Trades and Labour Congress of Canada
Encyclopedia
The Trades and Labour Congress of Canada was a Canada
-wide central federation of trade union
s from 1883 to 1956. It was founded at the initiative of the Toronto Trades and Labour Council and the Knights of Labor
. It was the third attempt at a national labour federation to be formed in Canada: it succeeded the Canadian Labour Union
which existed from 1873 to 1877 and the Canadian Labour Congress which held only one conference in 1881.
The first meeting was called by the Toronto Trades Council and the Knights of Labor. It attracted mainly Toronto unionists with no one attending from outside of Ontario. It adopted policies which denounced government supported immigration, the Salvation Army for its alleged efforts to bring London’s poor to Canada; it opposed any Asian immigration, called for female factory inspectors to protect women workers, a single tax system, government only issued currency (Banks issued money at this time), the end of child labour, and the use of convict labour.
led by Samuel Gompers
, who sought to unite the movements in c anada and the U.S. In 1902 Gompers effectively took control of the Congress. Gompers's policies tended to ignore the particularities of the Canadian labor force, especially the French-Canadian separatism in Quebec, the political impulses in the Prairies, and the left-wing socialism of the coal miners in Nova Scotia.
In 1913 the vote for women was added as a 17th principle.
in the U.S. was planning an international federation of labour, starting with the expansion of AFL affiliates in Canada, especially Ontario. He helped the Trades and Labour Congress with money and organizers, and by 1902. At the 1902 TLC conference in Berlin (Kitchener), Ontario, under the influence of the American Federation of Labor
(AFL) and its unions in Canada, the Knights along with the purely Canadian unions were banned from membership. The AFL came to dominate the Canadian union movement, although there were also radical unions in British Columbia and Catholic ones in Quebec.
The TLC was initially opposed to the First World War but reversed its position as their members rushed to the patriotic call of the federal government and the British Empire.
While long-lived, the TLC underwent a number of splits and challenges as the labour movement developed. In the twentieth century the TLC faced rivals on the left in the form of syndicalist
or socialist movements such as the Industrial Workers of the World
and the One Big Union
. In failing to respond to the demands of the mostly western workers who wanted more radical actions in the years following World War I, the TLC lost their confidence. They broke away from their AFL/TLC unions and formed the One Big Union following the Winnipeg General Strike in 1919.
(1929–1936). In 1935 unions that wanted to organize unskilled workers in the new mass industries of automobile, steel and rubber broke with the AFL and formed the Congress of Industrial Organizations
(CIO). The latter's strategy of industrial unionism
was a direct challenge to the TLC (and AFL's) craft unionism
.
Interest in the CIO was sparked in Canada when in 1937 more than 4,000 workers at General Motors in Oshawa joined the United Automobile Workers, a CIO union, and fought a strike for union recognition. In 1939, CIO supporters were expelled from the TLC and joined with the national All-Canadian Congress of Labour
to form the rival Canadian Congress of Labour
(CCL) in 1940. The TLC continued to be the voice of skilled trades workers in the country.
Just as the Cold War
and the rise of anti-Communism
led to the purge of leftists from the union CIO in the United States and the creation of the AFL-CIO
in 1955, the same phenomenon in Canada led to the merger of the TLC and the CCL in 1956 to create the modern Canadian Labour Congress
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
-wide central federation of trade union
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
s from 1883 to 1956. It was founded at the initiative of the Toronto Trades and Labour Council and the Knights of Labor
Knights of Labor
The Knights of Labor was the largest and one of the most important American labor organizations of the 1880s. Its most important leader was Terence Powderly...
. It was the third attempt at a national labour federation to be formed in Canada: it succeeded the Canadian Labour Union
Canadian Labour Union
The Canadian Labour Union was the short-lived first attempt at a national central organization to represent labour unions in Canada. It was founded in Toronto, Ontario on September 23, 1873, by 46 local unions. It could not be called a national body as only Ontario based unions participated...
which existed from 1873 to 1877 and the Canadian Labour Congress which held only one conference in 1881.
