LABR 1F90 Lecture Notes - Lecture 4: Craft Unionism, Industrial Unionism, Labour Movement
1 Feb 2018
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Document Summary
Prior to and immediately after contact with europeans canada was focused on. Indigenous subsistence: hunting, gathering, fishing and craft-making, people made and consumed the things they needed for survival. Capitalism: brought with it hard work for long hours at low pay in difficult conditions, few instances of collective labour. Predominantly irish: no working class yet. Dug the st. lawrence and welland canals early 1800s. Pre-industrial work, capitalism and the rise of craft unions. Apprenticeship system: bound by contract to a master craftsperson for anywhere from three to ten years, becoming a skilled tradesperson, journeyman to master. Craft workers could exercise control as skills not easily replaced. Skills were highly valued socially and in short supply commanding a good living. Importance of hard work and dignity of labour. To compete with cheaper imports produced through factory methods, masters began to pressure craft workers to work faster. Class differences in craft communities began to emerge.
