THE PASSAGE OF BILL 39: REFORM AND REPRESSION IN BRITISH COLUMBIA'S LABOUR POLICY by PAUL GRAHAM KNOX B.A., U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Columbia, 1972 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS i n the Department o f P o l i t i c a l Science We accept t h i s t h e s i s as conforming t o the r e q u i r e d s tandard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA A p r i l , 1974 In p r e s e n t i n g t h i s t h e s i s i n p a r t i a l f u l f i l m e n t o f the requirements f o r an advanced degree a t the U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Columbia, I agree t h a t the L i b r a r y s h a l l make i t f r e e l y a v a i l a b l e f o r r e f e r e n c e and study. I f u r t h e r agree t h a t p e r m i s s i o n f o r e x t e n s i v e c o p y i n g o f t h i s t h e s i s f o r s c h o l a r l y purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or by h i s r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s . I t i s understood t h a t c o p y i n g or p u b l i c a t i o n o f t h i s t h e s i s f o r f i n a n c i a l g a i n s h a l l not be a llowed w ithout my w r i t t e n p e r m i s s i o n . Department o f P o l i t i c a l Science The U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Columbia Vancouver 8, Canada Date A p r i l 50, 1974 i . ABSTRACT The B r i t i s h Columbia l e g i s l a t u r e passed i n 1947 a new I n d u s t r i a l C o n c i l i a t i o n and A r b i t r a t i o n Act. The act i n s t a l l e d at the p r o v i n c i a l l e v e l the modern system of labour r e l a t i o n s , i n c l u d i n g c e r t i f i c a t i o n of labour unions, a labour r e l a t i o n s board and the government-supervised s t r i k e vote. The act was passed by a c o a l i t i o n government of L i b e r a l s and Conservatives, i n response to a wave of s t r i k e s the preceding year which c r i p p l e d , among others, the province's f o r e s t and mining i n d u s t r i e s . The l e g i s l a t i o n i n c o r -porated many r e s t r i c t i o n s on union a c t i v i t y sought by business spokesmen and gave a l e g a l basis to the i n s t i t u t i o n a l status sought by union leaders. This study examines the passage of B i l l 39 i n r e l a t i o n to three themes: the importance of cl a s s structure i n the p o l i t i c s of B r i t i s h Columbia, the r o l e of the state i n c a p i t a l i s t s o c i e t y , and the development of the west coast labour movement. The c l a s s and economic st r u c t u r e of the province during the 1940s i s outlined and some l i n k s are shown between heavy dependence on resource e x t r a c t i o n and low-level processing and the high incidence of labour unrest. The cl a s s bases of the p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s are i s o l a t e d and t h e i r r e l a t i o n s h i p to the i n d u s t r i a l s tructure discussed. This material forms the background for a h i s t o r y of the wartime and post-war struggles between labour and employers i n B.C. The s t r i k e s of 1946 are shown to have prompted employers to press the government f o r r e s t r i c t i v e labour l e g i s l a t i o n . Considerable a t t e n t i o n i s also paid to the a r t i c u l a t i o n of working-class demands f o r s e c u r i t y and to the r e l a t i o n s h i p between labour leaders and the C o a l i t i o n labour minister, George Pearson. The d i s c u s s i o n of the passage of B i l l 39 and i t s aftermath shows how the influence of r u r a l Tory elements i n the C o a l i t i o n led to the demise of the reformist t r a d i t i o n of the depression premier, Duff P a t t u l l o . The i i . i n f l u e n c e of the labour s i t u a t i o n on the e l e c t i o n of a successor to Premier John Hart i s d iscussed, and some i n s i g h t i n t o the work ings of the c o a l i t i o n government i s gained through an examinat ion of the government 's r e a c t i o n to a n t i - B i l l 39 s t r i k e s and p r o t e s t s . The conc lud ing chapter draws on examples f rom the preced ing h i s t o r i c a l m a t e r i a l , to show t h a t the s t a t e i n a c a p i t a l i s t s o c i e t y must c o n t a i n c lass c o n f l i c t , through v a r i o u s l y r e f o r m i s t or rep ress i ve methods, w i t h o u t c h a l l e n -g ing the system of wage-labour and p r o f i t . The r o l e of p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s , the cab ine t , the l e g i s l a t i v e assembly, the government bureaucracy and the j u d i c i a r y i n t h i s process i s ana lyzed. F i n a l l y , the response of the labour movement to s t a t e a c t i o n i s d iscussed, and i t i s suggested t h a t r a d i c a l p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s have ye t t o reso lve i n p r a c t i c e the apparent c o n t r a d i c t i o n between work ing -c lass des i res f o r s e c u r i t y and the need f o r r e v o l u t i o n a r y s o c i a l and economic change which they pe rce ived . i i i . TABLE OF CONTENTS I n t r o d u c t i o n 1 Notes to i n t r o d u c t i o n 6 1 . COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AS AN INSTITUTION IN CANADA . 7 I n t r o d u c t i o n 7 A. Two i n d u s t r i a l r e l a t i o n s systems 7 1 . The Wagner Act system • 7 2. "Employee r e p r e s e n t a t i o n " - the King system 9 3. Expansion of the King system 12 4 . The King and Wagner systems combined 13 B. The war and c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g i n Canada 14 1 . Federa l ism and labour l e g i s l a t i o n . . ; 14 2. Ea r l y f e d e r a l wart ime labour p o l i c y 16 3. P.C. 1003: the Wagner Act system r e f i n e d 19 4 . - Post-war developments 22 Notes to chapter 1 24 2. THE BACKGROUND TO CLASS CONFLICT AND POLITICS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA. . . 27 I n t r o d u c t i o n 27 A. The c lass s t r u c t u r e of B r i t i s h Columbia, 1941-51 27 B. Class r e p r e s e n t a t i o n i n the 1947 l e g i s l a t u r e 33 C. Pre-war and wart ime labour r e l a t i o n s i n B.C 44 Notes t o chapter 2 49 3. THE UNIONS FIGHT FOR STATUS: SKIRMISHES 52 I n t r o d u c t i o n 52 A. The demand f o r un ion s e c u r i t y 52 B. P o l i t i c a l a c t i o n : to co-opera te or no t to c o - o p e r a t e ? . . ^.J. . . . 58 C. The f i r s t labour lobby 63 i v . Notes t o chapter 3 70 4 . THE UNIONS FIGHT FOR STATUS: BATTLES - I 74 I n t r o d u c t i o n 74 A. American Can: the maintenance of p r o d u c t i o n 74 B. The second labour lobby : the employers get a n g r i e r 77 Notes to chapter 4 85 5. THE UNIONS FIGHT FOR STATUS: BATTLES - I I 87 I n t r o d u c t i o n 87 A. The f o r e s t i n d u s t r y 89 B. The foundr ies 98 C. The Prov ince 101 D. The meta l mines 103 Notes to chapter 5 110 6. THE GOVERNMENT REACTS: THE PASSAGE OF BILL 39 117 I n t r o d u c t i o n 117 A. Tension i n the c o a l i t i o n 118 B. A government pressured 120 C. B i l l 39: a l i b e r a l ' s de fea t 124 Notes to chapter 6 134 7. REPRESSION REFINED: THE AFTERMATH OF BILL 39 138 I n t r o d u c t i o n 138 A. The f i r s t cha l lenge 138 1 . P r e l i m i n a r i e s 138 2. The Nanaimo laundry s t r i k e 142 B. The second cha l lenge 145 V . 1 . The government t r i e s again 145 2. Pearson goes on s t r i k e . . . 146 3. The s tee lworkers 1 case 148 4 . A new m i n i s t e r : back to square one 150 C. Labour and the L i b e r a l s 153 D. The amendment of B i l l 39 1 5 6 Notes t o chapter??. 162 8. CONCLUSION AND INTERPRETATION 1 7 1 I n t r o d u c t i o n ^1 A. P o l i t i c s and c lass c o n f l i c t : the economic base 171 1 . The c a p i t a l i s t resource economy 171 2. I n d u s t r i a l r e l a t i o n s i n the c a p i t a l i s t resource economy.. . 172 B. P o l i t i c s , c lass c o n f l i c t and the s t a t e i n B r i t i s h C o l u m b i a . . . . 177 1 . The s t a t e i n c a p i t a l i s t s o c i e t y I 7 7 2. Reform and rep ress ion •. 1^1 a . The L i b e r a l s . 1 8 2 b. The Conservat ives 184 3. Methods 1 8 5 a . The execu t i ve -. l 8-> b. The assembly ^ 2 c. The bureaucracy 1^3 d . The j u d i c i a r y 194 C. The un ion movement l ^ 8 1 . The c r a f t - i n d u s t r i a l s p l i t 1 9 8 2. The communist - s o c i a l - d e m o c r a t i c s p l i t 200 Notes to chapter 8. 2 0 6 BIBLIOGRAPHY 2 1 6 V I . APPENDIX: THE UNION SHOP 226 Notes t o appendix 230 v i i . LIST OF TABLES Table 2 - 1 : Class s t r u c t u r e of B r i t i s h Columbia p o p u l a t i o n , 1941-51 29 Table 2-2 : Occupat iona l and c lass composi t ion of B.C. l e g i s l a t u r e , 1947.35 Table 2-3: Occupations of B r i t i s h Columbia c a b i n e t , 1947 37 Table 3 - 1 : Union s e c u r i t y p r o v i s i o n s i n Un i ted Steelworkers of America c o n t r a c t s , B r i t i s h Columbia, 1945-8 55 v i i i . LIST OF FIGURES F igure 2 - 1 : D i s t r i b u t i o n of p a r t y support i n B r i t i s h Columbia accord ing to r e s u l t s of 1945 p r o v i n c i a l e l e c t i o n 39 F igure 5 - 1 : Person-days l o s t i n s t r i k e s , B r i t i s h Columbia, 1938-48 90 F igure 5 -2 : S t r i k e s i n Canada causing t i m e - l o s s exceeding 10,000 person-days, 1946 91 F igure 5 -3 : S t r i k e s i n Canada causing t i m e - l o s s exceeding 100,000 person-days, 1946 92 F igure 5-4 : S t r i k e s i n B r i t i s h Columbia, . .1946 93 INTRODUCTION This i s a study of the passage i n 1947 of B r i t i s h Columbia 's I n d u s t r i a l C o n c i l i a t i o n and A r b i t r a t i o n A c t , and of amendments t o i t i n 1948. Three o broad themes are d e a l t w i t h . One i s the impact of c lass c o n f l i c t upon the p o l i t i c a l process and p o l i t i c a l i n s t i t u t i o n s i n B r i t i s h Columbia. The second i s the development of labour r e l a t i o n s p o l i c y by the s t a t e i n a c a p i t a l i s t s o c i e t y . F i n a l l y , the study deals to some ex ten t w i t h the i n t e r n a l p o l i t i c s of the labour movement i n Canada's westernmost p r o v i n c e . Outside the academic sphere i t i s g e n e r a l l y taken f o r granted t h a t B r i t i s h Columbia's o f t e n t u r b u l e n t p o l i t i c a l scene i s v i t a l l y i n f l u e n c e d by c l a s s c o n f l i c t . Academic w r i t e r s too have c o n s t a n t l y found i t necessary t o t u r n t h e i r a t t e n t i o n to c lass d i v i s i o n s i n the p r o v i n c e . "On the West Coas t , " says one, " t h e main cleavage i s c lass and occupa t iona l i n n a t u r e , between the labour w o r l d and the w o r l d of t he m idd lec lass and b i g business".- ' - Says ano ther , d e s c r i b i n g the 1940s: "More than ever - b e f o r e , B r i t i s h Columbia, w i t h g rea t c a p i t a l i s t s and w i t h a l a r g e l a b o u r i n g f o r c e i n i t s m i d s t , was a c l a s s - d i v i d e d s o c i e t y . " 2 The e f f e c t of the c lass cleavage on the p o l i t i c a l system has a lso rece ived some a t t e n t i o n . Thomas Sanford suggests t h a t c lass c o n f l i c t p layed a c r i t i c a l r o l e i n the emergence o f the p a r t y system: I n d u s t r i a l unres t and the r e f u s a l o f the banks to f i nance the p r o v i n c i a l government any longer pushed the f a c t i o n a l managers of the p o l i t i c a l system towards an i n t r o d u c t i o n of p a r t y l i n e s . ^ M a r t i n Robin argues t h a t the "extreme a c q u i s i t i v e i n d i v i d u a l i s m " of c a p i -t a l i s t s and the " s t r o n g c o l l e c t i v i s m " o f the labour and s o c i a l i s t movements have l e f t a " legacy of c lass o p p o s i t i o n " , ^ render ing the p r o v i n c e ' s p o l i t i c s " w h i t e - h o t " . For t h i s reason, he says, success fu l govern ing p a r t i e s i n B r i t i s h Columbia must "man ipu la te , r a t h e r than e l i m i n a t e " c lass c o n f l i c t . - ' 2. Other w r i t e r s have c a l l e d a t t e n t i o n to the absence of " t r a d i t i o n a l i s m and a . shared p a s t " which i n o ther s o c i e t i e s have the e f f e c t of med ia t ing c lass c o n f l i c t s . ^ A l a c k of p r e c i s e d e f i n i t i o n i n much of t h i s work has l e f t the t h e s i s t h a t c lass c o n f l i c t i s the dominant f o r c e i n B.C. p o l i t i c s open to c r i t i c i s m . ' ' While c r i t i c s of the t h e s i s have ye t t o come up w i t h conv inc ing p roo f t h a t i t does not a p p l y , i t s proponents — mot i va ted by j u s t i f i a b l e moral outrage a t c e r t a i n episodes i n the p r o v i n c e ' s h i s t o r y — o f t e n s u b s t i t u t e a k i n d o f robber -baron demonology f o r an e x p l o r a t i o n of the s u b t l e t i e s of c lass s t r u c -Q t u r e and i t s e f f e c t on p o l i t i c s . This study de f ines s o c i a l c lasses by t h e i r r e l a t i o n s h i p to the means of p r o d u c t i o n . I t suggests t h a t much i n B r i t i s h Columbia p o l i t i c s has i t s bas is i n c o n f l i c t sur round ing the wage r e l a t i o n s h i p and the a t tendan t s o c i a l i n s t i t u t i o n s of c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g and labour un ion ism. The overwhelming numer ica l predominance of the p r o l e t a r i a t and the r e l a t i v e i n s i g n i f i c a n c e of independent commodity p r o d u c t i o n he igh ten the importance of labour p o l i c y i n p r o v i n c i a l p o l i t i c s . A lso c r i t i c a l i s the importance of resource e x t r a c t i o n and l o w - l e v e l process ing i n the r e g i o n a l economy.9 The l o c a t i o n of i n d u s t r y i n i s o l a t e d areas generates i n d u s t r i a l c o n f l i c t which has a p o l i t i c a l e f f e c t . More i m p o r t a n t , the compe t i t i on f o r wor ld markets i n which resource i n d u s t r i e s must engage produces a d e s i r e f o r u n i n t e r r u p t e d p r o d u c t i e n a t the cheapest labour r a t e p o s s i b l y more i n tense than i n more advanced and d i v e r s i f i e d economies. The demands of resou rce -based c a p i t a l i s m played a prominent i f not c r u c i a l r o l e i n the development of the p a r t y system and of s t a t e labour p o l i c y . Any broad conc lus ions must be regarded as t e n t a t i v e s ince the study covers a l i m i t e d p e r i o d of t i m e . But the evidence shows t h a t the issues sur rounding the wage r e l a t i o n s h i p p layed a d e c i s i v e r o l e i n c e r t a i n events of major s i g n i f i c a n c e to the p o l i t i c a l system. 3. I f c lass c o n f l i c t p lays a s i g n i f i c a n t r o l e i n p o l i t i c s , a more complex ques t ion i s the r e l a t i o n s h i p of the s t a t e to s o c i a l c lasses and the p o l i t i c a l system. The r e l a t i v e "autonomy" of the s t a t e i s a constant sub jec t of debate among p o l i t i c a l s c i e n t i s t s . The i n c r e a s i n g power of the bureaucracy and the r e c r u i t m e n t of members of d i v e r s e c lasses i n t o the s t a t e system are thought by some to absolve the s t a t e i n c a p i t a l i s t s o c i e t i e s f rom the charge t h a t i t i s a " t o o l of the b o u r g e o i s i e . " I n h i s M a r x i s t a n a l y s i s o f the modern c a p i -t a l i s t s t a t e , Ralph M i l i b a n d chal lenges t h i s v i e w . l ^ M i l i b a n d a l lows t h a t the s t a t e possesses a degree of autonomy, and t h a t the p o l i t i c a l i n s t i t u t i o n s of democracy are more than j u s t a bourgeois p l o t . But he shows t h a t s t r u c t u r a l pressures on the s t a t e , i n terms o f i t s personnel and i t s p o t e n t i a l f o r a c t i o n , make i t an agency f o r the maintenance of the c o n d i t i o n s under which the c a p i -t a l i s t mode o f p r o d u c t i o n may t h r i v e . I n the area of labour r e l a t i o n s , M i l i b a n d says, t h i s f u n c t i o n d i c t a t e s a p o l i c y of " r o u t i n i s a t i o n of c o n f l i c t " to make i t more manageable, and economic c o n d i t i o n s thus more p r e d i c t a b l e , so the economic system based on wage labour may be p e r p e t u a t e d . H W r i t e r s on B r i t i s h Columbia have noted a " c l o s e connect ion between economic development and p o l i t i c a l l o n g e v i t y , and d iscuss ions of s t a t e labour p o l i c y i n Canada emphasize the dominion and p r o v i n c i a l "p reoccupat ion w i t h a t tempt ing to prevent s t r i k e s or l ockou ts by l e g i s l a t i v e means". These would appear t o i n d i c a t e a t l e a s t p a r t i a l a p p l i c a t i o n of M i l i b a n d ' s c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n of the c a p i t a l i s t s t a t e i n the case of B r i t i s h Columbia. The present study lends more weight t o t h i s c o n t e n t i o n . While there were c o n f l i c t s among sec t i ons o f the c a p i t a l i s t c lass and components o f the s t a t e system on s t r a t e g i c ques t i ons , the m o t i v a t i n g f a c t o r i n labour r e l a t i o n s p o l i c y was the maintenance of the c o n d i t i o n s of c a p i t a l i s t p r o d u c t i o n . I n d e t a i l e d d e s c r i p -t i o n of the passage of a p a r t i c u l a r p iece of l e g i s l a t i o n , I have t r i e d to show how the d i f f e r e n t elements of the s t a t e system help f u l f i l l t h i s f u n c t i o n . 4. The f i n a l theme of the study concerns the development of B r i t i s h Columbia's labour^movement. Unions represent the economic o r g a n i z a t i o n of the work ing c l a s s . They were o r i g i n a l l y formed to f i g h t f o r r e l i e f f rom the oppress ive c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of wage labour through increased wages and work ing c o n d i t i o n s . I n B r i t i s h Columbia the resource economy produced un ion m i l i t a n c e and p o l i t i c a l awareness i n a number of w a y s . ^ The u n i o n s ' power de r i ved i n i t i a l l y f rom the p o t e n t i a l . f o r c o l l e c t i v e w i thd rawa l of l abour . But du r i ng the 1930s and 1940s the makers of s t a t e labour p o l i c y g r a d u a l l y came to see the advantages of a system of i n d u s t r i a l r e l a t i o n s i n which s t a t e s a n c t i o n was g iven to un ion a c t i v i t y i n r e t u r n f o r the acceptance by the labour movement of a r o l e i n the maintenance of the c o n d i t i o n s of p r o d u c t i o n . Union leaders d i d not r e a l i z e the i m p l i c a t i o n s of t h i s change i n the bas is of i n d u s t r i a l r e l a t i o n s because they were preoccupied w i t h wo rk ing -c lass demands f o r " s e c u r i t y " a t the end of the war. The d i v i s i o n s i n the un ion movement between c r a f t and i n d u s t r i a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s , and between communist, s o c i a l democrat ic and l i b e r a l e lements, s i m p l i f i e d the task of employers who pressured the government t o pass r e s t r i c -t i v e labour laws. Chapter 1 of t h i s study i s a background chapter designed t o acquain t the reader w i t h the h i s t o r y of labour r e l a t i o n s p o l i c i e s i n Canada and the Un i ted S ta tes , and t o show the i n f l u e n c e of f e d e r a l wart ime p o l i c y on i n d u s t r i a l r e l a t i o n s i n Canada. Chapter 2 descr ibes the c lass compositon of B r i t i s h Columbia du r ing the 1940s and compares i t w i t h t h a t of the l e g i s l a t u r e which passed the I n d u s t r i a l C o n c i l i a t i o n and A r b i t r a t i o n Act* of 1947, showing the o v e r - r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of bourgeois and p e t i t - b o u r g e o i s elements i n the l e g i s l a t u r e and d iscuss ing the c lass and r e g i o n a l bases of the p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s . Also inc luded i n Chapter 2 i s a b r i e f h i s t o r y of unionism and labour r e l a t i o n s i n B r i t i s h Columbia p r i o r to the end of the Second World War. Chapter 3 begins the s t o r y of the un ions ' post -war d r i v e f o r s t a t u s and 5. s e c u r i t y , emphasizing i t s importance t o un ion l e a d e r s . I t a lso descr ibes the f o rma t i on of the second B r i t i s h Columbia Federa t ion of Labour, the f i r s t c o n f l i c t s between communists and s o c i a l democrats over p o l i t i c a l s t r a t e g y , and the f e d e r -a t i o n ' s a t tempts to get favourab le l e g i s l a t i o n through backroom c o l l a b o r a t i o n w i t h the c o a l i t i o n government. Chapter 4 cont inues t h i s n a r r a t i v e up to mid-1946, i n c l u d i n g m a t e r i a l which i l l u m i n a t e s the r e l a t i o n s h i p between business and govern-ment and helps e x p l a i n the economic bas is of labour p o l i c y . I n Chapter 5 the c r i p p l i n g s t r i k e s of 1946 are desc r i bed , w i t h emphasis on the r o l e they played i n lead ing B r i t i s h Columbia's employers to seek rep ress i ve labour l e g i s l a t i o n f rom the government, and i n lead ing the government t o be r e c e p t i v e to t h i s p ressure . Chapter 6 descr ibes the tens ions w i t h i n the c o a l i t i o n government du r i ng the post-war yea rs , be fo re t e l l i n g the s t o r y of the passage of the I n d u s t r i a l Con-c i l i a t i o n and A r b i t r a t i o n Act ( B i l l 3 9 ) . The b i l l s i g n i f i e d the de fea t of re fo rm l i b e r a l i s m i n B r i t i s h Columbia, a development which was conf i rmed when the labour m i n i s t e r , George Pearson, res igned i n the f a l l of 1947. Chapter 7 t e l l s the s t o r y of t h i s and o ther developments which f o l l o w e d the passage of the a c t . A s e r i e s of chal lenges t o the l e g i s l a t i o n came not on ly f rom the un ion movement bu t a l so f rom the cou r t s and the L i b e r a l p a r t y i t s e l f . The issue of government labour p o l i c y p layed an impor tan t r o l e i n the December, 1947 l e a d e r -sh ip convent ion c a l l e d to p i c k a successor t o the L i b e r a l c o a l i t i o n p remier , John H a r t . The v i c t o r y of rep ress ion over re fo rm i n government p o l i c y was conf i rmed i n A p r i l 1948 w i t h the passage of amendments to the ac t which s t r e n g t h -ened i t s r e s t r i c t i v e c lauses . F i n a l l y , Chapter 8 o f f e r s some i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s of the events sur rounding the post -war con t roversy over labour p o l i c y . I t a t tempts to h i g h l i g h t s i g n i f i c a n t developments which tend t o be submerged by the o f t e n - t o r t u o u s n a r r a t i v e . I t o f f e r s a number of conc lus ions concerning c lass c o n f l i c t and p o l i t i c s , s t a t e labour p o l i c y i n a resource-based c a p i t a l i s t economy, and the development of the un ion movement i n B r i t i s h Columbia. 