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Unity Equals Strength Uniting the Labour Movement in Canada

Unity of purpose among differing labour organizations isn’t usually uppermost in the minds of rank-and-file members. Their priories lie with the bread-and-butter issues—wages and working conditions. However, under certain circumstances it becomes obvious the only way to achieve some goals is through united effort. Therefore, unions in Canada—as did their U. S. counterparts—attempted to combine their individual organizations into local councils and, ultimately, a national group to address the concerns of the working class.

The Toronto Coopers’ Union seized the initiative in 1871 by calling a meeting of representatives of the city’s unions. At this first meeting no authoritative action was taken, but the delegates agreed to return to their unions with a call for establishment of a central organization.

A later meeting set up the Toronto Trades Assembly and drafted its constitution. This group quickly asserted itself in the community though speeches on behalf of working people, oversight of working conditions and occasional mediation of employee/employer disputes. Also important on the assembly’s agenda was the need for favorable legislation; such as extending the franchise, secret-ballot elections and a fair Mechanics’ Lien Act to safeguard trades people who were owed wages.

Ottawa, St. Catharines and Hamilton formed their trades councils around 1873. With this expansion of unity, the unions realized beneficial an umbrella national trade-union organization might be. The Toronto and Ottawa groups discussed the possibilities, then invited other potential affiliates to a conference in 1873. Although it was to be short lived, the first Canadian national labour organization was created at this conference—the Canadian Labour Union.

A constitution was adopted; and the union representatives declared one of their intentions to be:

“[agitating] such questions as may be for the benefit of the working classes, in order that we may obtain the enactment of such measures by the dominion and local legislatures as will be beneficial to us, and the repeal of all oppressive laws which now exist.”

Among other major activities the new group expanded organizing, provided assistance to unions involved in strikes or lockouts, and increased political involvement. The CLU also vigorously opposed the use of convict labour and the employment of children under 10.

By the second convention of the CLU, unemployment had taken its toll on membership—fewer delegates were able to attend tile meeting. This trend continued; and when the organization met in 1877, the occasion marked its demise. While it didn’t survive long, R.H. Coats, a Canadian historian and early editor of The Labour Gazette, wrote of the CLI:

“It defined the aims of labour in language [which] still requires but little modification; . . its position was consistently sound from a trade-union standpoint.”

Despite this and other failures to develop a lasting national organization, the Toronto trades and Labour Council tried again in 1883, issuing a convention call for the Christmas holiday period that year. Delegates to this meeting discussed many of the resolutions previous founding conventions had addressed, including extension of the franchise, pauper and assisted passage from Europe, factory and sanitary legislation, and employer liability when employees are injured by unprotected machinery. Agreement was reached on the question of political involvement: Working people needed to have representatives from their ranks in the legislature.

No further progress toward a national organization was achieved after this convention until 1886. That year more than 100 delegates attended a meeting to create a new central body called the Canadian Trades and Labour Congress. This organization accepted members from craft unions and the Knights of Labour; and its focus was on legislative action, with organizing relegated to a subordinate position of priority.

The “Platform of Principles’ drawn up by the CTLC contained 15 goals reflecting the temper of the times as seen through the eyes of the working class: free education; the eight-hour day; a locally based, living minimum wage; public ownership of utility-type franchises (railways, waterworks, lighting etc.); abolition of the appointed Senate; tax reform; use of the union label; no child labour under age 14; and compulsory arbitration of disputes, to name a few provisions.

The name of the CTLC would be changed several times until 1956, when it became part of the Canadian Labour Congress. But its function as the national trade-union organization of Canada remained essentially the same throughout the difficult times and changing priorities it faced in the new century.