The first meeting was called by the Toronto Trades Council and the Knights of Labor. It attracted mainly Toronto unionists with no one attending from outside of Ontario. It adopted policies which denounced government supported immigration, the Salvation Army for its alleged efforts to bring London’s poor to Canada; it opposed any Asian immigration, called for female factory inspectors to protect women workers, a single tax system, government only issued currency (Banks issued money at this time), the end of child labour, and the use of convict labour.
History
The Toronto Trades and Labour Council began in 1881, and similar citywide coordinating bodies were soon formed in Montreal, Vancouver, Brantford, Ottawa and other cities. They banded together in 1886 as the The Trades and Labour Congress of Canada. At first it primarily represented Ontario and Quebec. It helped resolve jurisdictional disputes among its member unions. It used lobbying to secure wage and protective legislation, workmen's compensation, sanitary regulation of workshops, and the eight-hour day. Although few members were factory workers, it helped lobby for factory acts in Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba and Nova Scotia. It supported the Liberal Party move in 1900 to create the federal Department of Labour, with a system of negotiations to settle labour disputes. It was challenged by the American-based American Federation of LaborAmerican Federation of Labor
The American Federation of Labor was one of the first federations of labor unions in the United States. It was founded in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions disaffected from the Knights of Labor, a national labor association. Samuel Gompers was elected president of the Federation at its...
led by Samuel Gompers
Samuel Gompers
Samuel Gompers was an English-born American cigar maker who became a labor union leader and a key figure in American labor history. Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor , and served as that organization's president from 1886 to 1894 and from 1895 until his death in 1924...
, who sought to unite the movements in c anada and the U.S. In 1902 Gompers effectively took control of the Congress. Gompers's policies tended to ignore the particularities of the Canadian labor force, especially the French-Canadian separatism in Quebec, the political impulses in the Prairies, and the left-wing socialism of the coal miners in Nova Scotia.
Principles
The TLC developed a ‘Platform of Principles’ comprising 16 points. Added to its first adopted policies were:- free compulsory education,
- an eight-hour work day and a six-day work week,
- government inspection of industry,
- minimum living wage,
- public ownership of railways, telegraphs, waterworks, lighting,
- abolition of the Senate,
- use of union labelUnion labelA union label is a label, mark or emblem which advertises that the employees who make a product or provide a service are represented by the labor union or group of unions whose label appears, in order to attract customers who prefer to buy union-made products...
, - abolition of property qualifications to vote,
- arbitration,
- proportional representationProportional representationProportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
and the use of referendumReferendumA referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
s.
In 1913 the vote for women was added as a 17th principle.
1900-1929
By 1900 the TLC had become the country's first truly national body. As the Knights of Labor declined in number unions representing skilled trades workers came to dominate the TLC. By the 1890s Samuel GompersSamuel Gompers
Samuel Gompers was an English-born American cigar maker who became a labor union leader and a key figure in American labor history. Gompers founded the American Federation of Labor , and served as that organization's president from 1886 to 1894 and from 1895 until his death in 1924...
in the U.S. was planning an international federation of labour, starting with the expansion of AFL affiliates in Canada, especially Ontario. He helped the Trades and Labour Congress with money and organizers, and by 1902. At the 1902 TLC conference in Berlin (Kitchener), Ontario, under the influence of the American Federation of Labor
American Federation of Labor
The American Federation of Labor was one of the first federations of labor unions in the United States. It was founded in 1886 by an alliance of craft unions disaffected from the Knights of Labor, a national labor association. Samuel Gompers was elected president of the Federation at its...
(AFL) and its unions in Canada, the Knights along with the purely Canadian unions were banned from membership. The AFL came to dominate the Canadian union movement, although there were also radical unions in British Columbia and Catholic ones in Quebec.
The TLC was initially opposed to the First World War but reversed its position as their members rushed to the patriotic call of the federal government and the British Empire.
