The General Strike 1926 In 1925 the mine-owners announced that they intended to reduce the miner's wages. The General Council of the Trade Union Congress responded to this news by promising to support the miners in their dispute with their employers. The Conservative Government, decided to intervene, and supplied the necessary money to bring the miners' wages back to their previous level. This event became known as Red Friday because it was seen as a victory for working class solidarity. The Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin, stated that this subsidy to the miners' wages would only last 9 months. In the meantime, the government set up a Royal Commission under the chairmanship of Sir Herbert Samuel, to look into the problems of the Mining Industry. The Samuel Commission published its report in March 1926. It recognized that the industry needed to be reorganised but rejected the suggestion of nationalization. The report also recommended that the Government subsidy should be withdrawn and the miners' wages should be reduced. The month in which the report was issued also saw the mine-owners publishing new terms of employment. These new procedures included an extension of the seven-hour working day, district wage-agreements, and a reduction in the wages of all miners. Depending on a variety of factors, the wages would be cut by between 10% and 25%. The mine-owners announced that if the miners did not accept their new terms of employment then from the first day of May they would be locked out of the pits. A Conference of Trade Union Congress met on 1st May 1926, and afterwards announced that a General Strike "in defence of miners' wages and hours" was to begin two days later. The leaders of both the Trade Union Council and the Labour Party were unhappy about the proposed General Strike, and during the next two days frantic efforts were made to reach an agreement with the Conservative Government and the mine-owners. The Trade Union Congress called the General Strike on the understanding that they would then take over the negotiations from the
How were revolutionary industrial unionists in Winnipeg influenced to strike in 1919? All Canadians have heard of the Winnipeg General Strike, and many have studied its influences. Coming immediately after the First World War, yet coming before the Great Depression hit, many wonder why Winnipeg workers took up arms when they did? In truth, the strikers were primarily industrial unionists who wanted a revolution. The strikers were aiming for a major difference in the government. Now, to the non-Canadian, Canada has always seemed perfectly calm and neutral. Many would go as far as wondering how Canada could ever have any problems. Therefore, hardly anybody knows of the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike, let alone what caused the strike. Simply put, revolutionary industrial unionists within Canada were influenced to strike by Canada’s involvement in the First World War, the quick and incredible success of Russia’s revolution in 1917, and inflation within the country.
1919 Winnipeg General Strike was Canada's most influential labour action. After World War I many Canadian soldiers returned home to find few opportunities, all while companies had enjoyed enormous profits on war contracts. Wages and working conditions were dismal and labour regulations were mostly non-existent.
“Industrial unions dominated the landscape of the late nineteen century U.S. labor movement.” They gathered all level workers together without discrimination of gender, race, or nationality. They declared the eight-hour workday for the first time when normal work time should be 12. Low wage of workers caused the “Great Strike of 1877”, which began with railroad workers in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. After the “Great Strike”, industrial union started to
George Pullman was not always believed to be a cruel boss. George Pullman started off believing that anyone could be successful if they worked hard enough. But as his business grew, he took this belief too far, furthering his own company by working his employees hard, treating his employees like slaves. There were many factors included in how the Pullman strike started. George Pullman and the company’s treatment of employees, how the town of Pullman, Illinois reacted to their treatment, other strikes that led up to the Pullman employee unhappiness and their reaction, the Pullman Strike.
“Reds Plotted Country Wide Strike Arrests Exceeded 5,000, 2,635 Held; 3 Transports Ready For Them” New York Times 4 Jan 1920: 1
The Pullman Strike of 1894 was the first national strike in American history and it came about during a period of unrest with labor unions and controversy regarding the role of government in business.5 The strike officially started when employees organized and went to their supervisors to ask for a lowered rent and were refused.5 The strike had many different causes. For example, workers wanted higher wages and fewer working hours, but the companies would not give it to them; and the workers wanted better, more affordable living quarters, but the companies would not offer that to them either. These different causes created an interesting and controversial end to the Pullman strike. Because of this, questions were raised about the strike that are still important today. Was striking a proper means of getting what the workers wanted? Were there better means of petitioning their grievances? Was government intervention constitutional? All these questions were raised by the Pullman Strike.
