Vancouver Island Coal Miners' Strike

Last updated

The Vancouver Island Coal Miners' Strike was from 1912-1914. The coal miners in the Vancouver Islands refused to go to work, in protest of unsafe working conditions and unfair treatment. They began as peaceful protests, until built up anger caused by strike-breakers, also known as scabs, ruined the effectiveness of the strike and incited aggressive behavior. The militia was forced to step in and shut down the strike. [1]

Contents

Leading causes

These are miners having lunch in an entry level shaft in Ontario, Canada Miners in a shaft.jpg
These are miners having lunch in an entry level shaft in Ontario, Canada

The miners were unhappy with how much they were getting paid. Men recruited each other to work in order to support their families. Men, grandfathers, and even boys worked for little pay and in an unsafe environment. The pay was so small that families would even send their boys who were under the age of sixteen to work in the mines. They would hide their age from local officials, because the need for money was so great. [2] The mines were designed to mine mass amounts, prioritizing quantity of production rather than mining in a safe and effective manner. Their wages were inconsistent and subject to change every year. There was not a baseline pay, and miners' salaries could change based off of coal demand and other factors, manifesting a sense of agitation from the lack of reliability. [2] The introduction of Oriental Colliers in the 1870s worsened the issue of pay. They were willing to work for much less than the whites worked for, but this slowed the industries technological advances because the companies had access to cheap labor. [3]

In addition to the low pay, miners held resentment from previous gas explosions. Within the last 30 years leading up to the strike, 373 men died. Replacement workers were supposed to come and help ease the workload, but they never came. [4]

The unsafe working conditions were ignored. One worker, Mottishaw, who was a leader in the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA), reported unsafe working conditions at the Canadian Collieries, in Cumberland. He was then fired. Upset by this, the miners decided to take a two-day holiday to discuss what actions to take next. [5] When they returned to work after two-days off, they found that they had been locked out. The miners were now out of work. [6] 3700 miners were fired. [7] They repeatedly requested to civilly meet with Dunsmuir family, but were denied. [8] The strikers decided to go on a holiday until Mottishaw was re-hired. This holiday turned into a strike that lasted almost two years, and expanded to all the mines from Ladysmith to Cumberland. [6]

This is the Nickel Plate Mine tramway of the Hedley Gold Mining Company in British Columbia Mining Tracks.jpg
This is the Nickel Plate Mine tramway of the Hedley Gold Mining Company in British Columbia

Mining companies involved

The mining companies that were involved, and most prominent in the Vancouver Islands at the time, were: The Canadian Collieries (Dunsmuir) Limited, the Western Fuel of San Francisco, the Pacific Coast Collieries, and the Nanaimo Coal Company. [1] The Canadian Collieries were based in Cumberland and Extension. [1] Owned by the Dunsmuir family, the company played a significant role in the strike by firing a union leader with the last name "Mottishaw". [5] This was one of the strike's leading causes. The Western Fuel of San Francisco was based in Nanaimo and owned many of the mines there. [1] The Pacific Coast Collieries only had minor involvement, and were located in South Wellington. The Nanaimo Coal Company stands apart from the other three, as it was the sole company to "sign an agreement with the union." [1]

These mining companies (excluding the Nanaimo Coal Company) were opposed to the unions, because they were a threat to the coal companies' power and authority. They coal companies were also dealing with the competition of fuel oil. Because of the potential replacement of coal as fuel with oil as fuel, they worked the miners extra hard and with less pay. This was in an effort to keep up with fuel oil and to stay in business. They needed to pay workers less in order to make a profit. However, unions demanded more pay, causing an issue for the coal companies. They did not want to increase the miners' pay, at the risk of losing their business, and of the entire coal mining industry being replaced by an alternate fuel source. [1] They also had the support of the government, because the economy was so dependent upon the coal industry. [6]

The strike

This is the interior of the Black Donald Mine shaft under Whitefish Lake under the direction of the Black Donald Graphite Company located in Ontario, Canada. Harsh conditions made the mines unstable, dirty, and dark. Miners working.jpg
This is the interior of the Black Donald Mine shaft under Whitefish Lake under the direction of the Black Donald Graphite Company located in Ontario, Canada. Harsh conditions made the mines unstable, dirty, and dark.