While long-lived, the TLC underwent a number of splits and challenges as the labour movement developed. In the twentieth century the TLC faced rivals on the left in the form of syndicalist
Syndicalism
Syndicalism is a type of economic system proposed as a replacement for capitalism and an alternative to state socialism, which uses federations of collectivised trade unions or industrial unions...
or socialist movements such as the Industrial Workers of the World
Industrial Workers of the World
The Industrial Workers of the World is an international union. At its peak in 1923, the organization claimed some 100,000 members in good standing, and could marshal the support of perhaps 300,000 workers. Its membership declined dramatically after a 1924 split brought on by internal conflict...
and the One Big Union
One Big Union (Canada)
The One Big Union was a Canadian syndicalist trade union active primarily in the Western part of the country. It was formally founded in Calgary on June 4, 1919 but lost most members by 1922. It finally merged into the Canadian Labour Congress in 1956.-Background:Towards the end of World War I, a...
. In failing to respond to the demands of the mostly western workers who wanted more radical actions in the years following World War I, the TLC lost their confidence. They broke away from their AFL/TLC unions and formed the One Big Union following the Winnipeg General Strike in 1919.
1930-1956
The leadership of Canadian labour was challenged at the start of the Great Depression with the establishment of the Workers' Unity LeagueWorkers' Unity League
The Workers' Unity League was created in 1929 as a labour central operated by the Communist Party of Canada on the instructions of the Communist International....
(1929–1936). In 1935 unions that wanted to organize unskilled workers in the new mass industries of automobile, steel and rubber broke with the AFL and formed the Congress of Industrial Organizations
Congress of Industrial Organizations
The Congress of Industrial Organizations, or CIO, proposed by John L. Lewis in 1932, was a federation of unions that organized workers in industrial unions in the United States and Canada from 1935 to 1955. The Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 required union leaders to swear that they were not...
(CIO). The latter's strategy of industrial unionism
Industrial unionism
Industrial unionism is a labor union organizing method through which all workers in the same industry are organized into the same union—regardless of skill or trade—thus giving workers in one industry, or in all industries, more leverage in bargaining and in strike situations...
was a direct challenge to the TLC (and AFL's) craft unionism
Craft unionism
Craft unionism refers to organizing a union in a manner that seeks to unify workers in a particular industry along the lines of the particular craft or trade that they work in by class or skill level...
.
Interest in the CIO was sparked in Canada when in 1937 more than 4,000 workers at General Motors in Oshawa joined the United Automobile Workers, a CIO union, and fought a strike for union recognition. In 1939, CIO supporters were expelled from the TLC and joined with the national All-Canadian Congress of Labour
All-Canadian Congress of Labour
The All-Canadian Congress of Labour was a Canadian national labour confederation, which existed from 1926 to 1940.It was founded in 1926 as a rival to the Trades and Labour Congress. It was headed by Aaron Roland Mosher. It included remnants of the One Big Union and had over 40,000 members. The...
to form the rival Canadian Congress of Labour
Canadian Congress of Labour
The Canadian Congress of Labour was founded in 1940 and merged with Trades and Labour Congress of Canada to form the Canadian Labour Congress in 1956.-Founding:...
(CCL) in 1940. The TLC continued to be the voice of skilled trades workers in the country.
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
and the rise of anti-Communism
Anti-communism
Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
led to the purge of leftists from the union CIO in the United States and the creation of the AFL-CIO
AFL-CIO
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, commonly AFL–CIO, is a national trade union center, the largest federation of unions in the United States, made up of 56 national and international unions, together representing more than 11 million workers...
in 1955, the same phenomenon in Canada led to the merger of the TLC and the CCL in 1956 to create the modern Canadian Labour Congress
Canadian Labour Congress
The Canadian Labour Congress, or CLC is a national trade union centre, the central labour body in English Canada to which most Canadian labour unions are affiliated.- Formation :...
.
Further reading
- Clavette, Ken. "The 'Rag, Tag, and Bobnail:' The rise and fall of Ottawa's early working class." Ottawa: Making A Capital. Ottawa: Ottawa University Press, 2001.
- Forsey, Eugene, "Trade Unions in Canada 1812-1902", Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1982.
- French, Doris, “Faith, Sweat, and Politics: The Early Trade Union Years in Canada Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Ltd 1962
- Heron, Craig. The Canadian Labour Movement: A Short History. Toronto: James Lormier, 1996.
- Morton, Desmond with Terry Copp. Working People: An Illustrated History of the Canadian Labour Movement. Ottawa: Deneau Press, 1984.