The PATCO strike began on August 3, 1981 with over 13,000 people walking out. This "illegal" act was met with a quick response from President Ronald Reagan (Sconberger p 1). Reagan told the strikers, "Either return to work within 48 hours or be fired from government service for breaking the 'oath of office' not to strike (Sconberger, special report, p. 12). While roughly 1,200 workers returned to work, another 12,000 remained on strike and were promptly fired (Sconberger p 1). This caused a serious safety problem for the airlines, inconveniences for many Americans, and lost profits for many businesses. Controllers needed to be replaced and it needed to be done fast. As a result, their were many questions on the safety of airlines. In order to understand the effects of the strike on the safety of airlines, an understanding of the PATCO movement is necessary.
The Coal Strike of 1902 occurred as a result of many problems that were faced by miners. At the time of the coal strike there were 150,000 miners working in the mines (Grossman) Due to the depression of 1893, miners had their wages cut and were living in poverty (Grossman). Many miners were dissatisfied and looked to the United Mine Workers for support in raising their standard of living. This proved difficult since employers refused to recognize labor unions for fear of giving them significant control over the industry. In most instances of employee demands before 1902, employers would use government troops or hire immigrants to take the jobs of the strikers (David Kennedy).
Conflicts During the 1920s The contrast between the new and changing attitudes and traditional values was unmistakably present during the 1920's. This clash between the old and the new had many roots and was inevitable. A new sense of awareness washed over minorities in our nation, especially blacks, who began to realize that they were entitled to their own subculture, pursuit of success, and share of the American dream. This ideal was expressed by Langston Hughes in "The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain." They were supported by the growing number of young, financially well-to-do liberals who formed the new intelligencia.
The Winnipeg General Strike The year of 1919 has been one of the most influential years of strikes
In 1997 the International Brotherhood of Teamster put on a strike against the United Parcel
Great Depression was one of the most severe economic situation the world had ever seen. It all started during late 1929 and lasted till 1939. Although, the origin of depression was United Sattes but with US Economy being highly correlated with global economy, the ill efffects were seen in the whole world with high unemployment, low production and deflation. Overall it was the most severe depression ever faced by western industrialized world. Stock Market Crashes, Bank Failures and a lot more, left the governments ineffective and this lead the global economy to what we call today- ‘’Great Depression’’.(Rockoff). As for the cause and what lead to Great Depression, the issue is still in debate among eminent economists, but the crux provides evidence that the worst ever depression ever expereinced by Global Economy stemed from multiple causes which are as follows:
On July 20th, 1899, a series of strikes began and a list of long lasting impacts followed. The Newsboys controlled strikes and boycotted two of the biggest newspaper companies in New York: The New York World and The New York Journal. The Newsies were determined to get what they wanted and they would do whatever it took to get it. Although the Spanish-American War was just ending, it was still affecting the prices of newspapers in New York. Because of the sudden price increase of the papers, the Newsboys of 1899 took a stand by holding strikes, boycotting the newspaper companies, and even destroying the newspapers. Not only did this spark other strikes around the US, but it helped introduce Child Labor Laws.
My first reason supporting the motion that workers should be allowed to strike is in order to bring to the fore poor safety conditions. For instance, in the nuclear power industry, any breaches of safety can have tragic consequences. If the employees are exposed to nuclear material, this could lead to serious illnesses such as cancer, leukaemia and radiation sickness. Radioactive material could also affect residents of the surrounding area, as in the case of the Chernobyl disaster. In the light of poor safety conditions, workers striking can be justified by the fact that the government and public would be informed.
The Strike of 1934 On May 9th 1934 a organized labor strike started in San Francisco that would snowball into a city crippling strike. The International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) declared a strike for all longshoremen on the west coast, until they received better wages, a union-administered hiring hall, and union membership as a prerequisite for employed longshoremen. The Strike of 1934 lasted for three months, stopping maritime trade in the ports of the Western United States, from San Diego to Seattle. The clash was between the Industrial Association (IA), composed of big business and employers wanting to break the strike, and the ILA, along with other unions that dealt with maritime trades.