Raising the Workers' Flag: The Workers' Unity League of Canada, 1930-1936

by Stephen Endicott

During the Great Depression, the conflicting interests of capital and labour became clearer than ever before. Radical Canadian workers, encouraged by the Red International of Labour Unions, responded by building the Workers' Unity League – an organization that greatly advanced the cause of unions in Canada, and boasted 40,000 members at its height. In Raising the Workers' Flag , the first full-length study of this robust group, Stephen L. Endicott brings its passionate efforts to light in memorable detail. Raising the Workers' Flag is based on newly available or previously untapped sources, including documents from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's Security Service and the Communist Party's archives. Using these impressive finds, Endicott gives an intimate sense of the raging debates of the labour movement of the 1930s. A gripping account of the League's dreams and daring, Raising the Workers' Flag enlivens some of the most dramatic struggles of Canadian labour history.

Genres: Canada

480 pages, Paperback

First published September 18, 2012

Reviews

[Philip Girvan]

A very comprehensive account of the Workers' Unity League (WUL), the WUL's ties to the Third International, and labor struggles in Canada during the Great Depression. Particularly enjoyed the sections detailing the ideological and political battles between the WUL and the social democrats, such as Tommy Douglas's Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF )who they termed 'social fascists', the WUL's commitment to democracy, and the telling of the March on Ottawa and the subsequent meeting with Prime Minister Bennett.

Also interesting to note the priorities of the communists in Canada, not a country singled out by the Third Comintern as being ready for revolution, focused upon organizing workers, both men and women, abolishing child labor, securing federally funded unemployment insurance, housing and medicare for the unemployed, and a six hour a day, five day a week work schedule. A very important read for anyone interested in the struggles of labor in the 1930s from a Canadian perspective.

[Grace M]

Absolutely the most important book I have ever read. Every Canadian should read this book; the bravery, resilience, and organisation demonstrated by the working class under the leadership of the WUL was extraordinary. This book provides what is a beautifully rendered yet exhaustive explanation of our current condition, and the absence of a radical left.

[Maxine]

During the Great Depression of the 1930's, Canada's unemployed rate would reach as high as 30%. Traditional unions were keeping their heads down, just trying to hold on to what little they had left. Corporations laid off most of their workers except in the most lucrative areas and steadily reduced the wages of those still 'lucky' enough to have a job. Even as they began to see huge profits again, they continued these practices. The government, under Prime Minister Bennett did nothing to help, leaving it up to the market to right itself.

In 1930, radical Canadian workers formed the Workers' Unity league. Over the five years of its existence, it would organize militant industrial unions in many sectors of the economy including lumber, mining, fishing, as well as the needle trades. In each case, the leaders of the WUL insisted that these unions include, and represent equally, all workers regardless of race, religion, or gender, an important difference from most of the traditional unions which tended to organize craft unions among the more skilled workers and were almost exclusively made up of white males.

Despite red baiting, constant harassment by the RCMP and police, denigration from the pulpit, blacklisting, and arrests on phony charges, the men and women of the WUL worked tirelessly for the cause of the working class. They led many strikes, most unsuccessful, but with some important successes in mining, lumber, and among the women garment workers in Quebec.

They also organized among the unemployed and perhaps best known among the WUL's work is the On-To-Ottawa trek. Since, PM Bennett refused to do anything to ease the situation, the unemployed from across the country would ride the rails to take their demands to him. Bennett tried unsuccessfully to stop the trek and, when thousands of unemployed workers from every province converged on Ottawa, he was forced to meet with the leaders. He refused all of their demands but this incident garnered
popular support for the plight of the unemployed across Canada and would cost Bennett the next election.

In 1936, with the shadow of fascism looming in Europe, the League decided it was more important to make alliances with other left-leaning groups. They directed their members to rejoin the traditional unions and the League was disbanded. At its height, the WUL had at most 35,000 members but its importance to the Canadian labour movement far outweighs the size of its membership.

Using newly released documents by the RCMP and the Communist Party of Canada, author Stephen Endicott, professor emeritus at York University, gives a well-documented and gripping account of this little known period of Canadian history. At a time when the world is in the grips of a harsh recession and Canada's labour movement is again under attack by corporations and a conservative government enamoured of free market ideals, this book shows what an impassioned and determined labour force is capable of accomplishing.