6 , Notes to i n t r o d u c t i o n .1 Thomas Sanford, The p o l i t i c s of p r o t e s t : the Co-opera t ive Commonwealth Federa t ion and the Soc ia l C r e d i t League i n B.C., PhD t h e s i s , U n i v e r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a ( p o l i t i c a l s c i e n c e ) , 1961, 44. 2 Margaret Ormsby, B r i t i s h Columbia: a h i s t o r y , Vancouver: Macmi l lan , 1971, 486. 3 Sanford, op. c i t . , 72-3 . 4 M a r t i n Robin, " B r i t i s h Columbia: the p o l i t i c s o f c lass c o n f l i c t , " i n M a r t i n Robin, e d . , Canadian p r o v i n c i a l p o l i t i c s , Scarborough: P r e n t i c e -H a l l , 1972, 29, 40. 5 M a r t i n Robin , "The s o c i a l bas is of p a r t y p o l i t i c s i n B r i t i s h Co lumbia , " Queen's Q u a r t e r l y , 72 (1966) : 689-690. 6 E. R. B lack , " B r i t i s h Columbia: the p o l i t i c s of e x p l o i t a t i o n " , i n R.A. Shearer, ed . E x p l o i t i n g our economic p o t e n t i a l : p u b l i c p o l i c y and the B r i t i s h Columbia economy, Toronto : H o l t R inehar t & Winston, 1968, pp. 28-9 . See a lso Sanford , op. c i t . , 54. 7 See Mark Sproule-Jones, " S o c i a l C red i t and the B r i t i s h Columbia e l e c t o r a t e , " B.C. S tud ies , 12 (1971-2) : X 34-45; r e j o i n d e r by E. R. B lack , 46-8 ; r e j o i n d e r by M a r t i n Robin, 49-50; r e p l y to r e j o i n d e r s , 5 1 - 2 ; Donald E. B lake, "Another look a t Soc ia l C r e d i t and the B r i t i s h Columbia e l e c t o r a t e " , i b i d . , 53-62. 8 See Alan Ca i rns , "The study of the p r o v i n c e s : a rev iew a r t i c l e , " B.C. S tud ies , 14 (1972): 73-82 and Alan Cairns and M a r t i n Robin , "Comment", B.C. S tud ies , 16 (1972-3) : 77-82. 9 See S tuar t Jamieson, "Regional f a c t o r s i n i n d u s t r i a l c o n f l i c t : the case of B r i t i s h Columbia, " CJEPS, 28 (1962) : 405-416. 10 Ralph M i l i b a n d , The s t a t e i n c a p i t a l i s t s o c i e t y , London: Weidenfeld and N i co l so n , 1969. 11 I b i d . , ch . 4 - 2 . 12 B lack, op. c i t . , 33. 13 S tu a r t Jamieson, I n d u s t r i a l r e l a t i o n s i n Canada, second e d i t i o n , Toron to : Macmi l lan , 1973, 117. 14 Paul P h i l l i p s , No power g r e a t e r : a century of labour i n B r i t i s h Columbia, Vancouver: B.C. Federa t ion of Labour/Boag Foundat ion, 1967, 162-4. CHAPTER 1 COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AS AN INSTITUTION IN CANADA I n t r o d u c t i o n State i n t e r v e n t i o n and compulsion i n labour r e l a t i o n s i s something taken f o r granted on the Nor th American c o n t i n e n t . So i s the i n s t i t u t i o n of c o l l e c -t i v e b a r g a i n i n g . The two are o f t e n assumed to accompany one another as a mat ter of course, but t h i s i s not the case. The p r i n c i p l e of s t a t e i n t e r v e n -t i o n and compulsion has been p a r t of Canadian labour r e l a t i o n s p o l i c y s ince the t u r n of the cen tu ry . Here the f e d e r a l s t a t e i n Canada was ahead of i t s coun te rpar t i n the U.S. i n develop ing s o p h i s t i c a t e d means of dea l i ng w i t h labour m i l i t a n c y . But bo th the f e d e r a l and p r o v i n c i a l components of the Canadian s t a t e were slow to r e a l i z e the i d e o l o g i c a l and p r a c t i c a l va lue of i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z e d c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g . Before World War I I , the power o f labour and c a p i t a l i n Canada d e r i v e d f rom t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e a b i l i t i e s t o take economic a c t i o n . I t took the pressures of wart ime to rep lace t h i s Canadian i n d u s t r i a l r e l a t i o n s system w i t h a U . S . - i n s p i r e d one i n v o l v i n g the i n s t i t u t i o n of c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g . I n t h i s system, the s t a t e a l l o c a t e s r i g h t s and r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s , d i s t r i b u t i n g power between the p a r t i e s accord ing to the p o l i t i c a l and economic pressures exer ted upon i t . A. Two I n d u s t r i a l Re la t i ons Systems 1 . The Wagner Act system U n t i l the 1930s, un ion r e c o g n i t i o n i n the U.S. (as i t was i n Canada u n t i l 1944) was l a r g e l y a ques t ion of muscle. For the most p a r t , i f you wanted to ba rga in w i t h an employer, you had to convince him t h a t you could h u r t him through s t r i k e s , slowdowns or o ther forms of a c t i o n which d i r e c t l y threatened p r o d u c t i o n . Freedom of o r g a n i z a t i o n had been guaranteed l e g a l l y 8. to workers i n the U.S. (as w e l l as B r i t a i n and Canada) s ince the c l o s i n g years o f the n i n e t e e n t h ' c e n t u r y , bu t i n the m a j o r i t y of cases employers had found ways to thwar t t h e i r employees' d e s i r e to u n i o n i z e . I n 1933, however, c o l -l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g was i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z e d almost i n one s t r o k e w i t h the passage of the N a t i o n a l Recovery A c t . A f t e r t h a t l e g i s l a t i o n f a i l e d to w i t h s t a n d a cha l lenge on c o n s t i t u t i o n a l grounds, i t was rep laced by the N a t i o n a l Labor Re la t i ons A c t , or Wagner A c t , of 1935. The Wagner Act not on ly cont inued the guarantee of freedom to organ ize but a lso prov ided a means of e l i m i n a t i n g the j u r i s d i c t i o n a l and r e c o g n i t i o n d ispu tes which o f t e n f o l l o w e d an employer 's r e f u s a l to ba rga in w i t h unions which c l e a r l y had the support of employees. The technique developed was t h a t o f c e r t i f i c a t i o n . - ' - The s t a t e , through a system of labour r e l a t i o n s boards, was empowered t o take whatever measures were necessary to determine the wishes o f workers , and c e r t i f y or approve a un ion as the so le b a r g a i n i n g agent f o r a group of employees.. Through c e r t i f i c a t i o n , those r e c a l c i t r a n t employers who had been b l i n d to the advantages of unions as a means of c o n t r o l l i n g the express ion of c lass c o n f l i c t and making i t p r e d i c t a b l e were to be fo rced t o b a r g a i n . C o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g , h i t h e r t o a process i n which employers were fo rced to p a r t i c i p a t e by the d i r e c t economic power of the workers they employed, now became a process begun or cont inued w i t h the s a n c t i o n , and o f t e n on ly a f t e r the i n v o c a t i o n of the power, of the s t a t e . The Wagner Act r e q u i r e d an a p p l i c a n t f o r c e r t i f i c a -t i o n to prove t h a t the employer had re fused to b a r g a i n , thus a t tempt ing t o encourage v o l u n t a r y r e c o g n i t i o n . But even i n cases where t h i s d i d occur , and employers put up l i t t l e o p p o s i t i o n to un ions , they d i d so w i t h the power of the s t a t e hanging over t h e i r heads.2 The Wagner Act was one s e c t i o n of a vas t programme of re fo rm developed i n response to the c a t a s t r o p h i c depress ion of 1929-35 and the labour unres t 9. produced by hunger and unemployment. The cont roversy sur rounding the Wagner Act (and the whole New Deal package) r e f l e c t e d a d i v i s i o n among i n d u s t r i a l i s t s as to the proper method of d e a l i n g w i t h a c r i s i s i n the development of c a p i t a -l i s m . Would c e r t a i n "concess ions" be made to unions i n order t o reduce the simmering d i s c o n t e n t among workers , or would a h a r d - l i n e p o l i c y aimed a t smashing the nascent i n d u s t r i a l un ion movement and b o l s t e r i n g the o l d system of p a t e r n a l i s t i c employer-employee r e l a t i o n s be i n s t i t u t e d ? For the t ime b e i n g , the former course was chosen, "on the ground t h a t encouragement of t rade unionism and c o l l e c t i v e ba rga in ing was the best means f o r ach iev ing s t a b l e and peace fu l i n d u s t r i a l r e l a t i o n s . " ^ The re formers had won the day. But the c o n f l i c t p e r s i s t e d through the Second World War u n t i l the balance swung toward more r e p r e s s i v e methods of containment w i t h the passage of the T a f t - H a r t l e y Act i n 1947. 2. "Employee r e p r e s e n t a t i o n " — the King system The d i v i s i o n between r e f o r m i s t s and r e a c t i o n a r i e s e x i s t e d among Canadian c a p i t a l i s t s , but the r e f o r m i s t s never r e a l l y gained the upper hand, and the reforms were never .as sweeping as those of the R-osevel t New Dea l . The r e l a t i v e weakness of r e fo rmers , e s p e c i a l l y i n the area of labour r e l a t i o n s , can be t raced t o d i f f e r e n c e s i n the s t r u c t u r e of c a p i t a l i s m i n Canada and the U . S . 4 F i r s t , the Canadian s t a t e became c r u c i a l l y i n v o l v e d i n e n t e r p r i s e s designed t o open up new h i n t e r l a n d s f o r the Eastern Canadian commercial m e t r o p o l i . Vast numbers of workers were employed on r a i l w a y s and i n the f o r e s t s and mines, a l l of which e n t e r p r i s e s had secured l a n d , money and/or tax concessions from the f e d e r a l and p r o v i n c i a l governments. L e g i s l a t o r s were thus u n w i l l i n g t o t o l e r a t e any unres t o r , indeed, to favour improvements i n the m a t e r i a l c o n d i t i o n s of workers i n these e n t e r p r i s e s . The s t a t e was 10. w i l l i n g to subs id i ze p r o f i t s , but no t wages. Tolerance of any t ime-was t ing labour unres t would negate the o r i g i n a l purpose of the subs id ies or g r a n t s . Second, Canada has always possessed a degree of m o n o p o l i s t i c concen t ra -t i o n h igher than t h a t i n the U.S. , and t h i s has meant there i s less compet i -t i o n f o r l a b o u r . T h i s , coupled w i t h the s p e c i a l i z e d na tu re of much Canadian e n t e r p r i s e (such as aluminum p roduc t i on ) has " tended to l i m i t wo rke rs ' choice of a l t e r n a t i v e employment i n case of c o n f l i c t . T h i r d , the lack of secondary i n d u s t r y , which tends to s t a b i l i z e s o c i a l and economic r e l a t i o n s h i p s , has meant t h a t labour p o l i c y has responded t o developments i n the pr imary s e c t o r . Pr imary r e s o u r c e - e x t r a c t i v e and resource -process ing i n d u s t r i e s are c h a r a c t e r i z e d by f l u c t u a t i o n s i n wages and employ-ment l e v e l s , dependence on f o r e i g n markets , a tendency to l o c a t e i n remote areas away f rom mass s c r u t i n y , and the development of a u t h o r i t a r i a n company towns. I n t h i s sec to r rep ress i ve t a c t i c s are more e a s i l y used i n d e a l i n g w i t h labour unres t and the n e c e s s i t y f o r the more s o p h i s t i c a t e d r e g u l a t o r y dev ice of i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z e d c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g was o b v i a t e d . By c o n t r a s t , i n the U.S. the we l l -deve loped secondary sec to r was more i n f l u e n t i a l i n the d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f labour p o l i c y . Thus i n the Canadian contex t W i l l i a m Lyon Mackenzie K i n g , whom we g e n e r a l l y consider today to have been i n s u f f e r a b l y p a t e r n a l i s t i c and who encouraged be fo re 1939 on ly the weakest and most rud imentary form of o r g a n i -z a t i o n , was a re fo rmer . The employers w i t h whom he was i n v o l v e d i n c o n c i l i a -t i o n as deputy m i n i s t e r of labour i n the f i r s t decade o f the t w e n t i e t h cen-t u r y were g e n e r a l l y dead set aga ins t any o r g a n i z a t i o n whatsoever. The net e f f e c t of K i n g ' s work was to promote the system of "employee r e p r e s e n t a t i o n " , i n which employees i n a p l a n t or o ther e n t e r p r i s e chose " r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s " to ba rga in f o r them, but no union r e c o g n i t i o n or s e c u r i t y was g ran ted . But even 1 1 . t h i s l i m i t e d i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z a t i o n of the r i g h t to o rgan ize , embodied i n the I n d u s t r i a l Disputes I n v e s t i g a t i o n ( I D I ) Act of 1907, ran i n t o pa r l i amen ta ry o p p o s i t i o n , as King l a t e r r e c a l l e d : When i t came to cons ide r ing the r e p r e s e n t a t i o n t h a t t he re i s i n the House of Commons, a body t w o - t h i r d s of the members of wh ich , I suppose, are f rom r u r a l communities and cons ide r ing the r e p -r e s e n t a t i v e s f rom urban d i s t r i c t s who f o r the most p a r t are not r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f labour but of c a p i t a l , i t became very apparent to those of us who were i n favour of i t ( the r e p r e s e n t a t i o n p lan) , t h a t we cou ld no t get any th ing unless we had something to g i ve the State i n r e t u r n . (7) The "something" exacted was a c lause p r o v i d i n g f o r compulsory c o n c i l i a t i o n Q i n the mines, t r a n s p o r t a t i o n , communication and the p u b l i c u t i l i t i e s . Because of t h i s s t r i k e - d e l a y i n g c lause , employers remained f r e e to oppose union r e c o g n i t i o n and c i rcumvent the compulsory ba rga in ing p r o v i s i o n o f the I D I Act ( i n those i n d u s t r i e s where i t a p p l i e d ) by s t a l l i n g f o r t ime to weaken the u n i o n s ' p o s i t i o n s . I n o ther i n d u s t r i e s , a l though management and unions could apply j o i n t l y f o r c o n c i l i a t i o n , the l a c k of compulsion or a c e r t i f i c a -t i o n process meant the s i t u a t i o n remained unchanged. K i n g ' s " r e f o r m s " , i t has been observed, a c t u a l l y tended to promote the f o rma t i on o f company unions through the " r e p r e s e n t a t i o n " scheme, and probably encouraged more employer r e s i s t a n c e than employee o r g a n i z a t i o n . 9 S i g n i f i c a n t l y , the s t r i k e which p r e c i p i t a t e d the passage o f the I D I Act occurred i n a resource i n d u s t r y — the A l b e r t a coa l f i e l d s . King was fo rced to bow to the i n t r a n s i g e n c e of r u t h l e s s mine opera tors who re fused to admit t h a t c o l l e c t i v e ba rga in ing might be the key to the " i n d u s t r i a l s t a b i l i t y " which they d e s i r e d . Other major d ispu tes preceding the passage of the I D I Act occurred i n the f i s h i n g i n d u s t r y and on the r a i l r o a d s — one a pr imary resource and process ing i n d u s t r y and the o ther bo th m o n o p o l i s t i c and govern-m e n t - s u b s i d i z e d . ^ The passage of the I D I Act i l l u s t r a t e s how the s t r u c t u r e of Canadian c a p i t a l i s m helped produce a d i s t i n c t i v e s t a t e approach to labour r e l a t i o n s . 12. 3. Expansion of the King system The sub jec t mat te r of the I D I Act was r u l e d ou ts ide the j u r i s d i c t i o n of the f e d e r a l government by the J u d i c i a l Committee of the B r i t i s h P r i v y Counc i l i n 1925. The committee he ld t h a t the ac t d e a l t w i t h p r o p e r t y and c i v i l r i g h t s , a p r o v i n c i a l p r e r o g a t i v e under s e c t i o n 92 of the B r i t i s h Nor th America A c t . H Consequently the ac t was amended t o r e s t r i c t i t s compulsory coverage t o : 1) i n l a n d or mar i t ime n a v i g a t i o n and s h i p p i n g , 2) i n t e r p r o v i n c i a l and i n t e r n a t i o n i a l communication, 3) f e d e r a l l y or f o r e i g n - i n c o r p o r a t e d companies, 4) i n d u s -t r i e s "dec la red by the Par l iament of Canada t o be f o r the genera l advantage of Canada, or f o r the advantage of two or more of the p r o v i n c e s " , 5) d ispu tes "no t w i t h i n the exc lus i ve l e g i s l a t i v e a u t h o r i t y of any p r o v i n c i a l l e g i s l a t u r e " , 6) d ispu tes dec la red by the cab ine t t o c o n s t i t u t e a n a t i o n a l emergency, and 7) d ispu tes i n areas t o which the f e d e r a l ac t was a p p l i e d by the a c t i o n of p r o -12 v i n c i a l l e g i s l a t u r e s . P a r a d o x i c a l l y , the J u d i c i a l Committee's a c t i o n r e s u l t e d i n ex tens ion r a t h e r than l i m i t a t i o n of the King system. The p r i n c i p l e of compulsion was extended by the 1925 amendment t o a l l d i spu tes i n the f e d e r a l j u r i s d i c t i o n . Ottawa then a t tempted, l a r g e l y s u c c e s s f u l l y , to convince the prov inces to pass laws app ly ing the ac t i n t h e i r j u r i s d i c t i o n s . B r i t i s h Columbia became the f i r s t to do so, less than a year a f t e r the J u d i c i a l Committee d e c i s i o n was handed down. Saskatchewan, Mani toba, New Brunswick, Nova S c o t i a , Ontar io and Quebec had a l l passed s i m i l a r enab l ing l e g i s l a t i o n by 1932, and A l b e r t a by t h i s t ime had i t s own ac t model led on the dominion l e g i s l a t i o n . 1 3 By m i d -Depress ion, t hen , the King system of compulsory c o n c i l i a t i o n w i t h o u t un ion r e c o g n i t i o n extended to a l l i n d u s t r i e s i n a l l p a r t s of Canada except P r ince Edward I s l a n d . 13. 4. The King and Wagner systems compared I t has been claimed t h a t the I D I Act "preceded the Wagner Act bo th h i s t o r i c a l l y and l o g i c a l l y " because " t h e Wagner Act p r i n c i p l e s of compulsory r e c o g n i t i o n and c o l l e c t i v e ba rga in ing were conta ined by i m p l i c a t i o n " i n i t . ^ I n r e a l i t y two ve ry d i f f e r e n t concepts of i n d u s t r i a l r e l a t i o n s under lay the two measures. Through the c e r t i f i c a t i o n p r o v i s i o n s of the Wagner A c t , the " r e f o r m e r s " of U.S. c a p i t a l i s m took c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g , which was the c h i l d of c lass consciousness, and p laced i t under the f o s t e r parenthood of the s t a t e . There was a c l e a r assumption i n the American law t h a t the road t o i n d u s t r i a l peace was paved w i t h c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g . The r o l e of the government was t h e r e f o r e t o make t h i s process com-p u l s o r y and then l e t i t work by i t s e l f . . . ( 1 5 ) Moreover, " c o l l e c t i v e ba rga in ing could f u n c t i o n on ly between equa ls" .16 Since pre-Wagner Act c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g had developed through the use of economic power by the work ing c l a s s , i t t h e o r e t i c a l l y f unc t i oned ( to the ex ten t t h a t i t f unc t i oned a t a l l ) between equa ls , i f the r i g h t t o w i t h h o l d labour can be equated to the r i g h t t o w i t h h o l d employment. I n p r a c t i c e , of course, s t a t e i n t e r v e n t i o n of the rep ress i ve v a r i e t y tended to t i p the balance i n favour of employers. Post-Wagner c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g a lso t h e o r e t i c a l l y f u n c t i o n e d between equa ls , but the na tu re of one of the p a r t i e s was a l t e r e d . Employers remained as they had always been. But the dev ice of c e r t i f i c a t i o n gave i n -s t i t u t i o n a l s a n c t i o n too the s o - c a l l e d " labour e l i t e " which undertook respon-s i b i l i t y f o r the o r d e r l y f u n c t i o n i n g of the system i n exchange f o r economic gains and "a secure s t a t u s and a u t h o r i t y comparable to those of management, i n i n d u s t r y and i n the a f f a i r s of the community."