Class Conflict in the Coal Industry, Cape Breton, 1922 (book chapter)
by David Frank, from Canadian Working Class History: Selected Readings, eds. L. Sefton MacDowell & I. Radforth, pp. 459-480. Toronto, 2006.
Frank, a scholar in labour history, provides information and context on the differing, often alarmist reactions to the first major strike that occurred in Cape Breton. Combing through newspapers of the time, he reveals that many in business and political circles were worried about a potential "red uprising" in the coal fields. While there had been protests in Western Canada, the 1919 General Strike in Winnipeg being the most famous example, the workers' resistance in Nova Scotia in 1922 seemed unprecedented to them. Frank claims that the growth of labour radicalism in mining and steel towns in Nova Scotia dates back to the end of war. Several newspapers such as the Sydney Labour Leader and the Maritime Labour Herald and reports of union meetings show these proclivities toward socialist ideas and demonstrate that workers saw themselves as victims of oppression and corporate tyranny. Part of this attraction to socialism meant that a belief grew among miners that the mines ought to be publicly owned and operated, and not owned by a corporation. If some or most of the Nova Scotian strikers hoped to achieve public ownership of this resource and utility in 1922, then they must have been sorely deceived by the outcome of 1925. At best, they were only able to negotiate a reduction in wages. Therefore, this journal article helps to answer the critical question by revealing what some of the goals of Cape Breton's workers might have been, and how this would have structured their understanding of gains and losses at the end of the labour dispute.
Frank, a scholar in labour history, provides information and context on the differing, often alarmist reactions to the first major strike that occurred in Cape Breton. Combing through newspapers of the time, he reveals that many in business and political circles were worried about a potential "red uprising" in the coal fields. While there had been protests in Western Canada, the 1919 General Strike in Winnipeg being the most famous example, the workers' resistance in Nova Scotia in 1922 seemed unprecedented to them. Frank claims that the growth of labour radicalism in mining and steel towns in Nova Scotia dates back to the end of war. Several newspapers such as the Sydney Labour Leader and the Maritime Labour Herald and reports of union meetings show these proclivities toward socialist ideas and demonstrate that workers saw themselves as victims of oppression and corporate tyranny. Part of this attraction to socialism meant that a belief grew among miners that the mines ought to be publicly owned and operated, and not owned by a corporation. If some or most of the Nova Scotian strikers hoped to achieve public ownership of this resource and utility in 1922, then they must have been sorely deceived by the outcome of 1925. At best, they were only able to negotiate a reduction in wages. Therefore, this journal article helps to answer the critical question by revealing what some of the goals of Cape Breton's workers might have been, and how this would have structured their understanding of gains and losses at the end of the labour dispute.