HIST261 Lecture Notes - 18 Months, Winnipeg General Strike, Bolsheviks
3 Apr 2014
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Inflation was very high, factory workers felt they weren"t getting their fair share of the profits. 1913: end of expansion, economic downturn would last till 1915. Unemployment issues were ignored, during the war, federal government assumed a more important role in daily lives. Building tradesmen were rarely able to make end meet. Industrialization was prominent in winnipeg, class divisions began to form. These division were also spatial (poor lived in north). Tradesmen made more, but no safety regulations, owner could buy labour, which meant there was little attempt to pay minimum wage, give reasonable hours, or keep workers safe. Feb 1919: west was more radical than the east. They called for one union for all workers , 30 hour workweek, allowed strikes. Winnipeg was a key part of the railway, was a transfer point, in 1911 the city had a population of 136,035, 22% were non- anglo- saxons. The general strike was promoted as an effective weapon against management.