-'- 7 Hence the popular image of f a t - c a t un ion leaders meet ing employers i n board rooms to d iscuss ways of s e a l i n g out workers , which bears an element of t r u t h . Under the I D I A c t , the re was no such change i n the na tu re of the 14. p a r t i e s to the labour r e l a t i o n s system. As i n the years preceding 1907, un ion leaders ( p a r t i c u l a r l y i n the i n d u s t r i a l un ions) cou ld have l i t t l e expec ta t i on of s ta te -assu red s e c u r i t y and t h e r e f o r e tended to be more respon-s i ve to membership demands. The dichotomy between l e a d e r s ' a s p i r a t i o n s and behaviour and those of members was not so g r e a t , and consequent ly the c o l l e c -t i v e ba rga in ing system remained based i n the economic power of the work ing c l a s s . The p a r t i e s were the workers and management as opposed to the unions and management. Workers and t h e i r leaders de r i ved t h e i r power f rom t h e i r economic p o s i t i o n , f o r b e t t e r or worse and not f rom the law. I n t h i s sense the I D I Act "may w e l l have delayed the e v o l u t i o n , i n Canada, of mature c o l -l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g " , 1 ^ i f by m a t u r i t y we understand a system i n which labour leaders undertake r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r the maintenance of i n d u s t r i a l peace. B. The War and C o l l e c t i v e Barga in ing i n Canada 1 . Federa l ism and labour l e g i s l a t i o n There was no fundamental change i n the King system u n t i l w e l l on i n the Second World War, as n e i t h e r the f e d e r a l government nor any of the p r o -v inces in t roduced i n t o the i n d u s t r i a l r e l a t i o n s arena the element of s t a t e c o n t r o l represented by c e r t i f i c a t i o n . The Wagner Act had accompanied the sweeping New Deal l e g i s l a t i o n . But f o r the f i r s t f i v e years o f the depres-s i o n there was no d e s i r e on the p a r t of the Conservat ive government to i n t r o -duce New Dea l - t ype l e g i s l a t i o n i n Canada. When the be la ted Bennett New Deal package was r u l e d u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l by the Supreme Court of Canada i n 1936 or) and the J u d i c i a l Committee of the P r i v y Counc i l i n 1937, any l i n g e r i n g hopes of a f e d e r a l l y - s u p e r v i s e d na t i on -w ide labour r e l a t i o n s p o l i c y were smashed, a t l e a s t f o r the t ime b e i n g . By the s t a r t of the war, however, the prov inces had begun t o develop 15. , t h e i r own labour r e l a t i o n s p o l i c i e s , a l though these d i d no t r e p r e s e n t funda-mental depar tures f rom the King system. P r o v i n c i a l cab inets represent d i f f e r -i n g aggregat ions of i n t e r e s t s , so i t i s no t s u r p r i s i n g t h a t d i f f e r e n t approaches were adopted. P r ince Edward I s l a n d , f o r i n s t a n c e , was ab le to r e l y s o l e l y on common l a w ^ l because of the r e l a t i v e i n s i g n i f i c a n c e o f i n d u s t r y i n t h a t p rov ince and the consequent l a c k of wo rk ing -c lass p ressu re . The more i n d u s t r i a l i z e d prov inces had to meet the growing demand f o r the p r o t e c t i o n of i n d u s t r i a l u i ion ism w i t h some form of l e g i s l a t i o n . By 1938, s i x of the n ine prov inces had enacted s t a t u t e s i n t r o d u c i n g p r o v i n c i a l labour codes, and Quebec through d ive rse s t a t u t e s had l e g i s l a t e d to the same e f f e c t , so t h a t l e g i s l a t i o n a p p l y -i ng the I D I Act p r o v i n c i a l l y was i n f o r c e on ly i n On ta r io .22 Most of t h i s p r o v i n c i a l l e g i s l a t i o n guaranteed freedom of a s s o c i a t i o n , compulsory r e c o g n i t i o n and compulsory b a r g a i n i n g , but none of i t se t up the c e r t i f i c a t i o n machinery to c a r r y i t o u t . T y p i c a l of these ac ts was B r i t i s h Columbia's I n d u s t r i a l C o n c i l i a t i o n and A r b i t r a t i o n Act of 1937,23 discussed i n f u r t h e r d e t a i l i n Chapter I I . This Act s t i p u l a t e d t h a t employee b a r g a i n i n g r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s must be e lec ted by m a j o r i t y v o t e , but gave the s t a t e no r o l e i n i d e n t i f y i n g the p a r t i e s to c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g . The ac t c a r r i e d over f rom the I D I Act the system of compulsory c o n c i l i a t i o n , but lengthened the p r o -cess cons ide rab l y , thus g i v i n g employers more t ime to weaken un ion m i l i t a n c e . An amendment to t h i s B.C. l e g i s l a t i o n i n 1943 was the r e a l fo re runner of the Wagner Act system i n Canada. I t gave the m i n i s t e r of labour a u t h o r i t y to take whatever measures he deemed necessary to determine the v a l i d i t y of a u n i o n ' s c la im to represent a group of workers . A month a f t e r t h i s l e g i s l a t i o n was i n t r o d u c e d , Ontar io passed a law p u t t i n g a Wagner Act system, complete w i t h a network of labour c o u r t s , i n t o e f f e c t . But t h i s system f u n c t i o n e d f o r on ly a few months be fo re i t and a l l o ther p r o v i n c i a l laws were superseded by the Dominion Wartime Labour Re la t i ons Regu la t i ons . 16. 2. Ea r l y f e d e r a l wart ime labour p o l i c y I n the name of improved and speeded-up wart ime p r o d u c t i o n , the f e d -e r a l government assumed wide powers under the a u t h o r i t y of the War Measures A c t . Labour p o l i c y developed through o r d e r s - i n - c o u n c i l i n the e a r l y stages of the war avowedly saw " the peace-t ime emphasis on the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y of the group f o r the i n d i v i d u a l . . . s h i f t e d t o the i n d i v i d u a l ' s r e s p o n s i b i l i t y to the g r o u p . " ^ ^ Produc t ion f o r the war e f f o r t was he ld to be supreme, and the f e d e r a l government was a f r a i d the i ncons i s tency of p r o v i n c i a l labour law might hamper i t . Late i n 1939, t h e r e f o r e , the I D I Act was a p p l i e d to "defence p r o j e c t s and a l l i n d u s t r i e s producing mun i t ions and war s u p p l i e s " , which e f f e c t i v e l y p laced the major sec to rs of the economy under f e d e r a l j u r i s d i c t i o n . (The p r o v i n c e s , however, r e t a i n e d some c o n t r o l over the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n of the ac t through a system of r e g i o n a l labour boards . S tu a r t Jamieson suggests t h a t the King government should have seen the " h a n d w r i t i n g on the w a l l " and in t roduced Wagner Act l e g i s l a t i o n a t the v 27 s t a r t of the war. Undoubtedly elements i n the c a b i n e t , perhaps i n c l u d i n g King h i m s e l f , wanted to do so — j u s t as some i n d u s t r i a l i s t s recognized t h a t unions could be used to m a i n t a i n s t a b i l i t y i n i n d u s t r y . For most of the war, however, the r i g h t - w i n g i n d u s t r i a l i s t s i n the c a b i n e t , l e d by C. D. Howe, thwar ted the i n t r o d u c t i o n of compulsory ba rga in ing and r e c o g n i t i o n . This cab ine t f a c t i o n a l l i e d i t s e l f w i t h businessmen who had found t h e i r way i n t o the c i v i l s e r v i c e du r i ng the war. King showed h i s annoyance a t t h i s l a t t e r category when he t o l d a cab inet meet ing assembled to hear a un ion d e l e g a t i o n t h a t anyone who d i d not help to see t h a t our Labour p o l i c i e s were f u l l y c a r r i e d out would not be a i d i n g Canada's war e f f o r t . I made t h i s so s t rong t h a t l a t e r (Defence M i n i s t e r J . L . ) Ra ls ton sa id he thought I had been g i v i n g my co l leagues a spanking i n p u b l i c . I had not so in tended my words, but had meant them to he lp my co l leagues i n d e a l i n g w i t h the d o l l a r -17. a-year men (execut ives on loan f rom co rpo ra t i ons du r ing the war) and o thers who are respons ib le f o r the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n of p o l i c i e s . I went p r e t t y f a r i n making c l e a r t h a t some of these men were c a r r y i n g i n t o t h e i r r e l a t i o n s w i t h the Govern-ment p r e j u d i c e s which they , themselves, had aga ins t d e a l i n g w i t h un ions.28 A s tudent of the Canadian labour movement expressed the d i f f i c u l t y t h u s : The c o n t r o l l e r s and d i v i s i o n managers of the Department of Mun i t ions and Supply (headed by Howe) who stand a r e , on t h e i r own record f o r the most p a r t , advocates and p r a c t i -t i o n e r s of the "open shop" . Being p laced i n p o s i t i o n s as government execut ives has i n no way changed them f rom t h e i r h a b i t u a l ou t l ook i n mat te rs of i n d u s t r i a l r e l a t i o n s and t h e i r concept ion of e f f i c i e n t p l a n t o r g a n i z a t i o n . They appra ise the q u a l i t y of management i n the f i r m s competing f o r orders by the same standards as they use toward them-selves. . 29 Not on ly the " d o l l a r - a - y e a r " men but a lso t h e i r f r i e n d s i n cab ine t were opposed to the es tab l ishment of c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g . Howe was g iven to w i l d charges, f o r i ns tance t h a t "enemy a l i e n s " were respons ib le f o r a 1941 aluminum shutdown a l l e g e d to have s e r i o u s l y re ta rded a i r p l a n e p r o d u c t i o n . I n 1943, a t the he igh t of the wart ime " i n d u s t r i a l r e l a t i o n s c r i s i s "-^1 when the government was faced w i t h a western coa l mine s t r i k e , Howe seemed to have the o p i n i o n t h a t the miners would go back w i t h o u t t h e i r demands being met. He sa id t h a t , i n t ime of war, i t was necessary to be tough; t h a t the armed f o r c e s ordered men a t the f r o n t to be tough, e t c . (32) A v i s i t t o ' t h e 1943 convent ion of the Trades and Labour Congress convinced King t h a t " t h e loss of l a b o u r ' s support was the g r e a t e s t t h r e a t to the chances of the L i b e r a l p a r t y w inn ing the next e l e c t i o n . K i n g saw c l e a r l y how much the i n t r a n s i g e n c e of the Howe f a c t i o n endangered i n d u s t r i a l and p o l i t i c a l s t a b i l i t y when he wrote t h a t he f e l t r e a l sadness a t hea r t to t h i n k t h a t the labour movement which I had made so much my own, had been g e t t i n g away f rom the Government o f which I am the head s imply because of the degree to which some of my col leagues have become surrounded by i n t e r e s t s t h a t are a t l e a s t not sympathet ic to l a b o u r . ( 3 4 ) 18. There was good reason f o r King to f e a r an e l e c t o r a l swing t o the Cooperat ive Commonwealth Federa t ion and t o be apprehensive about the prospect of mounting labour u n r e s t . The I D I A c t , more than 30 years o l d , could not s a t i s f y the des i res of workers and un ion leaders to be considered " f u l l p a r t n e r s " i n the war e f f o r t . I t necess i t a ted constant t i n k e r i n g i n the form of o r d e r s - i n - c o u n c i l concerning e v e r y t h i n g f rom wage c o n t r o l s to government-superv ised s t r i k e v o t e s . A l t h o u g h P.O. 2685 i n 1940 dec la red the govern-ment to be i n favour of f r e e (not compulsory) c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g , " f a i r and reasonable" wages and freedom of o r g a n i z a t i o n , no means o f enforcement was p r o v i d e d . The r e s u l t i n g i n d u s t r i a l chaos i s documented i n Jamieson's study of t w e n t i e t h - c e n t u r y Canadian labour u n r e s t . S t r i k e s concent ra ted i n i n d u s t r i e s c r u c i a l t o the war e f f o r t , such as manu fac tu r ing , where the new i n d u s t r i a l unions sought an entrenched p o s i t i o n i n r e t u r n f o r t h e i r e f f o r t s to speed p roduc t ion .37 The h ighes t number of s t r i k e s i n the c o u n t r y ' s h i s t o r y was recorded i n 1943. Doubts about the s i n c e r i t y of the govern-ment i n i t s advocacy of compulsory r e c o g n i t i o n were r a i s e d i n s e v e r a l ins tances where employers re fused to n e g o t i a t e , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n the K i r k l a n d Lake M i n e r s ' s t r i k e du r ing the w i n t e r of 1941-42. The way out of t h i s mess, f o r the govern-ment, as f o r Canadian c a p i t a l i s m , po in ted w i t h i n c r e a s i n g c l a r i t y i n the d i r e c -t i o n of i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z e d c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g and the entrenchment of unions i n the i n d u s t r i a l s t r u c t u r e . To Canadian labour l e a d e r s , most of whom r e p r e -sented U . S . - a f f i l i a t e d unions or o r g a n i z i n g committees and were f a m i l i a r w i t h the Wagner Act system, i t looked a t t r a c t i v e . . . and became an i n s t i t u t i o n a l g o a l . . ; . Since the unions were denied the use o f the s t r i k e f o r o r g a n i z a t i o n a l or r e c o g n i t i o n purposes and s ince wages had been brought under c o n t r o l , the on ly a l t e r n a t i v e f o r them was to get government ass is tance to ensure freedom f o r workers to organize and to compel r e c o g n i t i o n and n e g o t i a t i o n . 3 9 19. By 1944, the i n d u s t r i a l i s t s i n the King cab ine t had a lso become a t t r a c t e d to the wonders of the Wagner Act system. 3. P.C. 1003: the Wagner Act system r e f i n e d A f t e r a t o r t u o u s s e r i e s of hear ings and conferences, 4 ^* the King cab inet f i n a l l y accepted the p r i n c i p l e of compulsory c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g i n September 1943. A dominion-wide labour code embodying the p r i n c i p l e was issued i n February 1944 as the Wartime Labour Re la t i ons Regu la t i ons . B e t t e r known as P.C. 1003, these r e g u l a t i o n s improved upon the Wagner Act system, adding the K i n g - i n s p i r e d compulsory c o n c i l i a t i o n procedure as a l o g i c a l ex tens ion of compulsory ba rga in ing and union r e c o g n i t i o n . As the Wagner Act had done f o r the U.S. , P.C. 1003 "brought ' a d m i n i s t r a t i v e law ' to the r e g u l a t i o n of r e l a t i o n s between Canadian employers and t h e i r e m p l o y e e s . " 4 ! The I D I Act was suspended. Power to c e r t i f y i n d i v i d -ua ls as "ba rga in ing r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s " f o r u n i t s of workers r e s t e d w i t h a War-t ime Labour Re la t i ons Board, c o n s i s t i n g of a chairman, v i ce -cha i rman and e i g h t o t h e r s . N e g o t i a t i o n was compulsory f o l l o w i n g c e r t i f i c a t i o n and i f the p a r t i e s could not reach agreement w i t h i n 30 days compulsory c o n c i l i a t i o n took p lace f i r s t be fo re a government c o n c i l i a t i o n o f f i c e r and t h e n , i f nec-essary , be fo re a th ree-person boa rd . C o n c i l i a t i o n boards under P.C. 1003, u n l i k e most, were se lec ted by the m i n i s t e r of labour a f t e r c o n s i d e r a t i o n of the p a r t i e s ' recommendations — an unusual measure of s t a t e involvement i n the c o l l e c t i v e ba rga in ing p r o c e s s . 4 ^ F i n a l l y , P.C. 1003 wiped out s t r i k e s over j u r i s d i c t i o n a l and r e c o g n i t i o n issues by f o r b i d d i n g work stoppages be fo re b a r g a i n i n g r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s had been e l e c t e d ( i n o ther words, be fo re c e r t i f i c a -t i o n had taken p l a c e ) . I t a lso became i l l e g a l to s t r i k e d u r i n g the term of an agreement, or be fo re 14 days had elapsed f rom the t ime of a c o n c i l i a t i o n board r e p o r t . 4 4 A 1941 o r d e r - i n - c o u n c i l 4 ^ which made a government-supervised 20. s t r i k e vo te mandatory be fo re any walkout remained i n e f f e c t . By a u t h o r i t y of the War Measures A c t , P.C. 1003 covered a l l defence p r o j e c t s and war i n d u s t r i e s . I n a d d i t i o n , f i v e prov inces passed l e g i s l a t i o n app ly ing i t to a l l i n d u s t r i e s under t h e i r j u r i s d i c t i o n and undertook to admin is te r the r e g u l a t i o n s p r o v i n c i a l l y . O n t a r i o , New Brunswick, Nova Sco t ia and Manitoba e s t a b l i s h e d p r o v i n c i a l wart ime labour r e l a t i o n s boards f o r t h i s purpose, but i n B.C. the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n remained w i t h the m i n i s t e r of l a b o u r , whose department s t a f f thus d i d the b u l k of the work i n v o l v e d i n the c e r t i f i -46 c a t i o n process. P.C. 1003 was both the d e c i s i v e step toward i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z a t i o n of c o l l e c t i v e ba rga in ing i n Canada and a re f inement of the Wagner Act i n t h a t r e g a r d . I n adopt ing the c e r t i f i c a t i o n process i t t r a n s f e r r e d the bas is of the power to f o r c e un ion r e c o g n i t i o n f rom the economic p o t e n t i a l of the workers to the coerc ive p o t e n t i a l of the s t a t e . T h i s , as we have seen, was the essen-t i a l element i n the Wagner Act s y s t e m . ^ But P.C. 1003 c a r r i e d over f rom the King system a number of f ea tu res which a c t u a l l y f lowed l o g i c a l l y f rom the concept of s t a t e r e c o g n i t i o n of un ions . Among these were the ou t law ing o f s t r i k e s i n d ispu tes over j u r i s d i c t i o n , r e c o g n i t i o n , or the i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of c o l l e c t i v e agreements, the severe c u r t a i l m e n t of the s t r i k e weapon i n n e g o t i a -t i o n d i s p u t e s , and the compulsory c o n c i l i a t i o n process. The Wagner A c t ' s r e c o g n i t i o n of unions as i n d u s t r i a l i n s t i t u t i o n s was based on the assumption t h a t so recogn ized , they would f u n c t i o n as i n d u s t r i a l s t a b i l i z e r s . The d r a f t e r s of P.C. 1003 reasoned t h a t i f the s t a t e was going to g i ve i t s s a n c t i o n to unions and to c o l l e c t i v e agreements, s t r i k e s over j u r i s d i c t i o n a l or r e c o g n i t i o n issues or the i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of agreements should be out lawed. To do o therwise would be to de fea t the p u r -pose of the o r i g i n a l s t a t e s a n c t i o n . And, s ince the p o i n t of the p o l i c y was 2 1 . to preserve s t a b i l i t y and t h u s , i n p a r t , to .prevent s t r i k e s , government i n t e r -v e n t i o n i n n e g o t i a t i o n s i n the form of compulsory c o n c i l i a t i o n was a lso a l o g i c a l component of s t a t e labour p o l i c y . And, of course, c o n c i l i a t i o n could not work e f f e c t i v e l y w i t h o u t the ban on s t r i k e s du r ing the c o n c i l i a t i o n process . There could be no a p p l i c a t i o n of economic power dur ing the t ime when the s t a t e , by v i r t u e of i t s coerc ive power, was i n v o l v e d i n the c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g process. So there was no p lace f o r h a l f - h e a r t e d s t a t e involvement i n c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g . Once the s t a t e was i n , i t had to get i n up to i t s neck. Whi le the Wagner Act had not i nc luded any of these l o g i c a l c o r o l l a r i e s of s t a t e - s a n c t i o n e d c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g , 4 8 they were adopted and f u r t h e r s t rengthened i n the U.S. T a f t - H a r t l e y Act of 1947. T h i r t y years l a t e r , we can see t h a t P.C. 1003 ushered i n an era of s t a t e involvement i n c o l l e c t i v e ba rga in ing which has been of dubious b e n e f i t to the labour movement. I f the s t a t e can bestow r i g h t s on a u n i o n , many have found, i t can a lso take them away. To wart ime labour l e a d e r s , however, these r a m i f i c a t i o n s of P.C. 1003 were not immediate ly apparent . The i r r e a c t i o n was "main ly one of a p p r e c i a t i o n " . 4 9 The t r a n s i t i o n to the i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z e d c o l -l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g system seemed to be a r e l i e f to a l l types of labour l e a d e r s . The c e r t i f i c a t i o n process he ld obvious advantages f o r the more c o n s e r v a t i v e l y -o r i e n t e d c r a f t un ion l e a d e r s , whose main concern was c o n s o l i d a t i n g t h e i r l eadersh ip p o s i t i o n s i n the face of a t t a c k s f rom i n d u s t r i a l un ions . The leaders of the non-Communist i n d u s t r i a l unions i n the Canadian Congress o f Labour, applauded P.C. 1003 as "a long-sought bas is on which to b u i l d . " ^ ^ And the communist leaders of CCL unions such as the I n t e r n a t i o n a l Woodworkers of America were a lso g e n e r a l l y i n favour of P.C. 1003, perhaps b l i n d e d t o the i m p l i c a t i o n s of the s t r i k e - r e s t r i c t i n g aspects of the order because they had v o l u n t a r i l y g iven up the s t r i k e weapon anyway f o r the d u r a t i o n of the war. 22. The CCL unions d i d , however, argue t h a t the government ought to i n s t i t u t i o n -a l i z e the next l o g i c a l s tep i n the c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g process , namely un ion s e c u r i t y and un ion shop agreements.