They will experience the faults, as the strike of 1919...

What can people do when they are not being listened to by whoever has the power? In the 1919 year workers of Winnipeg led a general eater strike in Canada. They struggled for their labour right to collective bargaining and wanted to improve their working conditions and better wages (Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 | The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2022). A series of factors as scarce employment and low wages were the main reasons that led workers to decide on a general strike. Another factor that triggered this general strike was the intransigence of the employers to listen to workers through a unionized structure; to gain more force and achieve equilibrium workers joined in a general strike. Unity, fear, intransigence, learning lessons, and long-term effects are some words that employees and employers should not forget after this general strike.

Unity is strength. Initially, 11,000 workers started a general strike but finally 35,000, non-unionized workers joined this strike. Winnipeg was paralyzed, and all activities were stopped between May 15 and Jun 25, 1919. That was the result of working together.

Fear of communism. Employers opposed the strike, simply because they did not want to listen to workers' demands. In addition, rich people and politicians handled the economy and industry in Winnipeg. The Federal government was afraid that this conflict could be sparked amount other territories of Canada with the purpose to start a communist revolution, for that reason the government supported the Citizens' Committee of 1,000 created by employers to design strategies to break the strike (Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 | The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2022).

The Winnipeg General Strike was different from previous strikes in several ways. First, "The strike united waged and unwaged working-class people" (Camfield, 2020, p.60). This general strike in Winnipeg attracted massive assistance from workers regardless of their unionized condition, from different industrial sectors sparking more unionism and activism. Workers understood that together they would be able to get more benefits. Second, according to Camfield (2020), "The issue became quite clearly the right of the workers to bargain collectively through union structures of their own choice (p. 60). This moment was the beginning of what now is collective bargaining. Employers wanted to bargain individually, so changing this strategy into collective bargaining could mean setting a precedent for future negotiations. Third, this strike left a blood legacy. Two people died during this protest and that day is remembered as “Bloody Saturday”. The limit of negotiation is what people should understand and be aware of. When people lose communication channels and base their decisions on assumptions, their actions can be motivated in the wrong way. Instead, open dialogue, mediation, and disposition to clarify what other pursuits can make a huge difference.

It can be identified three long-term effects of the Winnipeg General Strike. Firstly, the creation of more unions and collective bargaining. The existence of these mechanisms of negotiation has allowed workers to keep fighting for their labour rights achieving more and more over time. Union and collective bargaining represent a whole labour body and a unique way to gain more power for negotiation in front of the employer. Secondly, there was a political impact on Winnipeg society. New political parties were created. First, it was the Independent Labour Party, then the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation and finally the New Democratic Party where former strikers were elected to City Hall, the Manitoba Legislature, and even the House of Commons. If we can learn anything from this, it is that nothing changes if no people are willing to assume leadership and move forward challenging existing conditions. Thirdly, the improvement of labour law. Since the general strike, workers have successfully fought for many important human rights initiatives including universal healthcare, minimum wage legislation, employment insurance and anti‐discrimination in the workplace (The Winnipeg General Strike | CMHR, 2022).

There is an effect that is still obvious in Canadian life. George Santayana said, "those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."?When businesses are focused only on counting numbers in terms of profit, employers can forget workers are the heart of companies and what happens when a heart stops working - the whole body becomes paralyzed. Susan Hart - Kulbaba, president of the 90,000 - member Manitoba Federation of Labour says that if corporate managers and tight-fisted governments keep this behaviour and continue not to listen to people who need help, they will experience the faults, as the strike of 1919 (Bergman, 1994, p.54).?

Values guide our actions. There were two values in contrast: the value of profitability versus the value of fair treatment of workers (Hebdon & Brown, 2016, p. 14). While someone reflects their love of money, others focus on love for their neighbour as more relevant. Each actor has strategies and power to reach their own goals, but the most important is when both parties have common goals of avoiding conflict and gaining resources.

Strikers pursued better wages and working conditions but the unwillingness of employers to listen to workers and develop a dialogue with their partners – workers, sparked a general strike. A single voice of the workers and the employer's fear of sharing wealth paralyzed Winnipeg looking for more equity and an acceptable quality of life. Dialogue and willingness to listen to others are the key components to reaching shared goals working as a team to gain more profit and improve working conditions.

References

Bergman, B. (1994). Days of outrage: The Winnipeg general strike left a rich political legacy. (75th anniversary of 1919 workers' strike in Manitoba).?Maclean's,?107(21), 54.

Camfield, D. (2020). Reflections on the Winnipeg General Strike and the future of workers’ struggles, Studies in Political Economy, 101:1, 59-76, DOI:10.1080/07078552.2020.1738779

The Winnipeg General Strike | CMHR. (2022). Retrieved 6 November 2022, from https://humanrights.ca/story/the-winnipeg-general-strike

Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 | The Canadian Encyclopedia. (2022). Retrieved 5 November 2022, from https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/winnipeg-general-strike

Hebdon R., & Brown T. (2016). Industrial Relations in Canada. 3erd Edition. Nelson Education