The strike began peacefully, and occurred from Ladysmith to Cumberland. [7] Many strikebreakers would hang out in Ladysmith during the daytime, and did not cause much commotion. The unions would provide the families with salaries, and women would work. The mines in Cumberland found ways around the strike, through the means of targeting Asian workers. The mines threatened to have the Asian workers deported if they did not break the strike. This forced them to continue working for the mines, and also angered the strikers. Eventually, as strikebreakers continued going to work, the strike became un-effective. [1] After two years of striking, the strikebreakers became a source of frustration to the strikers, and strikers began to threaten or hurt scabs on their way to work. [5]

Eventually, the striker's frustrations surpassed their desire to keep their protests peaceful, and the protests turned violent. Even people who were uninvolved in the strike wanted to join the excitement, which led to a dangerous riot in Ladysmith where many were injured and some died. [5] Afterwards, the strikers resumed peaceful protesting. However the government still called in the militia to end the strike. Unions ran out of money to pay salaries, and soldiers were drafted to a new war in Europe; [1] the 23-month strike died in 1914. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saysutshun (Newcastle Island Marine) Park</span> Canadian provincial park

Saysutshun Provincial Park, formally known as Newcastle Island Marine Provincial Park, is a provincial park located on a small island off the coast of Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ladysmith, British Columbia</span> Town in British Columbia, Canada

Ladysmith, originally Oyster Harbour, is a town located on the 49th parallel north on the east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The local economy is based on forestry, tourism, and agriculture. A hillside location adjacent to a sheltered harbour forms the natural geography of the community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Dunsmuir</span> British Columbian industrialist and politician (1851–1920)

James Dunsmuir was a Canadian industrialist and politician in British Columbia. He served as the 14th premier of British Columbia from 1900 to 1902 and the eighth lieutenant governor of British Columbia from 1906 to 1909.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albert Goodwin</span> 19/20th-century Canadian coal miner and labor rights activist

Albert "Ginger" Goodwin, nicknamed Ginger for his bright red hair, was a migrant coal miner who advocated for workers' rights and promoted the cause of unions in British Columbia, Canada. Angered by the working conditions in coal mines, Goodwin sought to increase wages and improve working conditions, and fought companies that disregarded workers' rights. He participated in and led multiple strikes, and served as a delegate for the British Columbia Federation of Labour and as an organizer for the Socialist Party of Canada. In the years following his increased activism and involvement with labour unions, Goodwin fell under scrutiny for his opposition to military conscription during World War I. He was killed by a police officer in 1918. There is debate on whether Goodwin was a victim of murder or if his death was the result of the officer's self-defence. His death sparked a one-day general strike in Vancouver on August 2, 1918, which was the first general strike ever held in Canada. The strike was a precursor of the Winnipeg general strike of 1919 and other labour conflicts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Croft</span> Lumber and mining magnate

Henry Croft was an Australian-born lumber and mining magnate on Vancouver Island from the 1880s to 1900s. Born in Australia, Croft moved to England at a young age and was educated there. He moved to Canada in 1883 and became involved in logging, purchasing the sawmill in Chemainus. Croft rose in prominence through his running of the mill, and further enhanced his standing by marrying a daughter of Robert Dunsmuir, a prominent industrialist on Vancouver Island. Croft was elected to the British Columbia Legislature in 1886, representing Cowichan, serving until 1894. He later became involved in mining on Mount Sicker, and founded the town of Crofton, British Columbia in 1902 as a place to house the smelter for mining. Croft is featured on the Netflix series Haunted wherein a family claims to have been haunted by his ghost.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1887 Nanaimo mine explosion</span> 1887 mine explosion in British Columbia

The Nanaimo mine explosion occurred on May 3, 1887, in Nanaimo, British Columbia killing 150 miners. Only seven miners survived and the mine burned for one full day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Dunsmuir</span> Canadian businessman and politician

Robert Dunsmuir was a Scottish-born Canadian businessman and politician.

Cassidy is an unincorporated community straddling Haslam Creek. near the east coast of southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. The location on BC Highway 19 is about 98 kilometres (61 mi) by road north-west of Victoria, and 14 kilometres (9 mi) south of Nanaimo.