-*! 4 . Post-war developments When P.C. 1003, along w i t h o ther dominion wart ime l e g i s l a t i o n , lapsed i n March 1947, a l l the prov inces had passed or put i n t o e f f e c t t h e i r own c o l -l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g laws.^2 These p r o v i n c i a l laws have been descr ibed as S3 " s u f f i c i e n t l y s i m i l a r to c o n s t i t u t e a f a i r l y un i fo rm n a t i o n a l l abor code" . Whi le t h i s i s t r u e , an impor tan t con t roversy i n each p rov ince preceded the passage of each p r o v i n c i a l s t a t u t e and the p e c u l i a r i t i e s of each p r o v i n c e ' s p o l i t i c s had t h e i r e f f e c t on the f i n a l outcome. The p o s s i b i l i t y of f e d e r a l d i c t a t i o n of peacetime labour p o l i c y was dead and b u r i e d . I n 1940 the r e p o r t of the S i r o i s Commission on Dominion-P r o v i n c i a l R e l a t i o n s , w h i l e c r i t i c i z i n g the i m p r a c t i c a l i t y o f the f e d e r a l -p r o v i n c i a l d i v i s i o n of j u r i s d i c t i o n i n labour (as w e l l as o t h e r ) m a t t e r s , recognized t h a t some aspects of labour p o l i c y , i n p a r t i c u l a r " r e l a t i o n s o f employer and employee . . . should conform to the genera l s o c i a l ou t l ook of the r e g i o n . " ^ ^ For cases where a n a t i o n a l p o l i c y was obv ious l y d e s i r a b l e , the commission recommended t h a t u n i f o r m i t y be gained through p r o v i n c i a l t r a n s f e r of j u r i s d i c t i o n to the dominion government."^ But i n 1946, when a conference of labour m i n i s t e r s was c a l l e d to d iscuss post -war p o l i c y , even t h i s m i l d measure of n a t i o n a l c o n t r o l was handled w i t h k i d gloves and e v e n t u a l l y dropped. A r e s o l u t i o n f a v o u r i n g " t h e adopt ion as f a r as p r a c t i c a b l e of un i fo rm c o l l e c -t i v e ba rga in ing l e g i s l a t i o n .by the p rov inces and the Dominion" was p a s s e d , ^ but i t was c l e a r t h a t the p r o v i n c i a l m i n i s t e r s would not l e t i t s tand i n the way of cons ide ra t i ons c lose r to home. 23. None of the l e g i s l a t i o n adopted by the prov inces a f t e r the Second World War contravened the bas ic p r i n c i p l e s o f the Wagner Act system as r e f i n e d by P.C. 1003. But f u r t h e r re f inements of the system were i n t roduced and the d e f i n i t i o n of p r o v i n c i a l labour p o l i c y was a hot i t em of p o l i t i c a l debate i n the post-war y e a r s . The f o l l o w i n g chapters narrow the focus and concent ra te s p e c i f i c a l l y on the case of B r i t i s h Columbia, where the Wagner Act system was given.permanent i n s t i t u t i o n a l s ta tus by the I n d u s t r i a l C o n c i l i a t i o n and A r b i -t r a t i o n Act of 1947. 2 4 , Notes to Chapter 1 1 S tuar t Jamieson, I n d u s t r i a l r e l a t i o n s i n Canada, Second e d i t i o n , Toron to : Macmi l lan , 1973, 120-121. See a lso P h i l i p T a f t , "Organized Labor and the New D e a l " , i n How C o l l e c t i v e Barga in ing Works, New York: The Twent ie th Century Fund. 1945. 2 H. D. Woods, Labour P o l i c y i n Canada, second e d i t i o n , Toron to ; Macmi l lan 1973, 131-132. 3 S tuar t Jamieson, " I n d u s t r i a l r e l a t i o n s and government p o l i c y " , CJEPS, 17 (1951): 30. 4 S tuar t Jamieson, Times of t r o u b l e : labour unres t and i n d u s t r i a l c o n f l i c t i n Canada, 1900-66, Task f o r c e on labour r e l a t i o n s , study no. 22, Ottawa: P r i v y Counc i l O f f i c e , 1968, 49-50. 5 I b i d . , 50. 6 I n d u s t r i a l c o n f l i c t i n Canada dur ing the 1960s was much more a phenomenon of secondary than of pr imary i n d u s t r y . Here my a n a l y s i s , w h i l e v a l i d f o r the 1940s, would need e l a b o r a t i o n and q u a l i f i c a t i o n i f i t were to be a p p l i e d t o a l l p e r i o d s . 7 Quoted i n H. D. Woods, "Canadian c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g and d i s p u t e s e t t l e -ment p o l i c y : an a p p r a i s a l " , CJEPS, 21 (1955): 248-249. See a lso Jamieson, Times of T roub le , 113. 8 I n d u s t r i a l Disputes I n v e s t i g a t i o n A c t , S. C. 1907, ch . 20, s . 2. 9 Jamieson, Times of T roub le , 70, 129. 10 See i b i d . , ch . 2. 11 See Canada, Department of Labour, J u d i c i a l proceedings respec t i ng c o n s t i t u - t i o n a l v a l i d i t y of the I n d u s t r i a l Disputes I n v e s t i g a t i o n A c t , 1907, Ottawa: King!?;s P r i n t e r , 1925, 3 3 - 4 1 . 12 An Act to Amend the I n d u s t r i a l Disputes I n v e s t i g a t i o n Act (1907) , S. C. 1925. 13 Woods, Labour P o l i c y , 24. 14 I b i d . , 341 . 15 I b i d . , 82. 16 Jamieson, " I n d u s t r i a l r e l a t i o n s and government p o l i c y " , 30. 17 I b i d . , 28. See a lso Stanley Aronowi tz , "Trade Unionism and Workers' C o n t r o l " , i n Gerry Hunnius, G. David Garson and John Case, e d s . , Workers' C o n t r o l : a reader on labour and s o c i a l change, New York: V in tage Books, 1973, esp. 84-85. 25. 18 P r o v i s i o n f o r government r e g i s t r a t i o n of unions had e x i s t e d f rom 1872 to 1892 but few unions took advantage of i t . See Woods, Labour P o l i c y , 4 0 - 4 1 . 19 Jamieson, Times o f T roub le , 129. 20 Kenneth McNaught, The Pe l i can h i s t o r y of Canada, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1969, 256. 21 Aside f rom a n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y f e d e r a l s t a t u t e which f r e e d workers f rom c r i m i n a l p r o s e c u t i o n f o r un ion membership. 22 Woods, Labour p o l i c y , 23; 6 6 - 7 1 . 23 S.B.C. 1937, ch . 3 1 . 24 Woods, Labour p o l i c y , 84-5 . 25 Bryce M. Stewar t , "War-t ime labour prob lems" , i n J . F. Park inson , e d . , Canadian war economics, Toronto : U n i v e r s i t y of Toronto Press , 1941, 75. 26 Aranka Kovacs, "Compulsory c o n c i l i a t i o n i n Canada", i n Labor Law J o u r n a l , February 1959; r e p r i n t e d i n A. E. Kovacs, e d . , Readings i n Canadian labour economics, Toron to : McGraw-H i l l , 1961, 202. 27 Jamieson, Times of T roub le , 280. 28 J . W. P i c k e r s g i l l , e d . , The Mackenzie King r e c o r d , V o l . 1 : 1939-1944, Toronto : U n i v e r s i t y of Toronto Press , 1962, 178. 29 H. A. Logan, "Canada's C o n t r o l of Labour R e l a t i o n s " , Behind the Head l ines , 2: 2 (October 1941) , 23. 30 See P i c k e r s g i l l , op_. c i t . , 228-33) . 31 Jamieson, Times of T roub le , 280. 32 P i c k e r s g i l l , ap_. c i t . , 593. 33 I b i d . , 572. 34 Loc. c i t . 35 For a l i s t of the o r d e r s - i r i - c o u n c i l , see H. A. Logan, Trade Unions i n Canada, Toronto : Macmi l lan , 1948, 15. 36 Stewar t , op_. c i t . , 76; Woods, Labour P o l i c y , 7 1 . 37 Jamieson, Times of T roub le , 282 f f . 38 I b i d . , 293. 39 Woods, Labour P o l i c y , 8 0 - 8 1 . 40 Discussed i n H. A. Logan, S ta te i n t e r v e n t i o n and ass is tance i n c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g : the Canadian exper ience, 1943-54. Toronto : U n i v e r s i t y of Toronto Press , 1956 (Canadian Studies i n Economics, no. 6 ) , 14-23. 26. 41 J . C. Cameron and F. J . L. Young, The s t a t u s of t rade unions i n Canada, K ings ton : Queen's U n i v e r s i t y Dept. of I n d u s t r i a l R e l a t i o n s , 1960, 67. 42 Wartime Labour Re la t ions Regu la t i ons , P.C. 1003 (1944) , sec. 5. 43 I b i d . , sec. 30 ( 1 ) . 44 I b i d . , sec. 21 (1) (a) and ( b ) . 45 P.C. 7307. 46 Logan, S ta te i n t e r v e n t i o n , 30. The B r i t i s h Columbia l e g i s l a t i o n app l y ing P.C. 1003 to i n d u s t r i e s under p r o v i n c i a l j u r i s d i c t i o n a l so suspended the p r o v i n c i a l ICA Act f o r as long as P.C. 1003 remained i n e f f e c t . See Wartime Labour Re la t i ons Regula t ions A c t , S.B.C. 1944, ch . 18. 47 While P.C. 1003 i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z e d c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g , the unions were n o t , per se , p a r t i e s t o i t . The r e g u l a t i o n s p rov ided f o r the c e r t i f i c a t i o n not of unions but o f "ba rga in ing r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s " , which meant i t was s t i l l poss ib le f o r company unions to be c e r t i f i e d and f o r employers to re fuse to accede to un ion s e c u r i t y demands. I n p r a c t i c e , of course, most " b a r g a i n i n g r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s " were a c t u a l l y un ion o f f i c e r s . 48 H. A. Logan, "The s t a t e and c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g " , CJEPS, 10 (1944): 476-488. 49 Logan, Sta te i n t e r v e n t i o n , 3 1 . 50 S tee l Labor, March 3 1 , 1944, 1 . 51 See Appendix A. 52 When P.C. 1003 lapsed , the I D I Act remained i n e f f e c t i n the f e d e r a l j u r i s d i c t i o n . I n 1948 i t was rep laced w i t h a new I D I A c t , embodying the bas ic p r i n c i p l e s of P.C. 1003 w i t h a s t ronger p r o v i s i o n s aga ins t company unionism and o ther minor changes. See Woods, Labour p o l i c y , 94-98. 53- 'Jamieson, I n d u s t r i a l r e l a t i o n s i n Canada, 124. 54 Canada, Royal Commission on Domin ion -P rov inc ia l R e l a t i o n s , Repor t , Ottawa: K i n g ' s P r i n t e r , 1940, v o l . 2 , 46. 55 This would have r e q u i r e d a c o n s t i t u t i o n a l amendment. See Woods, Labour p o l i c y , 98-99. 56 Logan, Sta te i n t e r v e n t i o n , 4 1 . 57 Labour Gazet te , 46 (1946) , 1525. 58 I n i t s submission to the S i r o i s Commission, B.C. had recommended t h a t the Dominion have power to put f l o o r s under wages and c e i l i n g s on hours of work, but t h a t the prov inces r e t a i n a u t h o r i t y to improve the Dominion measures i f they so d e s i r e d . See B r i t i s h Columbia, B r i t i s h Columbia i n the Canadian Confedera t ion , V i c t o r i a : K i n g ' s P r i n t e r , 1938, 352. CHAPTER I I THE BACKGROUND TO CLASS CONFLICT AND POLITICS IN BRITISH COLUMBIA I n t r o d u c t i o n . The preceding chapter has shown the ex ten t to which dominion labour p o l i c y i n f l u e n c e d t h a t of the p r o v i n c e s . While the reader must keep t h i s i n f l u e n c e i n mind, t h i s s tudy i s concerned w i t h the i n t e r - and i n t r a - c l a s s c o n f l i c t s of a s i n g l e p rov ince and w i t h t h e i r e f f e c t on the p o l i t i c a l system of t h a t p r o v i n c e . This i s the sub jec t of the remaining chap te rs . Before passing to i t , however, i t must be e s t a b l i s h e d w i t h as much p r e c i s i o n as p o s s i b l e j u s t who we are t a l k i n g about when we r e f e r to d i f f e r e n t c l a s s e s , and what the c lass composi t ion of B r i t i s h Columbia was du r ing the p e r i o d under d i s -cuss ion . A f t e r doing t h i s I w i l l d iscuss the c lass compos i t ion of the l e g i s l a -t u r e and the c a b i n e t , and compare i t to t h a t of the p rov ince as a whole, suggest ing some conc lus ions about the c lass and r e g i o n a l bases of B r i t i s h Columbia's p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s . The t h i r d p a r t of t h i s chapter discusses the growth of labour unions and the r e a c t i o n of employers du r i ng the 1930s and the Second World War, w i t h emphasis on labour l e g i s l a t i o n . A. The c lass s t r u c t u r e of B r i t i s h Columbia, 1941-51., Table 2-1 shows some h i g h l i g h t s of B r i t i s h Columbia's c lass s t r u c t u r e i n 1941 and 1951. The c r i t e r i o n used f o r c lass membership i s r e l a t i o n s h i p t o the means of p r o d u c t i o n , as n e a r l y as i t can be determined. The p o p u l a t i o n i s d i v i d e d i n t o those who employ o t h e r s , those who work on t h e i r "own accoun t " , those who are employed by o thers and a l a r g e c lass of " o t h e r s " who are depen-dent e i t h e r on members of these f i r s t th ree c lasses or on the s t a t e . The f i r s t th ree c lasses I s h a l l c a l l the " p r o d u c t i o n c l a s s e s " , s ince these are 28. the people a c t u a l l y engaged i n p r o d u c t i o n or i n a d m i n i s t e r i n g the processes of p r o d u c t i o n . Despi te the l i m i t a t i o n s of census data d e t a i l e d i n the notes to Table 2 - 1 , c e r t a i n t rends can be i d e n t i f i e d . F i r s t of a l l , the number of people i n the p r o d u c t i o n c lasses d e c l i n e d , between 1941 and 1951, f rom 56.5 to 51.7 per cent o f the t o t a l a d u l t p o p u l a t i o n . The major f a c t o r i n t h i s t r e n d was the tendency toward e a r l i e r r e t i r e m e n t : f o r every th ree people l i s t e d as " r e t i r e d or permanent ly d i s a b l e d " i n 1941 the re were almost e i g h t i n 1951. A less impor tan t f a c t o r was the re-emergence, a f t e r the war and the depress ion , of the nuc lear f a m i l y as a s o c i a l u n i t , v i s i b l e i n the s l i g h t percentage increase i n the number of "homemakers", as w e l l as the huge jump i n the number of chi ldren."*" 29. TABLE 2-1 Class s t r u c t u r e of B r i t i s h Columbia p o p u l a t i o n , 1941-1951. Source: Census of Canada 1941 v o l . I t . 57, v o l . V I t . 6, v o l . V I I t . 5. 1951 v o l . IV t . 3, t . 1 1 . Class 1941 % of % of 1951 % of % of t o t a l p r o d . t o t a l p r o d , pop. c lasses P°P- c lasses over 14 over 14 Employers 1 9,708 1.5 2.6 17,729 2 .1 4.0 P e t i t e bourgeo is ie? - - . . Managers 5,434 0.8- 1.5 17 ,653 3 2 . 1 4.0 Finance & Law 1,573 0.2 0.4 3,131 0.4 0.7 Other p r o f e s s i o n a l 3,400 0.5 0.9 2,970 0.4 0.7 Sel f -employed(non- 33,163 5 . 1 9.0 30,658 3.6 6.9 p r o f e s s i o n a l ) Farmers 20,507 3 . 1 5.5 16,818 2.0 3.8 T o t a l 64,077 9.7 17.3 71,230 8.3 1 6 . 0 1 0 P r o l e t a r i a t Paid I n d u s t r i a l 206,353 31.5 55.7 308,403 35.9 69.4 A g r i c u l t u r a l 12,124 1.9 3.3 8,371 1.0 1.9 M i l i t a r y 29,3043 4.5 7.9 6,804 0.8 1.5 P r o f e s s i o n a l 4 13,656 2 . 1 3.7 28,969 3.4 6.5 Unpaid^ I n d u s t r i a l & p r o f e s s i o n a l 3,226 0.5 0.9 1,706 0.2 0.4 A g r i c u l t u r a l 4,710 0 : 7 1.3 1,140 0 . 1 0.3 Unemployed 27,057 4 . 1 7.3 (6) T o t a l 296,430 45.3 80 .1 355,393 41.3 80.0 T o t a l p r o d u c t i o n c lasses 370,215 56.5 100.0 444,352 51.7 100.0 Others Students 45,969 7.0 48,281 5.6 I n i n s t i t u t i o n s Ret i red /permanent ly d i sab led "Homemakers" T o t a l T o t a l over 14 y r s . Under 14 years T o t a l p o p u l a t i o n 6,533 33,453 198,770 30.4 284,725 43.5 654,940 100.0 162,921 817,861 10,696 1.2 86 ,040 7 10.0 270,609 8 31.5 415,626 48.3 859,978 100.0 290,051 1,165,210 9 30. Notes to t a b l e 2-1 •""Includes a g r i c u l t u r a l employers and those i n p r o f e s s i o n s . ^The vex ing category of p e t i t e bou rgeo is ie was determined as f o l l o w s : Managers l i s t e d i n the census as "wage-earners" were i n c l u d e d . Real es ta te and insurance agents as w e l l as s t o c k b r o k e r s , judges and magis-t r a t e s and lawyers and n o t a r i e s who were l i s t e d as wage-earners are grouped i n the " f i n a n c e and law" ca tegory . These two ca tegor ies = ("managers" and " f i n a n c e and l aw" ) are the on ly two ca tegor ies l i s t e d i n the census as "wage-earners" which do not appear under " p r o l e t a r i a t " . "Other p r o f e s s i o a n l " i nc ludes a l l p r o f e s s i o n a l s l i s t e d i n the census as se l f -employed ("own a c c o u n t " ) . ^ Inc ludes m i l i t a r y o f f i c e r s . ^ " P r o f e s s i o n a l p r o l e t a r i a t " i nc ludes a l l p r o f e s s i o n a l s , such as p h y s i c i a n s , s o c i a l workers , eng ineers , e t c . , who are l i s t e d as "wage-earners" i n the census, w i t h the excep t ion o f judges and mag is t ra tes and s a l a r i e d lawyers and n o t a r i e s . -*While l i s t e d as unpa id , many o f these a c t u a l l y rece ived some c o n s i d e r a t i o n , such as board , f o r t h e i r labour and thus were i n e f f e c t i n v o l v e d i n a wage r e l a t i o n s h i p . ^Unemployed were not d i f f e r e n t i a t e d f rom the r e s t o f the " l abour f o r c e " i n the 1951 census. ^ Inc ludes " v o l u n t a r i l y i d l e " and " o t h e r " c a t e g o r i e s . ^ Inc ludes 266 males. •^Includes 751 "who have never worked and were seeking work" and 14,430 Ind ians l i v i n g on rese rves . S l i g h t d isc repanc ies occur due to rounding o f f . 31. Other t rends may be noted when the p r o d u c t i o n c lasses are considered sepa-r a t e l y . The number of p r o l e t a r i a n s dec l i ned f rom 45 to 41 per cent o f the a d u l t p o p u l a t i o n , bu t when i t i s considered as a percentage of the p r o d u c t i o n c l a s s e s , the re i s no corresponding d rop . The p r o l e t a r i a t remained a constant 80 per cent o f those who produced or admin is te red p r o d u c t i o n . There appears to have been a net r i s e i n the i n d u s t r i a l p r o l e t a r i a t expressed as a percentage of bo th the t o t a l a d u l t p o p u l a t i o n and the p r o d u c t i o n c lasses . This i s . no t as s i g n i f i c a n t as i t appears, however, because most o f the "unemployed" l i s t e d separa te l y i n 1941 would l i k e l y have f a l l e n i n t o the i n d u s t r i a l p r o l e t a r i a t had the 1951 c r i -t e r i a been used. I t i s wor th n o t i n g , however, t h a t the ranks of the i n d u s t r i a l p r o l e t a r i a t were swel led not on ly by t h i s s t a t i s t i c a l foo twork but a lso by p o s t -war d e m o b i l i z a t i o n . The " m i l i t a r y p r o l e t a r i a t " dropped f rom 7.9 to 1.5 per cent of the " p r o d u c t i o n c l a s s e s " and helped boost the i n d u s t r i a l p r o l e t a r i a t by a l -most 14 percentage p o i n t s . The net movement i n the p r o d u c t i o n c lasses i s a seemingly i n s i g n i f i c a n t s h i f t o f s l i g h t l y more than one per cent f rom the p e t i t e bourgeo is ie to the bourgeo is ie p roper . This movement can be rendered more meaningfu l i f we exa-mine movements w i t h i n the p e t i t e b o u r g e o i s i e . Th is c l a s s , compr is ing s e l f -employed people and s a l a r i e d managers, has r e a l l y two w ings : f i r s t , the mana-g e r i a l , f i n a n c i a l and p r o f e s s i o n a l i n d i v i d u a l s who ac t as f a c i l i t a t o r s and a d m i n i s t r a t o r s i n the p r o d u c t i o n process and second, the n o n - p r o f e s s i o n a l s e l f -employed and the farmers who are more or l ess independent agents of p roduc t i on and d i s t r i b u t i o n . The f i r s t o f these wings increased bo th n u m e r i c a l l y and i n percentage between 1941 and 1951, w i t h the inc rease i n the number o f managers be ing the most pronounced. The number of independent p r o f e s s i o n a l s dropped as many o f them s l i p p e d i n t o the s a l a r i e d p r o f e s s i o n a l c l a s s . The second wing of the p e t i t e b o u r g e o i s i e , the independent producers and d i s t r i b u t o r s , exper ienced a profound d e c l i n e and o f f s e t the inc rease i n the f i r s t wing to the ex ten t t h a t 32. the c lass as a percentage o f the p r o d u c t i o n c lasses d e c l i n e d . ^ The c o r r e -sponding ga in by the bourgeo is ie was enough t o move i t f rom 2.6 to 4 per cent of the p r o d u c t i o n c lasses , or s l i g h t l y more than two per cent of the a d u l t p o p u l a t i o n . The net e f f e c t of the movements i n the bourgeois and p e t i t e -bourgeois c lasses , t hen , was to inc rease the number of people i n v o l v e d i n ownership, management and f a c i l i t a t i o n o f co rpora te p r o d u c t i o n and to de-crease the number i n v o l v e d i n independent p r o d u c t i o n . I have noted t h a t the people i n the " o t h e r s " and "under 14 yea rs " c a t e -gory were dependent f o r t h e i r l i v e l i h o o d e i t h e r on members o f the th ree p roduc t i on c lasses or on the s t a t e . A t r u e r p i c t u r e of the p r o v i n c e ' s c lass s t r u c t u r e might be obta ined i f those dependent on o ther i n d i v i d u a l s could be a l l o c a t e d among the c lasses which prov ided t h e i r means o f suppor t . I n the absence of data which would enable t h i s to be done w i t h any th ing approaching accuracy, we may assume t h a t those people not dependent on the s t a t e were d i s t r i b u t e d among the th ree p roduc t i on c l a s s . I n o ther words, rough ly 80 per cent depended f o r t h e i r l i v e l i h o o d on wage-earners, 16 per cent oh the se l f -employed and manager ia l c lasses and fou r per cent on the b o u r g e o i s i e . Thus the r i g h t - h a n d percentage columns i n Table 2-1 correspond most n e a r l y to the numer ica l s t r e n g t h of each c lass i n B r i t i s h Columbia i n 1941 and 1951, w i t h the impor tan t q u a l i f i c a t i o