Speaker 1: business owners were growing wealthier and building huge homes in 12 00:00:54,280 --> 00:00:57,880 Speaker 1: the city. But World War One began in nineteen fourteen, 13 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:02,000 Speaker 1: and wages were low while inflation was high. Unemployment was 14 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:06,040 Speaker 1: on the rise, sanitation was poor, and living conditions were crowded. 15 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:08,959 Speaker 1: Many people were not making enough money to be able 16 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:13,400 Speaker 1: to afford adequate food and medical care. Working class immigrants 17 00:01:13,440 --> 00:01:17,839 Speaker 1: in Winnipeg were deeply affected by these conditions. In March 18 00:01:17,880 --> 00:01:21,440 Speaker 1: of nineteen nine, Canadian labor leaders met in Calgary and 19 00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:24,800 Speaker 1: called for the establishment of the One Big Union, which 20 00:01:24,920 --> 00:01:27,840 Speaker 1: later formed as a labor union that worked to empower 21 00:01:27,920 --> 00:01:32,920 Speaker 1: workers through mass organization. Along industrial lines, workers in the 22 00:01:32,959 --> 00:01:36,200 Speaker 1: building and metal trades were negotiating new contracts with their 23 00:01:36,240 --> 00:01:40,319 Speaker 1: employers for better wages and working conditions. They were trying 24 00:01:40,319 --> 00:01:44,560 Speaker 1: to negotiate these contracts through trades councils that represented workers 25 00:01:44,600 --> 00:01:49,840 Speaker 1: across their industry, but negotiations between employers and trades councils 26 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:53,440 Speaker 1: broke down and a strike committee was formed after member 27 00:01:53,560 --> 00:01:56,960 Speaker 1: unions in the Winnipeg Trades and Labor Council voted to 28 00:01:57,040 --> 00:02:00,960 Speaker 1: hold a general strike on May fifth, teenh The Winnipeg 29 00:02:01,000 --> 00:02:04,720 Speaker 1: General Strike began when around thirty thou people left their 30 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:07,680 Speaker 1: jobs to strike for their right to collective bargaining and 31 00:02:07,720 --> 00:02:13,920 Speaker 1: better wages. Telephone operators, retail workers, factory workers, postal workers, 32 00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:17,440 Speaker 1: and firefighters were among the people who went on strike. 33 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:21,760 Speaker 1: The police force remained on duty, though they officially supported 34 00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:24,880 Speaker 1: the strike. Most of the police force was dismissed for 35 00:02:24,960 --> 00:02:28,440 Speaker 1: supporting the strike and replaced with so called special Police 36 00:02:28,760 --> 00:02:32,799 Speaker 1: who walked the streets with clubs. The city's business elite 37 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:36,359 Speaker 1: quickly formed the Citizens Committee of one thousand in opposition 38 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:39,919 Speaker 1: to the strike. The Citizens Committee maintained that the strike 39 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:44,480 Speaker 1: was actually a revolutionary conspiracy led by Bolsheviks and quote 40 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:49,679 Speaker 1: alien scum. Some mainstream newspapers printed stories that cast the 41 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:52,480 Speaker 1: strikers in a negative light and blamed the strike on 42 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:57,720 Speaker 1: European workers. On June five, Winnipeg mayor Charles Gray band 43 00:02:57,800 --> 00:03:01,799 Speaker 1: parades in public gatherings. Still, news of the strikes spread 44 00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:06,160 Speaker 1: to cities across Canada, and people in places like Calgary, Edmonton, 45 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:11,560 Speaker 1: Prince Albert, and Victoria announced their own strikes. Employees told 46 00:03:11,639 --> 00:03:13,960 Speaker 1: striking workers that they had to get back to work 47 00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:17,320 Speaker 1: or they faced being dismissed. On top of that, the 48 00:03:17,360 --> 00:03:21,640 Speaker 1: government passed legislation that allowed the immediate deportation of British 49 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:26,400 Speaker 1: born immigrants deemed seditious. In mid June, the Royal Northwest 50 00:03:26,440 --> 00:03:30,720 Speaker 1: Mounted Police arrested several strike leaders. The strike reached a 51 00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:35,040 Speaker 1: peak on Saturday, June one, when thousands of workers gathered 52 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:39,240 Speaker 1: downtown to protest the arrests. The Northwest Mounted Police was 53 00:03:39,320 --> 00:03:42,760 Speaker 1: called to disperse the crowd, and in the ensuing chaos, 54 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:46,000 Speaker 1: two people were killed and at least thirty were injured. 55 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:49,760 Speaker 1: The Special Police and military patrols also showed up to 56 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:53,480 Speaker 1: break up the protest. Some of the labor leaders were released, 57 00:03:53,520 --> 00:03:56,560 Speaker 1: but editors of the strike bulletin J S. Woodsworth and 58 00:03:56,560 --> 00:04:01,120 Speaker 1: Fred Dixon were arrested. Fearing more violent the strike committee 59 00:04:01,160 --> 00:04:03,520 Speaker 1: called for the general strike to end. On the morning 60 00:04:03,560 --> 00:04:08,240 Speaker 1: of June seven. Strike leaders were convicted of seditious conspiracy 61 00:04:08,560 --> 00:04:11,360 Speaker 1: and were given sentences of six months to two years 62 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:15,520 Speaker 1: in jail. The Royal Commission that investigated the strike determined 63 00:04:15,560 --> 00:04:18,760 Speaker 1: that it was not a criminal conspiracy by foreigners. Still, 64 00:04:18,960 --> 00:04:21,839 Speaker 1: many strikers lost their jobs, and those who didn't found 65 00:04:21,839 --> 00:04:25,760 Speaker 1: that conditions stayed the same. The striking workers did not 66 00:04:25,920 --> 00:04:30,240 Speaker 1: immediately win the wage and condition improvements, union recognition rights, 67 00:04:30,400 --> 00:04:34,359 Speaker 1: or collective bargaining they aimed for, but unionism and labor 68 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:38,039 Speaker 1: actions continued to spread in Canada, and the creation of 69 00:04:38,080 --> 00:04:43,039 Speaker 1: the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation political party got some strikers elected 70 00:04:43,080 --> 00:04:47,720 Speaker 1: to City Hall and the Manitoba Legislature. I'm Eve Chef 71 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:50,440 Speaker 1: COO and hopefully you know a little more about history 72 00:04:50,480 --> 00:04:53,280 Speaker 1: today than you did yesterday. And if you want to 73 00:04:53,320 --> 00:04:55,480 Speaker 1: hit us up on social media, you can do so 74 00:04:55,760 --> 00:04:59,039 Speaker 1: where at t d I h C Podcast on Facebook, Twitter, 75 00:04:59,120 --> 00:05:02,120 Speaker 1: and Instagram. You can also send us an email at 76 00:05:02,200 --> 00:05:05,599 Speaker 1: this day at I heeart Media dot com. Thanks again 77 00:05:05,640 --> 00:05:07,599 Speaker 1: for listening to the show, and we'll see you tomorrow. 78 00:05:19,760 --> 00:05:21,800 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from my heart Radio, visit the i 79 00:05:21,880 --> 00:05:24,520 Speaker 1: heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to 80 00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:25,320 Speaker 1: your favorite shows.