Union Bay is an unincorporated community located south of Hart Creek on the east coast of central Vancouver Island, British Columbia. This Comox Valley community on BC Highway 19A is by road about 93 kilometres (58 mi) north of Nanaimo, and 14 kilometres (9 mi) south of Courtenay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cumberland, British Columbia</span> Village in British Columbia, Canada

Cumberland is an incorporated village municipality east of Perseverance Creek, near the east coast of central Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The Comox Valley community is west of BC Highway 19 and is by road about 105 kilometres (65 mi) northwest of Nanaimo and 10 kilometres (6 mi) southwest of Courtenay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morden Colliery Historic Provincial Park</span> Historic provincial park in Nanaimo Regional District, British Columbia

Morden Colliery Historic Provincial Park is a 4-hectare (9.9-acre) historic provincial park near the east coast of southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The location off BC Highway 19 is about 102 kilometres (63 mi) by road northwest of Victoria, and 10 kilometres (6 mi) south of Nanaimo.

The Socialist Party of British Columbia (SPBC) was a provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada, from 1901 to 1905. In 1903, the SPBC won seats in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.

The Westmoreland County coal strike of 1910–1911, or the Westmoreland coal miners' strike, was a strike by coal miners represented by the United Mine Workers of America. The strike is also known as the Slovak Strike because about 70 percent of the miners were Slovak immigrants. It began in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, on March 9, 1910, and ended on July 1, 1911. At its height, the strike encompassed 65 mines and 15,000 coal miners. Sixteen people were killed during the strike, nearly all of them striking miners or members of their families. The strike ended in defeat for the union.

Wellington, formerly a separate district and town, is a neighbourhood of north Nanaimo, on the east coast of southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

John Bryden was a Scottish-born businessman and political figure in British Columbia, Canada. He represented Nanaimo from 1875 to 1876 and North Nanaimo from 1894 to 1900 in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.

The Wellington station located in the Wellington area of Nanaimo, British Columbia, was a flag stop on Via Rail's Dayliner service, which ended in 2011. The station is on the Southern Railway of Vancouver Island mainline. The station was named after the town of Wellington which formed around and next to the Wellington Colliery which was named after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, a leading British military and political figure in the 19th century.

Extension is an unincorporated community near the east coast of southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The location off BC Highway 19 is about 107 kilometres (66 mi) by road northwest of Victoria, and 10 kilometres (6 mi) south of Nanaimo.

The Carbon County Strikes took place in Carbon County, Utah from 1903–1904. The strikes primarily consisted of Slavic and Italian immigrant mine workers who partnered with the United Mine Workers of America strikes in Colorado to protest the dangerous working conditions of the Utah coal mines. The Carbon County strikes were considered the most important labor confrontation in the United States at the time. The Utah Fuel Company strongly opposed initiatives to unionize coal workers in Utah and were the primary opposition to the UMWA at the time. The Carbon County Strikes would ultimately fail in its attempt to unionize the coal workers of Utah simply because it "did not have enough support, either internally or externally, to win against a powerful and influential company that effectively played on radical, anti-foreign sentiments in defending its position" but it demonstrated a significant nationwide effort in strengthening unionization in the west.

Nanaimo, British Columbia had four Chinatown sites beginning in the 1800s.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Bowen, Lynne. "The Great Vancouver Island Coal Miners' Strike 1912-1914". Journal of the West 23 (4): 33.
  2. 1 2 Belshaw, John Douglas. "The Standard of Living of British Miners on Vancouver Island, 1848-1900 No. 84: Winter 1989-90". BC Studies.
  3. ↑ Gallacher, Daniel Thomas. "Men, Money, Machines : Studies Comparing Colliery Operations and Factors of Production in British Columbia's Coal Industry to 1891". The University of British Columbia. Ph.D. Diss. University of British Columbia.
  4. ↑ Schade, Daniel. "A Militia History of the Occupation of the Vancouver Island Coalfields, August 1913". BC Studies, No.182 (Summer 2014).
  5. 1 2 3 4 Dag, Pluton. "4. The Great Vancouver Island Coal Strike -- KnowBC - the leading source of BC information". www.knowbc.com.
  6. 1 2 3 Hinde, John Roderick (2003). When Coal Was King: Ladysmith and the Coal-Mining Industry on Vancouver Island. Vancouver: UBC Press. ISBN   9780774840149.
  7. 1 2 3 "The Great Coal Strike 1912-1914". Working People Built BC. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  8. ↑ Seager, Allen; Perry, Adele (1997). "Mining the Connections: Class, Ethnicity, and Gender in Nanaimo, British Columbia, 1891". 30.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.