n t h a t an unknown percentage depended on the s t a t e f o r suppor t . There i s no reason to suppose t h a t any o f the p r o d u c t i o n c lasses claimed a d i s p r o p o r t i o n a t e share of most of B r i t i s h Columbia's de-3 pendent groups. I f these assumptions are v a l i d , the conc lus ion f o l l o w s t h a t i n post -war B r i t i s h Columbia a l i t t l e more than 40 per cent of the a d u l t p o p u l a t i o n so ld i t s l a b o u r i n g power e i t h e r to the s t a t e or to a smal l group of employers and used the proceeds to support not on ly i t s e l f but a f u r t h e r 40 per cent ( l ess 33. the unknown number supported by the s t a t e ) . Whi le the wage- labour ing c lass was l o s i n g members to r e t i r e m e n t and the home, i t was g a i n i n g f rom the r e t u r n -i n g armed fo rces and f rom the ranks o f one wing of the p e t i t e b o u r g e o i s i e . Re f lec ted i n these t rends i s the dominance o f the c a p i t a l i s t mode of p r o -d u c t i o n , c h a r a c t e r i z e d by wage- labour . The d e c l i n i n g p r o p o r t i o n o f the p o p u l a t i o n engaged i n independent commodity p r o d u c t i o n shows t h a t the c a p i -t a l i s t mode was becoming even more dominant than i t had been. Given t h a t so many worked f o r so few, the importance of the s o c i a l and economic i n s t i t u -t i o n s sur rounding the wage r e l a t i o n s h i p i s c l e a r . The sway he ld by i n d u s -t r i a l c a p i t a l i s m over the means of l i v e l i h o o d o f the people of the prov ince was bound to generate p o l i t i c a l c o n f l i c t . B. Class r e p r e s e n t a t i o n i n the 1947 l e g i s l a t u r e . At the t ime when the founda t i on f o r the modern i n d u s t r i a l r e l a t i o n s system of B r i t i s h Columbia was l a i d , the c lass composi t ion o f the p r o v i n c i a l l e g i s l a t u r e bore l i t t l e resemblance to the c lass s t r u c t u r e o u t l i n e d above. Not s u r p r i s i n g l y , the p r o l e t a r i a t was s e r i o u s l y under - rep resen ted . More than h a l f the members of the l e g i s l a t i v e assembly came f rom the p e t i t e b o u r g e o i s i e , which accounted f o r l ess than 10 per cent of the t o t a l - a d u l t p o p u l a t i o n . O v e r - r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of the bou rgeo is ie i n the l e g i s l a t u r e was not as pronounced, a l though s t i l l p resen t . A b r i e f p o l i t i c a l h i s t o r y w i l l he lp the reader understand the f o l l o w i n g d i s c u s s i o n . B .C . ' s p o l i t i c a l system cons is ted main ly o f two p a r t i e s , the L i b e r a l s and the Conservat ives f rom 1903 u n t ' i l 1933. I n t h a t year the Conservat ive government of Simon Fraser To lmie , having proved unable to cope w i t h the p r o v i n c e ' s economic problems, was rep laced by Duf f P a t t u l l o ' s L i b -e r a l s . An unsuccess fu l Tory a t tempt to coax the L i b e r a l s i n t o a " n o n - p a r t i -34. san" c o a l i t i o n f a i l e d and the Conserva t ives , many of whom ran under a " n o n - p a r t i s a n " banner, were a n n i h i l a t e d . The mant le of o f f i c i a l o p p o s i t i o n f e l l to the Co-opera t ive Commonwealth Federa t ion (CCF), the " f a r m e r - l a b o u r -s o c i a l i s t " p a r t y which rece ived 10 seats and 31.5 per cent of the popular vo te i n i t s f i r s t e l e c t i o n . P a t t u l l o su rv i ved a 1937 e l e c t i o n but f a i l e d to w in a m a j o r i t y i n 1941. Rather than depend on the CCF f o r support the L i b -e r a l s entered i n t o a c o a l i t i o n government w i t h the Conserva t ives . P a t t u l l o thereupon res igned and was succeeded as premier b y . h i s f inance m i n i s t e r , John H a r t . Cabinet p o s i t i o n s i n the c o a l i t i o n government were d i v i d e d rough-l y accord ing to the p r o p o r t i o n of seats he ld by the two p a r t i e s , but f o r a v a r i e t y of reasons (d iscussed i n chapter 5) i t was no t an easy a l l i a n c e . While the c o a l i t i o n candidates i n the 1945 and 1949 e l e c t i o n s d i d not run as L i b e r a l s and Conservat ives , i n a l l bu t a few cases t h e i r p a r t y a f f i l i a -t i o n s l u r k e d c lose to the s u r f a c e . The c o a l i t i o n r e g i s t e r e d a net ga in of f o u r seats f rom the CCF i n the 1945 e l e c t i o n . Table 2-2 a t tempts t o c l a s s i f y the MLAs i n the 1947 l e g i s l a t u r e accord ing to the d i v i s i o n s i n Table 2 - 1 . While there are probably some d i s -crepancies owing to the l ack or i n a c c e s s i b i l i t y o f b i o g r a p h i c a l d a t a , the two t a b l e s are reasonably comparable. Table 2-2 shows the o v e r a l l ove r -and u n d e r - r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o u t l i n e d a t the beg inn ing of t h i s s e c t i o n . One-s i x t h of the l e g i s l a t u r e , as opposed to two per cent of the a d u l t p o p u l a t i o n , was composed o f bourgeois elements. Twenty-nine out o f 48, or 60 per c e n t , of the MLAs came from the two wings o f the p e t i t e b o u r g e o i s i e , which c la imed about n ine per cent o f the a d u l t p o p u l a t i o n . The 10 MLAs c lassed as " p r o -l e t a r i a n " c o n s t i t u t e a s i g n i f i c a n t u n d e r - r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of a c lass which c o n s t i t u t e d more than 40 per cent of the a d u l t p o p u l a t i o n . Examining the c lass r e p r e s e n t a t i o n among the MLAs grouped by p a r t i e s , Table 2-2 Occupat ional and Class Composit ion of B.C. L e g i s l a t u r e , 1947 Bourgeois P e t i t - b o u r g e o i s P r o f e s s i o n a l Indus. Other To ta l s Business Mgr.ofc" Finance Lawyer Other I n d . Rancher Journa-- A c c t . P r o f . S k i l l e d Ret. Man Sec. ( Ins .&R.E. p ro fess ions R e t a i l or l i s t or Manual A g t . A c c t . ) ( A l l doc- Merchant Farmer TeacherWorker Par ty t o r s ) C o a l i t i o n ( L i b e r a l ) 4 3 4 1 2 3 1 1 1 1 21 C o a l i t i o n ( C o n s e r v a t i v e ) 4 1 • 1 2 4 2 1 1+ 16 CCF/Labour 2 1 * 2 1 1 4 11 To ta ls 8 2 5 5 3 8 6 1 1 2- 6 1 48 *Tom U p h i l l ( F e r n i e ) , the "independent l abour " cand ida te . 4 - T i l l i e Ro ls ton (Po in t Grey ) , who had been a teacher 30 years be fo re her f i r s t e l e c t i o n , and who l i s t e d h e r s e l f as "widow" on the b a l l o t . Source: B i o g r a p h i c a l i n f o r m a t i o n i n Canadian Par l iamentary Guide, checked aga ins t occupat ion g iven i n the Chief E l e c t o r a l O f f i c e r ' s Statement of Votes (1945) . Supplementary sources: Daisy Webster, Growth of the NDP i n B.C. , 1900-1970: 81 P o l i t i c a l B i o - graphies , and Vancouver Prov ince . 36. we f i n d t h a t the bou rgeo is ie and p e t i t - b o u r g e o i s i e are concent ra ted i n the c o a l i t i o n p a r t i e s and t h a t the i n d u s t r i a l wo rk ing -c lass MLAs are concent ra ted i n the CCF. Of the 37 c o a l i t i o n MLAs, 17 were businessmen, f i n a n c i a l or insurance agents , se l f -employed accountants or l awyers . Twelve were i n d e -pendent r e t a i l merchants, farmers or ranchers and there were f i v e w o r k i n g -c lass c o a l i t i o n MLAs, on ly two o f which came from the i n d u s t r i a l work ing c l a s s . The CCF cla imed f i v e work ing -c lass MLAs, i n c l u d i n g f o u r of the s i x i n the " i n d u s t r i a l " ca tegory . But the re was a lso s i g n i f i c a n t p e t i t - b o u r -geois r e p r e s e n t a t i o n i n the CCF. We s h a l l see t h a t under the c o a l i t i o n a d m i n i s t r a t i o n the government caucus played a more impor tan t r o l e i n the f o r m u l a t i o n o f government p o l i c y than i t u s u a l l y does and thus the predominance of p e t i t - b o u r g e o i s elements among the government MLAs must be kept i n mind. Even so i t i s noteworthy that a l though there was work ing -c lass r e p r e s e n t a t i o n i n the government caucus there was e s s e n t i a l l y none i n the c a b i n e t . Table 2-3 shows t h a t o f the 10 m i n i s t e r s i n the Har t government, f o u r were independent r e t a i l merchants, one a fa rmer , one a lawyer , one a f i n a n c i a l agent , one an accountant , one a businessman and one a p r o f e s s o r . The cab ine t was thus almost evenly s p l i t between bourgeois and p e t i t - b o u r g e o i s e lements. The d i v i s i o n s w i t h i n the c o a l i t i o n , which proved impor tan t i n the development of post -war labour p o l i c y , are l ess s u s c e p t i b l e to s u p e r f i c i a l examinat ion but come to l i g h t when the r e g i o n a l d i s t r i b u t i o n of support i s taken i n t o account . F igure 2-1 and the accompanying legend, which a lso serves as a guide to Table 2-2 i l l u s t r a t e some o f the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of c lass r e p r e s e n t a t i o n and support i n the L i b e r a l and Conservat ive p a r t i e s . The r e g i o n a l d i s t r i b u t i o n o f MLAs i s i n f l u e n c e d somewhat by the L i b e r a l -Conservat ive e l e c t o r a l agreement, which r e s u l t e d i n equal r e p r e s e n t a t i o n f o r each p a r t y i n the Vancouver- V i c t o r i a m e t r o p o l i s . Three L i b e r a l s ran 37. Table 2-3 : Occupations of B r i t i s h Columbia Cabinet , 1947 M i n i s t e r & m i n i s t r y Occupation) Business F i n . o r A c c t . Lawyer I n d . Farmer P r o -Man I n s . A g t . ( S - E ) - R e t a i l fessor Merchant Const i tuency L i b e r a l s John H a r t , premier George Pearson, labour&prov sec Gordon Wismer, a t t . - g e n e r a l E. T. Kenney, lands&fo res ts Frank Putman, a g r i c u l t u r e George Weir , educat ion x x x V i c t o r i a Nanaimo & the i s l a n d s Van-Centre Skeena Nelson-Creston Van-Burrard Conservat ives Herber t Anscomb, f i nance Roder ick MacDonald, mines&municipal a f f a i r s Ernest Carson, p u b l i c works L e s l i e Eyres, r a i l w a y s , t r a d e & i n d . , f i s h e r i e s x Oak Bay Dewdney L i l l o o e t C h i l l i w a c k Source: Statement of Votes 1945 Can. Par l iamentary Guide 1946 38. unopposed as C o a l i t i o n i s t s i n V i c t o r i a and th ree Conservat ives d i d the same i n Vancouver-Point Grey, w h i l e the two-member c o n s t i t u e n c i e s of Vancouver-Centre and Vancouver-Burrard were each contested s u c c e s s f u l l y by one L i b e r a l and one Tory C o a l i t i o n i s t . Of the 16 h e a v i l y urban seats seven were won by L i b e r a l s and s i x by T o r i e s , a l l runn ing under the c o a l i t i o n banner, w h i l e the remain ing th ree — i n the h e a v i l y work ing -c lass areas of Vancouver-East and Burnaby — f e l l to the CCF. Outs ide the m e t r o p o l i t a n a rea , a few MLAs were nominated by j o i n t L i b e r a l - C o n s e r v a t i v e r i d i n g a s s o c i a t i o n meet ings. Most , p a r t i c u l a r l y those who sought r e - e l e c t i o n f rom the 1941-45 l e g i s l a t u r e , were nominated by t h e i r own p a r t i e s , w i t h the c o a l i t i o n p a r t n e r e i t h e r a b s t a i n i n g f rom a c t i o n a l t o -gether o r , r a r e l y , p i t c h i n g i n to he lp once the campaign got go ing . The 1945 e l e c t i o n thus tended to perpetuate e x i s t i n g p a t t e r n s of support and rep resen -t a t i o n . The non-urban Conservat ive c o a l i t i o n i s t s almost e x c l u s i v e l y r e p r e -sented areas w i t h a g r i c u l t u r a l economic bases which were s e t t l e d be fo re 1900. I n t h i s category f e l l D e l t a , Dewdney, C h i l l i w a c k , Similkameen, South Okana-gan, Salmon Arm, Grand Forks-Greenwood and p o s s i b l y , L i l l o o e t . Exc lud ing the urban r i d i n g s , the on ly o thers he ld by Tor ies a f t e r 1945 were Revelstoke and Cranbfook, a cons t i t uency w i t h some farming but l ogg ing and min ing as w e l l . The Tor ies were o f t e n represented i n these areas by farmers such as A r t h u r R i t c h i e (Salmon Arm) and Alexander Hope ( D e l t a ) , or s torekeepers such as Roder ick MacDonald (Dewdney), L e s l i e Eyres ( C h i l l i w a c k ) and'W.A.C. Bennett (South Okanagan). The s t rong r e p r e s e n t a t i o n i n these areas f rom these c lasses i n d i c a t e s t h a t one wing of the Conservat ive p a r t y spoke f o r the r u r a l l y - b a s e d p e t i t e b o u r g e o i s i e . The second s i g n i f i c a n t area of Conservat ive r e p r e s e n t a -39. 40. LEGEND FOR FIGURE 2-1 L i b e r a l s : Const i tuency Member Occupat ion /c lass 25. Comox Herber t Welch 2 *Businessman (B) George Pearson'*"-'-( l ogger ) 30. Nanaimo & i s l a n d s *Businessman (B) ( labour m i n i s t e r ) 33 Nor th Vancouver John Cates^ ^Businessman (B) (manager) 39. New Westminster Byron Johnson + l Businessman (B) 8. Cariboo Louis L s B o u r d a i s + l Insurance A g t . (PB) 9. Kamloops Robert Carson"1"--- Insurance A g t . (PB) 3 1 . V i c t o r i a John H a r t + 1 * F i n a n c i a l A g t . (PB) (premier ) 18. Nor th Okanagan Charles Morrow 2 Lawyer(PB) 29. Saanich Norman W h i t t a k e r + 1 Lawyer (PB) 3 1 . V i c t o r i a W i l l i a m S t ra i t h " 1 " 1 Lawyer (PB) 35. Vancouver-Centre Gordon Wismerl Lawyer (PB) 14. Yale J . J . G i l l i s + 1 Doctor (PB) 4 . Skeena E. T. Kenney"*"1 Merchant (PB) 26. A l b e r n i James Mowat + l *Merchant (PB) (shoe r e p a i r e r ) 13. Columbia Thomas King"'"-'- Merchant Frank Putnam +1 * ( rancher) (PB) 2 1 . Nelson-Creston Farmer (PB) 28. Esquimalt Charles Beard-*- M i l i t a r y * ( f a r m e r ) (PB) 3 1 . V i c t o r i a Nancy Hodges + l J o u r n a l i s t (P) 20. R o s s l a n d - T r a i l J . L. Webster 3 Accountant (P) 36. Vancouver-Burrard George Weir"'- Pro fessor (P) i ; A t l i n W i l l i a m Smi th 2 E l e c t r i c i a n (P) 4 1 . LEGEND FOR FIGURES 2 - 1 , cont. i Conservat ives : Const i tuency Member Occupat ion /c lass 19. Grand Forks-Green- Thomas Love + ^ *Businessman (B) wood ( p u b l i s h e r ) 34. Vancouver-Pt . Grey Le igh Stevenson- 5 Businessman (B) 35. Vancouver-Centre .A l l an MacDonell^ Businessman (B) 36. Vancouver-Burrard Donald Brownl Businessman (B) 32. Oak Bay Herber t Anscomb"1"! Accountant (PB) 34. Vancouver-Pt . Grey A l b e r t MacDougall^ Lawyer (PB) 16. Similkameen Reginald L a i r d 3 Doctor (PB) 22. Cranbrook Frank Green + ^ Doctor (PB) 10. L i l l o o e t Ernest Carson"'"-'- *Merchant (PB) Roder ick MacDonald"1"! (mines m i n i s t e r ) 15. Dewdney Merchant (PB) 4 1 . C h i l l i w a c k L e s l i e Eyres"1"-^ Merchant (PB) 17. South Okanagan W.A.C. Bennett" 1" 1 Merchant (PB) 1 1 . Salmon Arm A r t h u r R i t c h i e ^ Farmer (PB) 40. D e l t a Alexander Hope-*- Farmer (PB) 12. Revelstoke 2 W i l l i a m Johnson Loc. engineer (P) 34. Vancouver-Pt . Grey T i l l i e Rolston" 1 " 1 * R e t i r e d (0) (widow) CCF/Labour: Const i tuency Member Occupat ion /c lass 7. Mackenzie Herber t Gargrave"1" Secretary (PB) 5. Pr ince Rupert 23. Fern ie 6. F o r t George W i l l i a m B r e t t Tom Uphi l l " 1 " John McInnis *Manager (PB) ( f isherman) Miner * ( I nsu rance a g t . ) (PB) Carpenter * (merchant) (PB) 42. LEGEND FOR FIGURE 2 - 1 , con t . CCF/Labour, c o n t . Const i tuency Member Occupat ion /c lass 37. Vancouver-East A r t h u r Turner"1" ^Metalworker * (Merchant) (PB) 27. Cowichan-Newcastle Sam Guthr ie 4 " *Farmer (PB) (miner) 24. Kas lo-Slocan Ran Harding Teacher (P) 2. Omineca Edward Rowland M i l l - w o r k e r (P) 3. Peace River Joseph Corsbie *Bookkeeper (P) Harold Winch + (salesman) 37. Vancouver-East E l e c t r i c i a n (P) 38. Burnaby Ern ie Winch B r i c k l a y e r (P) Sources f o r p a r t y a f f i l i a t i o n o f c o a l i t i o n MLAs: iThese MLAs ran under t h e i r p a r t y a f f i l i a t i o n i n 1941. 2 These MLAs ran under t h e i r p a r t y a f f i l i a t i o n i n 1952. ^Par ty a f f i l i a t i o n as per Canadian Par l iamentary Guide, 1946, 1950. 4par ty a f f i l i a t i o n g iven i n Vancouver Prov ince , Oct . 26/45, p. 5. "^These MLAs were r e - e l e c t e d f rom the 1941-45 l e g i s l a t u r e . Sources f o r occupat ion and c l a s s : The main source i s the Canadian Par l iamentary Guide f o r 1946 and f o l l o w i n g y e a r s . Where there i s a c o n f l i c t between the CPG and the c h i e f e l e c t o r a l o f f i c e r ' s Statement o f Vo tes , I have used my d i s c r e t i o n . I n these cases the occupat ion l i s t e d on the b a l l o t i s i nc luded i n b racke ts a f t e r the CPG occupa-t i o n and the one used i n Table 2-2 i s s t a r r e d . For two CCL MLAs (Ar thur Turner and John M c l n n i s ) , the occupat ion i n b racke ts and used i n Table 2-2 i s the one g iven i n Daisy Webster, The Growth of the NDP i n B.C. , 1900-1970: 81 P o l i t i c a l B iograph ies . (Vancouver 1970) . 43. t i o n was among urban businessmen. A l l t h ree Tor ies i n t h i s category were engaged i n secondary manufactur ing and one was to p l a y a prominent r o l e i n flie passage o f the r e s t r i c t i v e ' l a b o u r r e l a t i o n s l e g i s l a t i o n of 1947. The L i b e r a l s , by c o n t r a s t , drew much of t h e i r support f rom areas and i n d i v i d u a l s dependent on or i n v o l v e d i n p r imary resource e x t r a c t i o n or p r o -cess ing . Of t h e i r f o u r businessman MLAs, Herber t Welch was p res iden t of a l ogg ing company and John Cates was p res iden t of a towing company. George Pearson and Byron Johnson, bo th of whom had i n t e r e s t s i n f i r m s engaged i n service and d i s t r i b u t i o n , appear to c o n t r a d i c t t h i s assessment, but as we s h a l l see they represented a " p r o g r e s s i v e " wing of secondary and t e r t i a r y i n d u s t r y , opposed to the i n t e r e s t s o f the Tory manufac tu re rs . The L i b e r a l s a lso claimed the support of much of the p r o f e s s i o n a l wing of the p e t i t e b o u r g e o i s i e , f rom which they had double the Conserva t ives ' r e p r e s e n t a t i o n . Regional ly speak ing, the L i b e r a l s represented r e s o u r c e - e x t r a c t i v e areas such as A l b e r n i , Comox, Skeena and R o s s l a n d - T r a i l , where they undoubtedly r e -ce ived s i g n i f i c a n t w o r k i n g - c l a s s suppor t , as w e l l as a few p a r t l y a g r i c u l -t u r a l r i d i n g s . Where the labour f o r c e was o rgan ized , however, support was more l i k e l y to go to the CCF, as i n Pr ince Ruper t , Mackenzie or Cowichan-Newcastle. I n both h i n t e r l a n d and m e t r o p o l i s the CCF was most popular among the o r g a n i -zed work ing c l a s s , bu t i t must be noted t h a t h a l f i t s e lec ted MLAs were p e t i t - b o u r g e o i s r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s of p r o l e t a r i a n c o n s t i t u e n c i e s . The many lab our de lega t ions which a r r i v e d i n V i c t o r i a i n the post -war yea rs , then , found few of t h e i r own k i n d . The Conserva t ives , r e p r e s e n t i n g a g r a r i a n and urban secondary business i n t e r e s t s , g e n e r a l l y took the hardest l i n e aga ins t labour p roposa ls . The L i b e r a l s , o f t e n t o r n between t h e i r p a r t l y w o r k i n g - c l a s s e l e c t o r a l base and t h e i r bourgeois a f f i l i a t i o n s were o f t e n fo rced to compromise w i t h the r i g h t - w i n g Tory i n f l u e n c e i n the C o a l i t i o n . 44. The CCF was the most c o n s i s t e n t suppor ter o f the labour movement. We should bear i n mind the c lass i n t e r e s t s represented by p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s as we con-s ide r the development of post -war labour p o l i c y . C. Pre-war and wart ime labour r e l a t i o n s i n B r i t i s h Columbia At every stage i n the development o f s t a t e labour p o l i c y i n Canada, B r i t i s h Columbia has been e i t h e r the f i r s t or the second j u r i s d i c t i o n to a c t . Most of the s t a t u t e s , i n c l u d i n g the Trades Disputes Act (1893) , the Trade-unions Act (1902) and the I n d u s t r i a l C o n c i l i a t i o n and A r b i t r a t i o n (ICA) Act (1937) have been passed i n response to c r i s e s of i n d u s t r i a l c o n f l i c t . The last-named was r e a l l y an ex tens ion o f the Rooseve l t ian "Work and Wages" p r o -gram of L i b e r a l premier Duff P a t t u l l o , which was developed to dea l w i t h widespread unemployment and a succession o f i n d u s t r i a l c r i s e s . ^ The Work and Wages Act had prov ided f o r a t h e o r e t i c a l 48-hour week and s i g n i f i c a n t l y r a i s e d the minimum wage. But the r i s e of i n d u s t r i a l unionism i n B r i t i s h Columbia, b r i n g i n g thousands o f u n s k i l l e d workers w i t h i n the ranks of the un ion movement, demanded o f the s t a t e a r e v i s i o n i n labour r e l a t i o n s p o l i c y . The I n t e r n a t i o n a l Woodworkers o f Amer ica, descendent of a s y n d i c a l i s t lumber u i i on which was not ab le to s u r v i v e the p r o s p e r i t y of the t w e n t i e s , was o r -gan iz ing f e v e r i s h l y i n the lumber camps and sawmi l l s . " ' The I n t e r n a t i o n a l Union of Mine, M i l l and Smelter Workers ( M i n e - M i l l ) t raced i t s l i neage back to the r a d i c a l Western Federa t ion o f Miners which f l o u r i s h e d i n western CGanada and the U.S. i n the e a r l y 1890s and 1900s. I t s B.C. o r g a n i z e r , the ene rge t i c Harvey Murphy, soon commanded a s i zeab le f o l l o w i n g . 6 Both Murphy and the IWA's f i r s t i n t e r n a t i o n a l p r e s i d e n t , Haro ld P r i t c h e t t , were prominent members of the Communist Par ty of Canada and i t s successor , the Labour-Progressive P a r t y , and many o f the best g rgan ize rs i n these and o ther unions were p a r t y members. 45. Employer r e a c t i o n to i n d u s t r i a l un ion ism was ha rsh . Owners and managers i n the p r o v i n c e ' s bas ic i n d u s t r i e s were p roud ly independent and f i e r c e l y c o m p e t i t i v e , v a c i l l a t i n g i n t h e i r labour r e l a t i o n s p o l i c i e s between autocracy and p a t e r n a l i s m . I n the lumber i n d u s t r y , the processes of combina-t i o n and i n t e g r a t i o n had not begun i n earnest and many opera t ions remained s m a l l , h i g h l y seasonal and m a r g i n a l l y p r o f i t a b l e . 7 To l ogg ing bosses, unions were p o t e n t i a l l y d i s a s t r o u s to p r o f i t s . A measure of t h e i r h o s t i l i t y i s the 12-year span between 1931, when the communist workers began to r e - o r g a n -i z e the un ion i n the lumber i n d u s t r y and 1943, when the f i r s t coast r e g i o n Q i ndus t ry -w ide c o n t r a c t was s igned . A s i m i l a r s i t u a t i o n e x i s t e d i n the meta l mines, most o f which were c o n t r o l l e d by Eastern Canadian, American or B r i -t i s h i n t e r e s t s . I n the mines the dependence on wor ld markets f o r meta l aid i n the case of go ld on f i x e d sales t o the government, prec luded the ^passing on of wage increases to buyers , a f a c t o r which f u r t h e r hardened employer h o s i t l i t y . 9 Company un ion ism, i n t i m i d a t i o n and harassment o f un ion workers were a l l p a r t of the a rsena l of these and o ther employers i n the b a t t l e aga ins t i n d u s t r i a l un ion ism. The most r a d i c a l c u r r e n t s i n the Canadian labour movement had a l -ways sprung f rom B r i t i s h Columbia and t h i s may be p a r t of the reason f o r the lack of governmental h o s t i l i t y i n t h i s p rov ince to the i n d u s t r i a l unionism of the t h i r t i e s . P a t t u l l o was no p a r t i c u l a r f r i e n d of the i n d u s t r i a l unions or t h e i r communist l e a d e r s , bu t the re were no open c o n f r o n t a t i o n s such as the M i t c h e l l Hepburn-United Automobi le Workers b a t t l e i n O n t a r i o . P a t t u l l o ' s labour m i n i s t e r , the weal thy Nanaimo manufacturer George Pearson, had seen t h a t the onslaught o f i n d u s t r i a l unionism i n the lumber and min ing camps f o r e c a s t the ex tens ion i n t o B.C. o f the campaigns being waged i n the U.S. s t e e l and packinghouse i n d u s t r i e s by the Committee f o r I n d u s t r i a l Organ iza-t i o n (CIO). Pearson saw t h a t the r e f u s a l of B.C. employers to pe rmi t un ion 46. o r g a n i z a t i o n i n t h e i r p l a n t s could not l a s t and t h a t the way to meet the i n e v i t a b l e pressures f o r o r g a n i z a t i o n was not by r e p r e s s i o n but by a s s i m i l a t i n g them i n t o the e x i s t i n g network of s o c i a l r e l a t i o n s : Every sens ib le .person w i l l admit the j u s t i c e o f the c l a i m o f men to organ ize themselves f o r the purpose o f d i scuss ing t h e i r problems w i t h t h e i r employers and n e g o t i a t i n g terms o f employment. This be ing the case I am convinced t h a t as labour c o n d i t i o n s s e t t l e themselves i n the Un i ted States a d e f i n i t e a t t a c k w i l l be made.upon B r i t i s h Columbia to com-p l e t e l y organ ize i t . . . Dur ing t h i s at tempt i n d u s t r y w i l l s u f f e r tremendously i n t h i s P rov ince , through s t r i k e s , unless we are prepared to meet i t . 1 0 The ins t rument f o r a t t a i n i n g t h i s goa l was to be the ICA Act of 1 9 3 7 . H The ac t was indeed "an at tempt . . . to p rov ide f u r t h e r p r o t e c t i o n f o r the r i g h t t o o r g a n i z e " - ^ bu t i t f e l l shor t i n a number of a reas . V a r i -ous types of p r o t e c t i o n aga ins t harassment of employees f o r un ion a c t i v i t y and o ther a n t i - u n i o n a c t i v i t i e s were p rov ided (ss . 6, 7) and employers were compelled to ba rga in w i t h t h e i r employees ( s . 5 ) . But the re was no p r o v i -s i o n f o r c e r t i f i c a t i o n or f o r any form of s t a t e ass is tance to un ion recog -n i t i o n . I n f a c t , the 1937 ac t d i d no t even recognize the ex is tence o f un ions , except i n s o f a r as they might be a p a r t y to the c o n c i l i a t i o n process . Bar-g a i n i n g had on ly to take palce w i t h " e l e c t e d r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s " of employees, a de fec t which encouraged company un ion ism. There i s thus no ques t ion of a change to the Wagner Act system through the 1937 ac t or i t s 1938 amendment, since the s t a t e had no r o l e i n de termin ing the p a r t i e s to c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n -ing . - ' - 4 Moreover, w h i l e the ICA Act c a r r i e d over f rom the dominion I D I Act the compulsory c o n c i l i a t i o n procedure, the process was lengthened. Before appointment of a c o n c i l i a t i o n board , e i t h e r p a r t y could apply f o r the a p p o i n t -ment of a c o n c i l i a t i o n o f f i c e r f rom the s t a f f of the labour department, (s 10) I f he f a i l e d to r e c o n c i l e the p a r t i e s , a board was appo in ted , ( s . 17) and votes f o r acceptance or r e j e c t i o n of i t s r e p o r t he ld by the p a r t i e s , which the m i n i s t e r a t h i s d i s c r e t i o n might supe rv i se . The freedom t o s t r i k e 47. or l ock out was suspended f o r the e n t i r e pe r i od f rom the a p p l i c a t i o n f o r appointment o f a c o n c i l i a t i o n o f f i c e r t o 14 days a f t e r the complet ion of the v o t e . £s. 4 5 ) . I n p r a c t i c e t h i s n o - s t r i k e p e r i o d o f t e n extended f o r two to th ree months, du r i ng which employers could i n t i m i d a t e workers away f rom t h e i r i n i t i a l l y m i l i t a n t s tands. I n t h i s way the ac t was a " d e t e r r r e n t t o m i l i t a n t unionism and s t r i k e act ion."" ' "" ' Despi te these d e f i c i e n c i e s , the ICA Act of 1937 earned the P a t t u l l o 16 government a r e p u t a t i o n as the most p r o - l a b o u r a d m i n i s t r a t i o n i n Canada. The ac t was supported i n the l e g i s l a t u r e by a l l p a r t i e s i n c l u d i n g the CCF, which had proposed s i m i l a r l e g i s l a t i o n p r e v i o u s l y ! 7 a l though o f course , the ] 8 CCF d i d not f a i l to p o i n t out the a c t ' s weaknesses. The p r o v i n c e ' s businessmen, a t any r a t e , were alarmed enough to l e t P a t t u l l o know they thought h i s government was "go ing too f a s t " i n i t s labour and s o c i a l w e l -f a r e p o l i c y and " s e t t i n g a bad example to the r e s t of the c o u n t r y . W i t h the l i m i t e d p r o t e c t i o n of the ICA A c t , and the tremendous impetus t o o r g a n i -20 z a t i o n g iven by the demand f o r wart ime p r o d u c t i o n , the i n d u s t r i a l unions cont inued t h e i r d r i v e . I n the f i v e years f rom 1936 to 1941 t o t a l un ion mem-bersh ip i n the p rov ince doubled to n e a r l y 50,000 and by 1944 i t had r i s e n to 90,000. The percentage of the labour f o r c e organized rose f rom 10 per cent i n 1936 to 29 per cent i n 1944. The i n d u s t r i a l unions i n B.C. were w e l l represented a t the 1940 foud ing convent ion of the Canadian Congress o f Labour, the Canadian coun te rpar t of the CIO, composed main ly o f unions expe l l ed f rom the Trades and Labour Congress of Canada (TLC) f o l l o w i n g a d i r e c t i v e f rom the American Federa t ion of L a b o u r . 2 2 The B.C. government once aga in pioneered i n the f i e l d of labour p o l i c y w i t h amendments to the ICA Act i n 1943. This step was the r e a l fo re runner of the Wagner Act system i n Canada. Sec t ion 5 o f the ac t was 48. amended to f o r c e employers to ba rga in w i t h any un ion which had the suppor t of the m a j o r i t y o f workers i n the b a r g a i n i n g u n i t concerned and the m i n i s t e r of labour was a u t h o r i z e d to i n h i s d i s c r e t i o n , take such steps as he t h i n k s proper to s a t i s f y h i m s e l f , i n the case of r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s e l e c t e d by the employees, t h a t the e l e c t i o n was : r e g u l a r l y and p r o p e r l y conducted and, i n the case o f a t r a d e - u n i o n c l a i m i n g the r i g h t to conduct the b a r g a i n i n g , t h a t a m a j o r i t y o f the employees a f f e c t e d are members of the t r a d e - u n i o n . (24) Th is was a k i n d o f nega t i ve p r o v i s i o n f o r s t a t e d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f . t h e c o l -l e c t i v e .barga in ing agent , f o r i f the m i n i s t e r d i d no t i n t e r v e n e , the employer was r e q u i r e d to ba rga in w i t h the un ion which claimed the r i g h t s f o r the m a j o r i t y of employees. The ac t was h i g h l y regarded by spokesmen f o r organized l a b o u r , and i t had a " c r e a t i v e i n f l u e n c e " on the development of the p o l i c y conta ined i n the dominion order P.C. 1003, which f o l l o w e d less than a year l a t e r . 2 5 P.C. 1003 put p r o v i n c i a l labour p o l i c y i n l i m b o . The>work of un ion o r g a n i z a t i o n went on, but employer h o s t i l i t y increased sharp ly w i t h un ion m i l i t a n c e a f t e r the war . There was no c e r t a i n t y as to what would f o l l o w when the dominion r e l i n q u i s h e d i t s wart ime j u r i s d i c t i o n over labour r e l a t i o n s . 49. Notes to Chapter 2 1 I do not want to imp ly t h a t the people l i s t e d as "homemakers" i n the Census of Canada are not engaged i n v i t a l p r o d u c t i o n . For the purposes of t h i s broad a n a l y s i s , however, g iven the u b i q u i t o u s nature of the nuc lear f a m i l y as a u n i t o f s o c i a l o r g a n i z a t i o n , the "homemakers" of B r i t i s h Columbia are assumed to have the same c lass p o s i t i o n as the members o f the " p r o d u c t i o n c l a s s e s " on whom they depend. The 1951 census came too soon a f t e r the war to show the beg inn ing o f the r i s i n g labour f o r c e p a r t i c i p a t i o n r a t e of women, or the e f f e c t of the tendency toward a longer schoo l ing p e r i o d . 2 On the n a t i o n a l s c a l e , the d e c l i n e o f t h i s wing of the p e t i t e bourgeo is ie i s one of the most d i s t i n c t i v e f e a t u r e s o f the development of s o c i o -economic c lasses i n the t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y . See Leo Johnson, "The development o f c lass i n Canada i n the t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y " , i n Gary Teeple, e d . , C a p i t a l i s m and the n a t i o n a l ques t ion i n Canada, Toron to : U n i v e r s i t y of Toronto Press, 1972, 141-179. I n B.C. , the genera l n a t i o n a l d e c l i n e was exacerbated by the h i s t o r i c a l weakness of the independent mode of commodity p r o d u c t i o n , owing to the l ack of a rab le l a n d . ( I n d e -pendent r e t a i l i n g , o f course, p layed an impor tan t r o l e i n the e a r l y f r o n t i e r days . ) 3 Fur ther e x p l a n a t i o n of t h i s procedure may be d e s i r a b l e . I am not aware of any i n d i c a t i o n s t h a t f e r t i l i t y or marr iage r a t e s va ry i n B r i t i s h Columbia among c lasses as de f i ned by r e l a t i o n s h i p to the means of p r o d u c t i o n . ( F e r t i l i t y i s g e n e r a l l y considered to vary i n v e r s e l y w i t h f a m i l y income, which i s not the c r i t e r i o n used i n Table 2 -1 . ) There-f o r e I can see no o b j e c t i o n to a p p o r t i o n i n g the "homemakers" and "under -14s" among the " p r o d u c t i o n " c lasses on a s t r a i g h t percentage b a s i s . The same would , I t h i n k , apply to the " r e t i r e d or permanent ly d i s a b l e d " ca tegory , a l though i t might be argued t h a t permanent d isablement i s u n l i k e l y to occur among the b o u r g e o i s i e . The procedure becomes more dubious w i t h " s t u d e n t s " , among whom there would probably be g rea te r bourgeois and p e t i t - b o u r g e o i s r e p r e s e n t a t i o n , and w i t h those " i n i n s t i t u t i o n s " , where a h e a l t h y p r o l e t a r i a n r e p r e s e n t a t i o n might be expected. Since these two are the smal les t of the ca tegor ies i n q u e s t i o n , I have f o l l o w e d a u n i f o r m procedure f o r the sake o f s i m p l i c i t y . The reader should bear i n mind t h a t Table 2-1 does not p u r p o r t to i n s e r t every i n d i v i d u a l i n the prov ince i n t o a r i g i d , i n f l e x i b l e c lass s t r u c t u r e . 4 Margaret Ormsby, B r i t i s h Columbia: a h i s t o r y , Vancouver: Macmi l lan , 1971, 457, 459; see a lso Margaret Ormsby, "T . D u f f e r i n P a t t u l l o and the L i t t l e New D e a l " , Canadian H i s t o r i c a l Review, 43 (1962) : 277-297. 5 H. A. Logan, Trade Unions i n Canada, Toronto : Macmi l lan , 1948, 283. 6 I b i d . , 162-4. 7 A l f r e d C. K i l b a n k , The economic bas is o f c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g i n the lumber i n d u s t r y of B r i t i s h Columbia, BA essay (economics and p o l i t i c a l sc ience , U n i v e r s i t y of B.C. , 1947, c h . 4 . 50. 8 Logan, op_. c i t . , 284. 9 Dean R. MacKay, A study of labour r e l a t i o n s i n the meta l -m in ing i n d u s t r y of B r i t i s h Columbia, MA t h e s i s (economics), U n i v e r s i t y of B.C. , 1948, ch . 2. 10 Pearson to P a t t u l l o , September 30, 1937, p_p_, 1937-38, L-3-G. 11 S. B. C. 1937, 1 Geo. V I , c h . 3 1 . 12 S. M idan ik , "Problems o f l e g i s l a t i o n r e l a t i n g t o c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g " , CJEPS, 9 (1943) : 349. 13 S tuar t Jamieson, Times of t r o u b l e : labour un res t and i n d u s t r i a l c o n f l i c t i n Canada, 1900-1966, Ottawa: P r i v y Counc i l o f f i c e , 1968, 265. This de fec t was o n l y p a r t l y c o r r e c t e d through a 1938 amendment t o s e c t i o n 5 (S.B.C. 1938, 2 Geo, V I , c h . 23) i n which unions were recognized as p o s s i b l e l a w f u l p a r t i e s to c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g . But on ly unions i n ex is tence a t the t ime the ac t was passed were recognized i n t h i s way. Employees not un ion ized on December 7, 1938, cou ld not f o r c e an employer to recognize t h e i r u n i o n , but could f o r c e b a r g a i n i n g on ly w i t h "employee r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s " , i n l i n e w i t h the King system p r i n c i p l e . Since new i n d u s t r i a l unions were s p r i n g i n g up r a p i d l y , t h i s p r o v i s i o n was d i s -c r i m i n a t o r y and tended to encourage company unions i n the same way as the I D I A c t . 14 H. A. Logan, S ta te i n t e r v e n t i o n and ass is tance i n c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g : the Canadian exper ience , 1943-1954, Toron to : U n i v e r s i t y o f Toronto Press 1956 (Canadian Studies i n Economics, no. 6 ) , 10. 15 Jamieson, l o c . c i t . I r o n i c a l l y , one reason the p r o v i n c i a l labour d e p a r t -ment had been anxious to pass i t s own l e g i s l a t i o n was sa id to be t h a t " the Dominion boards (under the I D I Ac t ) took too long to b r i n g i n t h e i r f i n d i n g s . " A. E. Grauer, Labour l e g i s l a t i o n : a s tudy prepared f o r the Royal Commission on Domin ion -Prov inc ia l R e l a t i o n s , Ottawa: King' is P r i n t e r , 1939, 128. 16 F. R. Anton, The r o l e o f government i n the se t t lement o f i n d u s t r i a l d i spu tes i n Canada, Toronto : CCH Canadian, 1962, 103. See a lso r a d i o speech by Harvey Murphy, October 2 , 1947, MMP, 54-7 . 17 Douglas P. C l a r k , Some aspects o f the development of the Co-opera t i ye -Commonwealth Federa t ion i n B r i t i s h Columbia, undergraduate essay ( h i s t o r y ) , U n i v e r s i t y o f B.C. , 1945, 40-2 , discusses some o f the labour and CCF pressure preceding the passage o f the ICA A c t . 18 See Harold Winch, "The B r i t i s h Columbia Labor A c t " , Canadian Forum, 18 (1938-9=) : 330-331. 19 T. D. P a t t u l l o , " D o m i n i o n - p r o v i n c i a l r e l a t i o n s " , The Empire Club Addresses, 1946-7, Toronto : Empire Club o f Canada, 1947, 105. I n the 1945 speech from which these quo ta t i ons are taken , P a t t u l l o revea led the l i m i t s of h i s " f r i e n d l i n e s s " toward labour by t a k i n g the 5 1 . Hepburnish p o s i t i o n t h a t s t r i k e s , and^p icket ing . should,, be out lawed and a l l i n d u s t r i a l d i spu tes s e t t l e d by compulsory a r b i t r a t i o n . 20 The economic demands o f wart ime r a t h e r than the p r o t e c t i o n of l e g i s l a -t i o n were p r i m a r i l y respons ib le f o r the gains made by labour du r i ng the war. See J . C. Cameron and F. J . L. Young, The s t a t u s of t rade unions i n Canada, K i n g s t o n : Queen's U n i v e r s i t y Deparment o f I n d u s t r i a l R e l a -t i o n s , 1960, 143. 21 Paul P h i l l i p s , No Power Grea te r : a cen tu ry o f labour, i n B. C , Vancouver, B. C. Federa t ion of Labour/Boag Foundat ion , 1967, 169. 22 Logan, Trade unions i n Canada, c h . 16; I r v i n g A b e l l a , N a t i o n a l i s m , com- munism and Canadian l a b o u r , Toron to ; U n i v e r s i t y of Toronto Press , 1973, chs. 1-3. 23 I n d u s t r i a l C o n c i l i a t i o n and A r b i t r a t i o n Amendment A c t , S.B.C. 1943, 7 Geo. V I , ch . 28. 24 I b i d . , s . 4 . 25 Logan, S ta te i n t e r v e n t i o n , p. 26. See a lso H. D. Woods, Labour p o l i c y i n Canada second e d i t i o n , Toron to : Macmi l lan , 1973, 83-4 . CHAPTER I I I THE UNIONS FIGHT FOR STATUS: SKIRMISHES I n t r o d u c t i o n The preceding chapter o u t l i n e d some of the growth of the un ion movement i n B r i t i s h Columbia du r i ng the 1930s and the war yea rs . This chapter i n t roduces the b a t t l e s fought by the newly -power fu l unions f rom 1944 on f o r "a secure s t a t u s and a u t h o r i t y comparable to those o f management, i n i n d u s -t r y and i n the a f f a i r s o f the community."-'- This was the s t r u g g l e t o i n s t i -t u t e , e i t h e r through c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g or through l e g i s l a t i o n , p r o v i s i o n s such as the check -o f f of un ion dues and the un ion shop, i n an a l l -encompass ing system of " i n d u s t r i a l government". The o r i g i n s o f the d r i v e f o r un ion secur -i t y are discussed f i r s t of a l l , w i t h emphasis on some of the c o n t r a d i c t o r y elements i n the campaign. Then I t u r n to the c o n f l i c t w i t h i n the labour movement between s o c i a l democrats and communists over the ques t i on of p o l i t i -c a l s t r a t e g y . F i n a l l y the lobby ing o f the government by un ion and employer groups i s d iscussed, and there i s some a n a l y s i s of the government 's response. A. The demand f o r un ion s e c u r i t y To the average work ing man or woman, " s e c u r i t y " i n the immediate post -war years l i k e l y meant a secure home, a secure job and a secure f a m i l y . This would be an obvious r e a c t i o n to the s o c i a l upheaval of the depress ion and the war. The d e s i r e f o r c o n t i n u a t i o n of the h i g h wart ime wage standards was one of the sources of s t r e n g t h i n the un ion movement. But t h a t movement had of necess i t y thrown up un ion l e a d e r s , f o r whom the word " s e c u r i t y " meant something more than j u s t a house and a j o b . For a un ion l e a d e r ' s j o b to be secure, the un ion i t s e l f must be secure. To the un ion l e a d e r , " s e c u r i t y " meant en t rench ing the union i n an unassa i l ab le p o s i t i o n . The o l d c r a f t 53. unions h a d n ' t had to worry too. much about p o s s i b l e a n n i h i l a t i o n , s ince they had managed to c o n t r o l e n t r y to the t r a d e s , or a t l e a s t to a s s i m i l a t e unor -ganized groups encroaching on them. But the newer unions of u n s k i l l e d i n d u s -t r i a l workers , i n p l a n t s w i t h h i g h tu rnover r a t e s , faced the p o s s i b i l i t y o f d w i n d l i n g support e i t h e r through the i n e p t i t u d e o f t h e i r leaders or th rough a n t i - u n i o n a c t i v i t i e s by employers. The leaders of these un ions , i n the l a t t e r p a r t of the war and the post-war yea rs , fought to get widespread s e c u r i t y p r o -v i s i o n s both i n b a r g a i n i n g w i t h employers and through l e g i s l a t i v e a c t i o n . The f i r s t method proved more success fu l than the second. The u n i o n s ' f i g h t f o r s t a t u s i n the economic arena was d e c e p t i v e , f o r on the sur face most of the post-war s t r i k e s i t engendered "were c a r r i e d out f o r s p e c i f i c and t a n g i b l e o b j e c t i v e s " and " few of them cou ld be viewed as desperate s t r u g g l e s f o r s u r v i v a l . " But a l though economic readjustment a f t e r the Second World War was not marked by severe unemployment, as had been the case f o l l o w i n g the f i r s t g rea t war the re was a concer ted campaign on the p a r t of employers to d i v e s t the unions of some of the l e g a l and economic power they had acqu i red s ince 1939. B. C. c a p i t a l i s t s c la imed t h a t wages could not cont inue to r i s e i f p r o v i n c i a l i n d u s t r y was to compete w i t h Eastern Canada, whose " g e n e r a l l y lower standard of wages", l a r g e r manpower poo l and eas ie r 4 a c c e s s i b i l i t y to m a t e r i a l s and equipment gave i t the advantage. There fore the wage demands of 1945 and 1946 were not the o r d i n a r y demands f o r annual i nc reases , but were o f t e n designed to "ma in ta in take-home p a y " . 5 Such econo-mic demands, of course, went hand i n hand w i t h demands f o r s e c u r i t y p r o v i s i o n s , but i t i s impor tan t to r e a l i z e t h a t the " s e c u r i t y " component was present i n b o t h . The importance a t tached by the BCFL unions t o un ion s e c u r i t y p r o v i -. s ions i s ev ident f rom the un ion newspapers o f the p e r i o d . Most v o c i f e r o u s 54. of a l l was the Un i ted Steelworkers of America, whose h i g h l y c e n t r a l i z e d b u r -eaucracy stood to ga in a g rea t deal f rom the f i n a n c i a l and o r g a n i z a t i o n a l s t a b i l i t y assured by the check -o f f and un ion shop.^ Each issue of the Canadian e d i t i o n of S tee l Labor c a r r i e d a r t i c l e s on the ph i losophy and p r a c -t i c a l aspects of un ion s e c u r i t y and a box score o f the u n i o n ' s a t tempts a t w inn ing the v a r i o u s types o f p r o v i s i o n s . As Table 3-1 shows, the h i g h p r i -o r i t y p laced on s e c u r i t y c lauses i n b a r g a i n i n g pa id o f f w i t h an increase i n the number and q u a l i t y of these p r o v i s i o n s . The Steelworkers were f i r m l y i n the CCF camp, and p a r t of the CCF's program c a l l e d f o r a c o n s t i t u t i o n a l system of i n d u s t r i a l government. So i t i s no t s u r p r i s i n g to see them place such emphasis on ach iev ing an equal f o o t i n g w i t h management through i n s t i t u t i o n a l means. We might expect the unions whose leadersh ip was communist to a t tempt to exerc i se t h e i r power through f l e x i n g t h e i r economic muscles, r a t h e r than by seeking c o n t r a c t s w i t h such s e c u r i t y p r o v i s i o n s . For a long w i t h s e c u r i t y goes r e s p o n s i b i l i t y . The un ion agrees to keep i t s members i n l i n e between b a r g a i n i n g sessions i n exchange f o r the assurance of cont inued s t r e n g t h and r e c o g n i t i o n . Why should communists, whose aim was to organize work ing -c lass m i l i t a n c e and develop c lass consciousness through the un ions , accept such r e s p o n s i b i l i t y ? But the communist t rade un ion leaders appeared content to develop " t r a d e - u n i o n consc iousness" . The IWA's newspaper main ta ined i n 1944 t h a t i t was " t he duty o f every member to t a l k , eat and sleep 'Union Shop' f rom now u n t i l i t becomes a p a r t of our i n d u s t r y - w i d e agreement". The IWA leaders b e l i e v e d un ion s e c u r i t y "opens the door to complete o r g a n i z i n g of the i n d u s -t r y , which must be accomplished i n order to guarantee steady employment, maintenance of decent l i v i n g standards and sho r te r hours of w o r k . " 7 They made a d i r e c t p lea f o r es tab l ishment o f the un ion as a s o c i a l i n s t i t u i o n , 55. Table 3-1 UNION SECURITY PROVISIONS IN UNITED STEELWORKERS OF AMERICA CONTRACTS, 1945-48 (BRITISH COLUMBIA) Type of S e c u r i t y 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 Dec May Dec May Dec May Dec May Dec Check-of f 1 1 3 5 3 3 3 1 I r r e v o c a b l e 2 7 6 5 5 check-o f f Compulsory 2 5 check-o f f Membership 5 6 7 3 maintenance Union shop 1 2 2 2 3 Membership main. 1 8 10 4 3 3 check-o f f M.M.; i r r e v o c a b l e 1 1 1 check -o f f M.M.; compulsory 6 5 6 check -o f f Mod i f i ed Rand fo rm. 1 1 Union shop, 1 1 1 1 2 3 3 2 check -o f f Union shop, 2 compulsory c - o . Not s p e c i f i e d 1 1 1 3 3 6 None * * * 2 To ta l s 8 10 17 22 23 26 29 32 Source: S tee l Labor (Canadian e d i t i o n ) , 1945-48. * T o t a l s f o r these months do not i n c l u d e "no t s p e c i f i e d " . 56. Notes to Table 3-1 Check-o f f : employer deducts un ion dues f rom wages of un ion members on r e c e i p t o f w r i t t e n a s s i g n a t i o n of dues signed by member and r e m i t s dues to u n i o n . I r r e v o c a b l e c h e c k - o f f : un ion member cannot revoke check-o f f assignment du r i ng l i f e of c o n t r a c t . Compulsory c h e c k - o f f : a l l un ion members i n p l a n t must ass ign dues deduc t ion to u n i o n , which then becomes i r r e v o c a b l e . Membership maintenance: a l l employees who j o i n un ion du r ing l i f e t i m e of a c o n t r a c t must remain members u n t i l c o n t r a c t e x p i r e s . Union shop: a l l employees must j o i n un ion w i t h i n a s p e c i f i e d t ime f rom date of t h e i r f i r s t employment. Rand fo rmu la : a l l employees must pay dues to un ion a l though a l l do not have to become members. the b e t t e r to ensure the maintenance o f p r o d u c t i o n and the r e p r o d u c t i o n of the r e l a t i o n s of p r o d u c t i o n under c a p i t a l i s m : An i n d u s t r y tho rough ly organized w i t h a un ion f u l l y recognized by the employers means harmony and c o - o p e r a t i o n between employer and employee. I t means a s t a b i l i z e d i n d u s t r y w i t h a t r a i n e d capable and respons ib le l abo r f o r c e . The p r o d u c t i v e demands upon the lumber i n d u s t r y i n the post -war era w i l l r e q u i r e t h a t t h i s s p i r i t o f g o o d w i l l and c o - o p e r a t i o n between management and labour be f u r t h e r improved. (8) As we s h a l l see, however, the communist- led unions were less prone to empha-s i z i n g un ion s e c u r i t y i n the demands they made o f the government than were the Steelworkers and o ther CCF-led un ions . The c a p i t a l i s t s o f B r i t i s h Columbia were alarmed a t the demand f o r more un ion s e c u r i t y . The aim o f the un ions , s a i d the t rade j o u r n a l of the min ing and sme l t ing i n d u s t r y , was e s s e n t i a l l y to t r a n s f e r to the s t a t u t e s f o r post -war advantage the f i x a t i o n of concessions gained by the unions under the s t r e s s of wart ime c o n d i t i o n s . I t i s another i ns tance of the o p p o r t u n i s t i c maneouvring o f the labour i n t e r e s t s to f o r c e c lass l e g i s l a t i o n as an insurance f o r tomorrow. (9) 57. The B.C. F i n a n c i a l Times p r e d i c t e d t h a t " increased employer r e s i s t a n c e " would lead to "a long s e r i e s of post -war labor t r o u b l e , i n which labor w i l l be c a l l e d upon to f i g h t f o r i t s e f f e c t i v e ex is tence as i t never has before.""*"^ The employers these p u b l i c a t i o n s spoke f o r f ea red the power of the unions on t h e i r own m e r i t s , but they were a lso aware t h a t the labour movement had a s t r a t e g i c a l l y i n George Pearson, the m i n i s t e r of l a b o u r . I n Chapter 2 I showed t h a t the L i b e r a l p a r t y enjoyed the support of a cons iderab le number of workers and appeared t o represen t c a p i t a l i s t s i n pr imary i n d u s t r y , the p r o f e s s i o n a l p e t i t e bourgeo is ie and a smal l number o f " p r o g r e s s i v e " secondary and t e r t i a r y c a p i t a l i s t s . Pearson was one o f the l a t t e r , a r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f the r e f o r m i s t c a p i t a l i s t s who found i t eas ie r to recognize unions and dea l w i t h them than to a t tempt t o c a r r y on business i n the midst of c o n t i n u a l s t r i f e . Because secondary i n d u s t r y i s g e n e r a l l y less s u s c e p t i b l e to the f l u c t u a t i o n s t h a t made the l ogg ing and min ing bosses h o s t i l e to un ion ism, i t was eas ie r t o be a r e f o r m i s t i n t h i s s e c t o r , a l though i n 1945 the r e f o r m i s t s were s t i l l ve ry much i n the m i n o r i t y . Pearson kept the s p i r i t of P a t t u l l o ' s " L i t t l e New Dea l " a l i v e through the war years not on ly as labour m i n i s t e r but a lso as p r o v i n c i a l s e c r e t a r y , where he he ld r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r h e a l t h and w e l f a r e programs. I n h i s v iew, u n i o n i z a t i o n and un ion s e c u r i t y were compat ib le w i t h the ph i losophy of " i n d i v i d u a l i n i t i a t i v e " t h a t was a bas ic tenet of Canadian L i b e r a l i s m . I f a man "cannot make h i s way under reasonable o p p o r t u n i t y , then he has no r i g h t to the best t h i n g s of t h i s world."" ' '" ' ' But s t a t e ass is tance to u n i o n i z a t i o n was merely a way of p r o v i d i n g o p p o r t u n i t y , a secure founda t ion on which the worker cou ld b u i l d h i s l i f e and achievements. L i ke Mackenzie K i n g , Pearson saw t h a t the s a l v a t i o n of the L i b e r a l p a r t y would l i e i n bea t ing s o c i a l i s m a t i t s own game and he c o n s t a n t l y urged t h i s t a c t i c on h i s p a r t y and h i s cab ine t co l l eagues . 58. An example of the methods Pearson used to achieve some of these o b j e c t i v e s i s the u n i o n i z a t i o n of the g i a n t Consol idated Min ing and Smel t ing Co. smel ter a t T r a i l . Harvey Murphy's M i n e - M i l l un ion t r i e d to organize the p l a n t du r ing the f i r s t years of the war but was thwar ted by the ex is tence of a company un ion dominated by the company's genera l manager, Selwyn G. B l a y l o c k . The p l a n t was c r u c i a l to M i n e - M i l l s ince i t would p rov ide a f i n a n c i a l base f o r the r e s t of the u n i o n ' s o r g a n i z i n g . The 1943 amendments to the ICA Act p r o -v ided the means f o r Pearson to i n v o l v e h imse l f i n the b a t t l e . B lay lock had i n s i s t e d on " b a r g a i n i n g " on ly w i t h the company union r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s , f o r he claimed they spoke f o r the m a j o r i t y of workers . Pearson t o l d Murphy t o make double sure t h a t M i n e - M i l l ' s r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s were p r o p e r l y e lec ted and chosen by the l o c a l workers . He warned: I need not say to you t h a t t he re are spots i n which we must f o l l o w the Act t o the l e t t e r or we s h a l l f i n d o u r -se lves i n t r o u b l e w i t h the o ther s i d e . ! 2 Blay lock mainta ined h i s p o s i t i o n and Pearson, a month l a t e r , t o l d Murphy he planned to order B lay lock to show t h a t the company union represented a ma jo r -i t y of the smel ter workers and emphasizing t h a t he p r e f e r r e d the issue to be s e t t l e d out of p u b l i c v iew and would r a t h e r Murphy not ment ion i t t o the p ress . On June 2, 1944 the company was n o t i f i e d t h a t Pearson was s a t i s f i e d t h a t M i n e - M i l l represented a m a j o r i t y o f the men, whereupon B lay lock r e a l i z e d the game was up and r e l u c t a n t l y began n e g o t i a t i o n s w i t h the u n i o n . A c o n t r a c t was signed June 1 7 . ^ Pearson was l a t e r t o term the T r a i l u n i o n i z a t i o n "one of the g rea tes t accomplishments of B.C. unions i n recent y e a r s . T h u s the unions had reason t o expect some l e g i s l a t i v e a c t i o n i n the d i r e c t i o n of g rea te r un ion s e c u r i t y , f rom a labour m i n i s t e r who had proven h i s p a r t i a l i t y to t h e i r p o i n t of v i ew . B. P o l i t i c a l a c t i o n : to co-operate or not to co-operate? Most of the l a r g e CCL unions i n B.C. had pledged not t o s t r i k e f o r 59. the d u r a t i o n o f the war, so the campaign f o r s e c u r i t y i n i t i a l l y took the form of p o l i t i c a l a c t i o n . But labour leaders were f a r f rom agreed on what proper p o l i t i c a l a c t i o n c o n s t i t u t e d and the r e s u l t was a l a c k of u n i t y t h a t unques-t i o n a b l y made i t e a s i e r , a f t e r the end of the war, f o r the government t o p lay one f a c t i o n o f f aga ins t the o ther and e v e n t u a l l y to pass the g e n e r a l l y r e p r e s -s i ve I n d u s t r i a l C o n c i l i a t i o n and A r b i t r a t i o n Act of 1947. The founding convent ion of the B r i t i s h Columbia Federa t ion o f Labour-^ (BCFL) was he ld i n Vancouver September 30, 1944 w i t h r e p r e s e n t a t i o n f rom the IWA (which accounted f o r more than h a l f the d e l e g a t e s ) , M i n e - M i l l and mine, o i l , s t e e l and sh ipyard workers , as w e l l as miscel laneous smal l un ions . The delegates were t o l d by CCL West Coast o rgan ize r A lex McAuslane t h a t they must press f o r amendments to the ICA Act " t o p rov ide f o r the c losed shop, c h e c k - o f f , i n f a c t , complete un ion r e c o g n i t i o n . " " ^ The p r o v i n c i a l government was urged to amend the Master and Servant Act to p rov ide f o r the mandatory g r a n t i n g of dues check-o f f where a m a j o r i t y of the employees i n 18 the b a r g a i n i n g u n i t requested i t . Covering a l l bases i n the u n c e r t a i n t y which surrounded the f e d e r a l government 's temporary assumption of j u r i s d i c t i o n over labour m a t t e r s , the delegates a lso c a l l e d on Ottawa t o t r a n s f o r m the bas ic p r i n c i p l e s o f P.C. 1003 i n t o permanent l e g i s l a t i o n , n o t i n g t h a t i t " rep resen ts a g rea t advance over prev ious c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g l e g i s l a t i o n . " ' ' " ' A f u r t h e r r e s o l u t i o n complimented the B.C. government f o r i t s "earnest endea-vour t o improve c o n d i t i o n s of the common p e o p l e " , f o r the ICA Act and the 20 1943 amendments and f o r Pearson's a d m i n i s t r a t i o n of P.C. 1003. Th is c o n c i l i a t o r y a t t i t u d e toward the c o a l i t i o n government might seem s u r p r i s i n g , e s p e c i a l l y i n v iew of the CCL's endorsa t ion the prev ious year of the CCF — the o f f i c i a l o p p o s i t i o n i n B r i t i s h Columbia — as " t he 21 p o l i t i c a l arm o f labour i n Canada". I t i s exp la ined by the predominance of Labour-Progress ive Par ty members i n B .C . ' s un ion l e a d e r s h i p . The LPP 60. and CCF f a c t i o n s fought t o o t h and n a i l b e f o r e , du r i ng and a f t e r the war f o r 23 c o n t r o l of CCL p o s i t i o n s and p o l i c i e s . The communist p o s i t i o n , a f t e r the e n t r y of Russia i n t o the war i n 1941, was t h a t the de feat of fasc ism cla imed p r i o r i t y over eve ry th ing e lse on l a b o u r ' s agenda. A " u n i t e d f r o n t " p o l i c y of a l l i a n c e w i t h the CCF and " l e f t - w i n g " L i b e r a l p a r t y elements was h e l d to be the c o r r e c t s t r a t e g y f o r c lass-consc ious workers . I n the U .S . , t h i s s t r a t e g y had l ed to support of F r a n k l i n D. Rooseve l t , but i n Gad H o r o w i t z ' s words, Canadian communists m is taken ly " looked around f o r a Canadian v e r s i o n o f Roosevelt and found Mackenzie K i n g " , who was a much less r e l i a b l e " f r i e n d of l a b o u r " . 2 ^ The " u n i t e d - f r o n t " . p o l i c y was designed to f o r e s t a l l the onset of " t o r y r e a c t i o n " i n the form of a Conservat ive e l e c t o r a l v i c t o r y . The American arid Canadian communist- led u n i o n s ' support of the war e f f o r t , and n o - s t r i k e pledges earned them, i r o n i c a l l y , a r e p u t a t i o n as " the s t a b i l i z i n g 25 f o r c e i n the American labor movement t o d a y . " I n B r i t i s h Columbia, the p o l i c y of a l l i a n c e w i t h l i b e r a l s d i c t a t e d c r i t i c a l support f o r the Har t govern-ment . But t h a t government i nc luded the ve ry " r e a c t i o n a r y " elements the p o l i c y was designed to a t t a c k , i n the form of the Conservat ive c o a l i t i o n i s t s . Despi te t h i s i n c o n g r u i t y , the LPP leaders and u n i o n i s t s cont inued to p l a y up t o the L i b e r a l wing o f the c o a l i t i o n . Th is endeared them t o Pearson and H a r t , who n a t u r a l l y enough welcomed any o p p o r t u n i t y to lessen the power and p r e s t i g e of the CCF. Pearson g l e e f u l l y sent Hart a copy o f the l auda to ry r e s o l u t i o n f rom the f i r s t BCFL conven t ion , remark ing : "Th is i s a l l the more 26 i n t e r e s t i n g as the CCL accepts the CCF as t h e i r p o l i t i c a l a r m . " This was one of a number of occasions on which the BCFL "proved an embarrassment to the C C L . " 2 7 Had the LPP ever been ab le to e l e c t any candidates t o the p r o v i n c i a l l e g i s l a t u r e , of course, i t might have been a d i f f e r e n t s t o r y , as the p a r t y ' s 6 1 . members would have found themselves w i t h e l e c t o r a l i n t e r e s t s to p r o t e c t . Th is was the p o s i t i o n of the CCF, which could have no t r u c k w i t h any p o l i c i e s of even p a r t i a l support f o r the C o a l i t i o n ( o r , on the f e d e r a l l e v e l , f o r K i n g ) . 28 As i t s p o l i t i c i a n s had b i t t e r l y c r i t i c i z e d P.C. 1003, they denounced a l l the C o a l i t i o n labour l e g i s l a t i o n and concent ra ted on p a r l i a m e n t a r y maneouvring designed to put t h e i r p o l i c i e s be fo re the p u b l i c . But CCF s t r e n g t h i n the B.C. un ion movement was r e s t r i c t e d b a s i c a l l y to the s t e e l and coa l min ing unions u n t i l a f t e r the war. This was due p a r t l y ; t o the s k i l l and p o p u l a r i -t y of the communist leaders and p a r t l y to the h i s t o r i c a l l y " d o c t r i n a i r e i n t e l l e c t u a l approach" o f the West Coast CCF. As a r e s u l t the LPP p o l i c y p r e v a i l e d , f o r the t ime b e i n g . The i d e o l o g i c a l bas is of the s t r u g g l e be -tween the two f a c t i o n s , however, was not always c l e a r , f o r bo th s ides appear-ed to accept the c h a n n e l l i n g of the labour movement i n t o the r i g i d Wagner Act system of c e r t i f i c a t i o n and compulsory b a r g a i n i n g . Thus i n the BCFL's f i r s t b r i e f to the p r o v i n c i a l c a b i n e t , they noted t h a t the unions had " w e l l and f a i t h f u l l y p layed t h e i r p a r t " i n the war e f f o r t , and wished to see the wart ime management-labour-government " c o - o p e r a t i o n " "con t inued and extended 29 i n t o the peace. " Few employers, 'however , were persuaded by t h i s . . k i n d of reason ing . That f i r s t b r i e f to the c a b i n e t , presented i n December 1944, had repeated the 30 conven t ion ' s demands f o r l e g i s l a t e d un ion s e c u r i t y , and t h i s was a s i g n a l f o r the employer lobby to swing i n t o a c t i o n . The " inc reased employer r e s i s -tance" p r e d i c t e d by the B.C. F i n a n c i a l Times became a w e l l - o r g a n i z e d cam-pa ign aimed p r i n c i p a l l y aga ins t a l l forms of un ion s e c u r i t y , bu t a l so a t h igher minimum wages, sho r te r hours and improved l e g i s l a t i o n regard ing work-men's compensation and annual v a c a t i o n s . The Canadian Manu fac tu re rs ' A s s o c i a -t i o n had a l ready adopted the p o l i c y t h a t no member should s ign a c o l l e c t i v e 62. agreement p r o v i d i n g f o r any form of un ion s e c u r i t y . 31 While a l l employers could not toe t h i s l i n e , l e t t e r s began to d r i f t i n t o H a r t ' s o f f i c e f rom h i s f r i e n d s i n i n d u s t r y , opposing the BCFL amendment p roposa ls . B l a y l o c k of Consol idated Min ing and Smelt ing sent a long a copy o f the dominion House o f Commons Debates, s t a r r i n g and u n d e r l i n i n g the a n t i - u n i o n shop p o s i t i o n o f f e d e r a l labour m i n i s t e r Humphrey M i t c h e l l , as a reminder to Hart t h a t good 32 L i b e r a l s abhorred t h i s k i n d of " compu ls ion" . Haro ld S. Foley of the Powel l R iver (pulp and paper) Co. penned a paean to h i s company's s t a b l e labour r e l a t i o n s record and warned t h a t the check -o f f would prove "a ser ious h a n d i -cap to the cont inuance and p o s s i b l e improvement o f the r e l a t i o n s h i p s between 33 our Company and the Union and between the men and the U n i o n . " These sent iments became organized when a d e l e g a t i o n r e p r e s e n t i n g 20 employer a s -s o c i a t i o n s , l e d by the CMA's B.C. d i v i s i o n , met the cab ine t i n January, 1945. Thei r p r e s e n t a t i o n contended t h a t the un ion shop and check -o f f v i o l a t e d the r i g h t of the i n d i v i d u a l to work and h i s freedom "not to a s s o c i a t e " . I t was claimed t h a t these measures r e s u l t e d i n the ty ranny of the m a j o r i t y and t h a t i f they were to be i n s t i t u t e d a t a l l , i t should be through the medium of c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g r a t h e r than through l e g i s l a t i o n . The employers a l so looked askance a t the p o l i t i c a l a f f i l i a t i o n s of the BCFL, saying the check-o f f f o rces the maintenance of f i n a n c i a l c o n t r i b u t i o n s t o a un ion i n wh ich , f o r good reason an employee may have e n t i r e l y l o s t conf idence and thus c o n t r i b u t e ( s i c ) to the c r e a t i o n and p e r p e t u a t i o n of power fu l and dangerous monopolies a t the hands o f unscrupulous and dangerous The employers ' concern f o r human r i g h t s was not too conv inc ing s ince they had been l o a t h to e x h i b i t the same sent iments d u r i n g the i n i t i a l stages o f i n d u s t r i a l o r g a n i z a t i o n , when workers were harassed, i n t i m i d a t e d and f i r e d f o r un ion membership or a c t i v i t y . 35 The apparent concern about 63. i n d i v i d u a l r i g h t s was r e a l l y an i d e o l o g i c a l veneer slapped over the funda -mental d e c i s i o n to r e s i s t the impending entrenchment of unions as a s o c i a l i n s t i t u t i o n . The m a j o r i t y of employers were not ready to f o l l o w Pearson's lead and accept u n i o n i z a t i o n as the p r i c e of i n d u s t r i a l s t a b i l i t y and the maintenance of p r o d u c t i o n . C. The f i r s t labour lobby The BCFL!'s b r i e f to the government f a i l e d to generate, much p u b l i c d i s c u s s i o n , so the f e d e r a t i o n decided t o go beyond the t r a d i t i o n a l c l o s e d -door labour-government d i s c u s s i o n s . So the f i r s t o f the post-war " labour l o b b i e s " , a "monster conference" of de legates p lann ing to "comple te ly cover the House" i n V i c t o r i a , con f ron t each MLA w i t h the labour program and r e p o r t 36 h i s p o s i t i o n back to the c o n s t i t u e n c y , was o rgan ized . The l obb ies were designed f o r maximum media impace and were always preceded by a barrage of telegrams from u n i o n i s t s (and CCF and LPP members and c lubs) throughout the p r o v i n c e . Pearson had t o l d Hart he planned no: major labour l e g i s l a t i o n f o r the 1945 sess ion , but l e f t the door open f o r a change o f hea r t a f t e r the 37 cab ine t had heard f rom a l l p a r t i e s concerned. As i t tu rned o u t , he was ab le to s t i c k t o h i s o r i g i n a l p l a n , s a t i s f y the labour leaders and s ides tep the CCF a l l a t once, a l though i n doing so he managed to i n c u r the wra th of the employers. 38 When the 181 BCFL l o b b y i s t s a r r i v e d i n V i c t o r i a on February 25, they c a r r i e d a l i s t of seven demands: 1) P.C. 1003 w i t h ant i-company un ion and o ther amendments as the bas is of permanent p r o v i n c i a l l e g i s l a t i o n , 2) mandatory check-o f f where a c e r t i f i e d un ion requested i t , 3) amendments to the Workmen's Compensation A c t , 4) a g i t a t i o n by the p rov ince f o r a n a t i o n a l h e a l t h insurance scheme, 5) s t r i c t e r s a f e t y requirements f o r B.C. I n d u s t r y , 6) n a t i o n a l i z a t i o n of the B.C. E l e c t r i c Rai lway Co. , 7) a broad government-sponsored housing program. Murphy complained a t the f i r s t lobby meet ing t h a t a wis " t h r m i l dost issue you can imagia .a ; , b'j _ 64. the un ion shop issue was " t he m i l d e s t issue you can imag ine" , but had been blown out of p r o p o r t i o n by the CMA-led a n t i - u n i o n s e c u r i t y campaign, and t h e r e f o r e he urged the delegates not to "antagonize or v i l i f y " the MLAs to 39 whom they spoke, but to use respons ib le arguments. F r i c t i o n between the communist and CCF elements i n the lobby was ev ident on t h a t f i r s t day. The CCF wing was l ed to George Wi lk inson o f the V i c t o r i a TLC and James Robertson of the S tee lworkers , the l a t t e r having been sent to B.C. by the n a t i o n a l S tee l l e a d e r , Charles M i l l a r d , w i t h the s p e c i f i c purpose of maximizing the CCF i n f l u e n c e i n the West Coast labour 40 movement. Par t o f t h i s j o b , of course, e n t a i l e d d o v e t a i l i n g labour a c t i o n w i t h CCF caucus l e g i s l a t i v e a c t i o n . A CCF l o b b y i s t moved t h a t the lobby de-mand the l e g i s l a t u r e s i t u n t i l the labour demands were considered and t h a t the proposals should be r e f e r r e d to the l e g i s l a t u r e ' s s tand ing committee on l abour . This wou ld , of course, have enabled the CCF caucus to shoulder i t s way i n t o the l i m e l i g h t through the medium of p u b l i c committee s i t t i n g s and debate i n the l e g i s l a t u r e . Murphy, s m e l l i n g a r a t , h i n t e d to the lobby meet ing t h a t the CCF mot ion smacked of " p l a y i n g p o l i t i c s " , but the meaning 41 was not s u f f i c i e n t l y c l e a r and the mot ion passed. The next day the execu t i ve committee of the lobby met the cab ine t and was t o l d by Har t t h a t the s tand ing committee on labour would not s i t and t h a t the government planned no labour l e g i s l a t i o n . The committee got a b e t t e r r e c e p t i o n f rom the c o a l i t i o n caucus t h a t even ing, where the l o b b y i s t s 42 apparen t l y rece ived the support o f severa l L i b e r a l members. Faced w i t h a 43 caucus s p l i t , Pearson met again w i t h the execu t i ve committee on the t h i r d and f i n a l day of the lobby and found a way t o cash i n on the LPP-CCF a n t a -gonism. He emerged f rom t h a t meeting and s c r i b b l e d the f o l l o w i n g memo to H a r t : 65. I f you w i l l a l l o w me to make a Press statement t h i s a f t e r -noon agreeing to set up a Committee o f Labor to consu l t w i t h us a f t e r the sess ion upon a l l Labour Mat te rs r e p r e -sented to us by the v a r i o u s unions the labour d e l e g a t i o n w i l l accept t h i s and wi thdraw t h e i r request f o r check -o f f l e g i s l a t i o n t h i s sess ion . (44) Pearson's press statement was summarized as f o l l o w s : Immediately upon the r i s i n g of the house he would ask the v a r i o u s Labor groups to nominate members to a j o i n t Labor Union and Department of Labour committee f o r the purpose of c o n s i d e r i n g a l l mat te rs t h a t have been submit ted to the Government through Labor Union b r i e f s f o r the purpose of 1 d e a l i n g as f a r as p o s s i b l e w i t h those mat te rs which do not r e q u i r e l e g i s l a t i o n , and f u r t h e r , to make recommendations to the Govern-ment f o r changes i n Labor l e g i s l a t i o n f o r the nex t Session of the House; a lso to cons ider recommendations to the Federa l Government re changes i n e x i s t i n g Fed-e r a l Labor Orders. (45) The lobby leaders h a i l e d the es tab l ishment o f t h i s "government- labour com-m i t t e e " as a "tremendous advancement i n t h a t a l l organized labour i n g e n e r a l , s ince the commencement o f the war, have been demanding f rom P r o v i n c i a l and Federa l Governments, t h a t they be t r e a t e d as a f u l l war p a r t n e r and taken i n t o the Government's con f idence . But the CCF f a c t i o n was ou t raged . "Labour asked f o r b r e a d " , 47 s p l u t t e r e d Angus Mac lnn is , the CCF MP. "The i r leaders accepted a s t o n e . " Robertson and the Steelworkers d e l e g a t i o n had p u l l e d out of the lobby on the second day when i t became apparent no support would be g iven by the lobby t o 4. a CCF caucus mot ion t h a t the s tand ing committee cons ider the labour demands. Danny O 'B r ien , p r e s i d e n t of the BCFL, countered t h a t the l o b b y i s t s had not wanted the CCF to r e f r a i n f rom b r i n g i n g i n labour l e g i s l a t i o n , but t h a t the best way they cou ld he lp the labour movement was to support the es tab l ishment of the government- labour committee. "Had they done so, the CCF would have gained p r e s t i g e by f o r c i n g the Government's h a n d , " O 'Br ien s a i d . "Un fo r -t u n a t e l y t h i s was not done and the lobby d i d not remain i n t a c t f o r t h a t rea-> 49 s o n . " The BCFL issued a statement which read i n p a r t : 66. We d i d not go to V i c t o r i a w i t h a p o l i t i c a l axe to g r i n d . We, as a t rade union o r g a n i z a t i o n are not now, nor have we any i n t e n t i o n of b e i n g , t i e d to one p o l i t i c a l p a r t y nor to p l a y p a r t i s a n p o l i t i c s . We were concerned on ly w i t h o b t a i n i n g f o r our membership, needed l e g i s l a t i o n and w i t h remedying e x i s t i n g l e g i s l a t i o n . . . . The es tab l ishment of t h i s Labour-Government committee was not a s u b s t i t u t e f o r any of the l e g i s l a t i o n t h a t we are seek ing . Nor do we t r e a t i t as such. We consider the Labour-Government Committee as the best "ways and means" of e s t a b l i s h i n g f o r labour i t s proper r e c o g n i t i o n by the Government and a g rea t s tep forward i n b r i n g i n g about b e t t e r l e g i s l a t i o n and a d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f l e g i s l a t i o n on a l l mat te rs t h a t e f f e c t ( s i c ) l a b o u r . (50; The BCFL leaders had at tempted to keep the 1945 lobby i n c l u s i v e of many work ing -c lass g r ievances . Harvey Murphy i n s i s t e d t h a t the check -o f f and un ion shop were " m i l d i s s u e s " which the CMA was t r y i n g to use f o r r e a c t i o n a r y purposes. But f r e s h i n the minds of the CCF suppor ters was the passage i n 1944 by a CCF government of the Saskatchewan Trade Union Act which conta ined the un ion s e c u r i t y p r o v i s i o n s the BCFL was demanding. This purpor ted to show t h a t e l e c t i o n o f a CCF government was the qu ickes t way to 51 52 t o t a l u n i o n i z a t i o n . The CCF's emphasis on s e c u r i t y , accord ing to the lobby l e a d e r s , p layed i n t o the hands of the employers and " r e s u l t e d i n l a b o u r ' s l e g i s l a t i v e proposals , becomings a p o l i t i c a l f o o t b a l l around the check -o f f ..53 q u e s t i o n . The communist un ion l e a d e r s , of course , were anxious t h a t the CCF get no c r e d i t f o r any reforms won by the labour movement, e s p e c i a l l y w i t h a p r o v i n c i a l e l e c t i o n w i d e l y be l i eved to be imminent. The CCF had always spurned LPP o f f e r s o f e l e c t o r a l agreements (under which n e i t h e r p a r t y would 54 run candidates aga ins t the o t h e r ) and t h e r e f o r e , any p r e s t i g e gained by the CCF could not f a i l to come a t the expense o f the communists. But the re were o ther f a c t o r s i n the BCFL's d e c i s i o n to p lay b a l l w i t h the government. The war was not ye t over and c o - o p e r a t i o n i n the war e f f o r t was the p o l i c y no t on ly o f the LPP o f f i c i a l l y of the CCL as w e l l . Consistency demanded t h a t the p o l i c y of c o - o p e r a t i o n i n the war e f f o r t be cont inued u n t i l i t s comp le t i on . Second, the r e a l i t i e s of pa r l i amen ta ry government rendered the p o s s i b i l i t y of improved l e g i s l a t i o n a t the 1945 s i t t i n g improbable , s ince the government could s i d e t r a c k or de feat any CCF mot ion w i t h ease. Th is of course was a c t u a l l y what happened. The BCFL leaders considered t h a t they might go away f rom V i c t o r i a empty-handed, w i t h o u t even the " s t o n e " a t which Angus Maclnnis sneered, had they cast t h e i r l o t i n w i t h the CCF caucus. At any r a t e , Pearson soon rewarded them f o r t h e i r suppor t . F i r s t he wi thdrew an o f f e r of p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n the government- labour committee which he had made to the CMA the day a f t e r the l o b b y i s t s l e f t V i c t o r i a . Apparen t l y r e a l i z i n g t h a t employer r e p r e s e n t a t i o n on the committee would not f i n d favour w i t h the BCFL l e a d e r s , Pearson suggested to Hugh D a l t o n , sec re ta ry o f the CMA's B.C. d i v i s i o n , t h a t he would get the labour committee together and then 56 ask f o r employer r e p r e s e n t a t i o n . At t h i s the employers became apprehensive, f e a r i n g t h a t Pearson would c a p i t u l a t e comple te ly to the labour demand. The i r susp ic ions were p a r t l y conf i rmed i n the l e g i s l a t u r e on March 2 1 . Dur ing a speech on labour m a t t e r s , Pearson began to c r i t i c i z e the a n t i - u n i o n a c t i o n s of some employers, then turned to Har t and asked: "May I go as f a r as I l i k e , Mr. Premier?" On r e c e i v i n g H a r t ' s okay, he t o l d the as ton ished MLAs t h a t ve ry few employers r e a l l y opposed the c h e c k - o f f , t h a t those who d i d were c a t e g o r i c a l l y " s imp ly s t u p i d " and t h a t those who opposed the un ion shop were " e q u a l l y s t u p i d " . Not ing t h a t most of the 15 s t r i k e s i n 1944 were prompted by the u n w i l l i n g n e s s of employers to recogn ize un ions , he sa id he had been "hear tb roken a t t imes , the way some employers take an o b s t i n a t e and s t u p i d a t t i t u d e i n opposing the r i g h t o f every employee to stand up f o r h i m s e l f . " Never the less , Pearson con t i nued , many f i r m s were coming to see the advantage of i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z i n g unions by g i v i n g them s e c u r i t y . " I n the l a s t y e a r " , he s a i d , "a l a r g e paper company wrote to me and asked f o r a c losed shop. 68. A f t e r a y e a r ' s exper ience w i t h a un ion agreement they f e l t i t was i n the best i n t e r e s t to have a c losed s h o p " . " ^ He concluded by say ing t h a t "had i t not been f o r the recen t show of f o r c e by some groups of employers the labour unions 58 would not have taken the stand they d i d i n t h e i r recen t l o b b y . " The employers c o u l d n ' t b e l i e v e t h e i r eyes when they read t h i s i n the newspapers. Ralph Campney, the chairman of the CMA's i n d u s t r i a l r e l a -t i o n s committee, a lawyer and former f e d e r a l L i b e r a l cab ine t m i n i s t e r , took Har t to task f o r p e r m i t t i n g the ou t rage , which he sa id c o n s t i t u t e d an e n t i r e l y unwarranted and u n j u s t i f i a b l e a t t a c k on employers of the p r o v i n c e . I cannot r e c o l l e c t any s i m i l a r c i rcumstances where such remarks have been made by a respons ib le M i n i s t e r of the Crown i n r e -l a t i o n to i n d u s t r i a l i s t s and businessmen of a community. . . . they ( the remarks) apparen t l y would i n d i c a t e t h a t any e f f o r t s on the p a r t o f employers to work i n co -o p e r a t i o n w i t h him (Pearson) i n the mat te rs of i n d u s -t r i a l r e l a t i o n s are hopeless and foredoomed to f a i l u r e . ( 5 9 ) The Western Miner added i t s vo ice to the clamour: . . . i t would be d i f f i c u l t to s e l e c t a more oppo-s i t e a d j e c t i v e than " s t u p i d " to c h a r a c t e r i z e such an e x h i b i t i o n of bad t a s t e , arrogance and b i a s by a respons ib le M i n i s t e r of the Crown. . . . M r . Pearson cons iders i t f o o l i s h of employers to d e s i r e to p r o t e c t the r i g h t s not on ly of t h e i r men absent on a c t i v e s e r v i c e , bu t o f a l l t h e i r employees who under the check -o f f system are com-p e l l e d to comply w i t h un ion requi rements i n t h i s mat te r of the d i s p o s i t i o n of p a r t of t h e i r e a r n -ings or s u f f e r the consequence i n the l oss of employment. . . . M r . Pearson appears to r e j o i c e i n the accom-pl ishments of the C . I . O . m i n e r s ' u n i o n , an o r -g a n i z a t i o n p r o f e s s i n g communistic d o c t r i n e s , con-t r o l l e d f rom Denver, Colorado and whose past r e -cord f o r h igh-handed, not to say v i o l e n t , a c t i o n i n the Un i ted States i s not e n v i a b l e . ( 6 0 ) Pearson's speech marked the beg inn ing of a d e f i n i t e coolness between him and the organized fo rces of c a p i t a l i s m i n B r i t i s h Columbia. As we s h a l l see, the a n t i - l a b o u r fo rces found i t eas ie r to bypass Pearson i n t h e i r quest f o r 69. r e s t r i c t i v e l e g i s l a t i o n (or the lack of progressive l e g i s l a t i o n ) and to win an o v e r a l l aggregation of C o a l i t i o n power to t h e i r cause. Given the cla s s composition of the l e g i s l a t u r e outlined i n Chapter 2, the odds were on t h e i r side from the s t a r t . 70. Notes to Chapter 3 1 S tua r t Jamieson, " I n d u s t r i a l r e l a t i o n s and government p o l i c y " , CJEPS, 17 (1951) : 28. 2 S tu a r t Jamieson, Times of t r o u b l e : labour unres t and i n d u s t r i a l c o n f l i c t i n Canada, 1900-66, Task f o r c e on labour r e l a t i o n s , s tudy no. 22, Ottawa: P r i v y Counc i l O f f i c e , 1968, 297. 3 I b i d . , 296. 4 B.C. F i n a n c i a l Times, May 19, 1945, 1 . 5 Labour Gazet te , 47 (1947): 421 . My emphasis. 6 See L loyd Ulman, The government of the s t e e l worke rs ' u n i o n , New York : John Wi ley and Sons, 1962. 7 B.C. Lumber Worker, August 7, 1944, 2. 8 I b i d . , October 17, 1944, 2. 9 Western Miner , March 1945, 30. 10 B.C. F i n a n c i a l Times, August 4, 1945, 1 . 11 Report of p roceed ings, execut ive commit tee, B.C. L i b e r a l A s s o c i a t i o n , Vancouver, A p r i l 1 1 , 1944, BCLAP, box 1 , 22-3 . 12 Pearson to Murphy, January 1 1 , 1944, MMP, 36-8 . 13 Pearson to Murphy, February 17, 1944, i b i d . 14 Western Miner , A p r i l 1945, 94. The i n t imacy which e x i s t e d between Pearson and Murphy i s shown i n a subsequent l e t t e r d e a l i n g w i t h a d i f f e r e n t ques-t i o n . This was addressed "Dear Harvey" and concluded: " I am going t o be away f rom the o f f i c e f o r about two weeks so see i f you can keep t h i n g s q u i e t f o r me w h i l e I am away." Pearson to Murphy, September 12, 1946, MMP, 36-8 . 15 Western Miner , A p r i l 1945, 39. 16 The f i r s t B.C. Federa t ion of Labour disbanded i n 1920 when the s y n d i c a l i s t One Big Union was formed. See Paul P h i l l i p s , No power g r e a t e r : a cen tu ry of labour i n B r i t i s h Columbia, 85. 17 BCFL Convention Proceedings, 1 (1944) , 1 0 - 1 1 . 18 I b i d . , 22. A s i m i l a r p r o v i s i o n a l ready e x i s t e d i n the. coa l mines, which were under f e d e r a l j u r i s d i c t i o n . 19 Loc. c i t . 20 I b i d . , 24. I t w i l l be remembered t h a t Pearson decided t o admin i s te r P.C. 1003 h imse l f r a t h e r than set up, as the o ther p rov inces d i d , a r e g i o n a l wart ime labour r e l a t i o n s board . 7 1 . 21 Gad Horow i tz , Canadian Labour i n p o l i t i c s , Toron to : U n i v e r s i t y of Toronto Press, 1968, 78. 22 :"The BCFL's p res iden t was Dan ie l O ' B r i e n , a t h e o r e t i c a l l y n e u t r a l CCL West Coast r e p r e s e n t a t i v e who i n p r a c t i c e agreed w i t h the r e s t of h i s e x e c u t i v e . F i r s t and second v i c e - p r e s i d e n t s were Murphy and A lex McKenzie of the Uni ted O i l Workers and the s e c r e t a r y — t r e a s u r e r was Harold P r i t c h e t t . A l l were communists and the LPP claimed the l o y a l t y of most of the f i v e o ther execut ive members. The key members o f t h i s group remained i n o f f i c e u n t i l 1948. 23 D e t a i l s of t h i s h o s t i l i t y i n B.C. are conta ined i n I r v i n g A b e l l a , N a t i o n a - l i s m , communism and Canadian l a b o u r , Toronto : U n i v e r s i t y o f Toronto Press, 1973, chs. 5 and 7. 24 Horow i tz , op_. c i t . , 90. H o r o w i t z ' s sneer ing a t t i t u d e toward the communists mars h i s t reatment of t h i s s t r u g g l e . 25 B l a i r F raser , "The commies muscle i n " , Mac lean 's , January 15, 1947, 13. 26 Pearson to H a r t , December 1 1 , 1944, PP, 1944-45, L-3-G. 27 A b e l l a , op_. c i t . , 116. 28 See George M. A. Grube, "P .C. 1003 - j u s t another o r d e r - i n - c o u n c i l " , Canadian Forum, 24 (1944-5) : 6 -8 . 29 BCFL, Submission to Premier John Hart and c a b i n e t , December 19, 1944, MMP, 31-6 . 30 Whereas the convent ion r e s o l u t i o n asked f o r s e c u r i t y where a m a j o r i t y of the employees wanted i t , the f e d e r a t i o n o f f i c e r s asked the cab ine t f o r l e g i s l a t i o n enab l ing t h i s to happen on ly a f t e r c e r t i f i c a t i o n had taken p l a c e . This suggests the f e d e r a t i o n leaders were more preoccupied w i t h the i n s t i t u t i o n a l aspects of un ion s e c u r i t y than was the rank -and-f i l e . 31 I n d u s t r i a l Canada, November 1945, 87. 32 B lay lock to H a r t , PP, 1944-45, C - l l - G . 33 Foley t o H a r t , PP,- 1944-45, L-3-G. 34 I n d u s t r i a l Canada, February 1945, 80. 35 See, e . g . , M y r t l e Bergren, Tough Timber, Toronto : Progress Books, 1967. 36 BCFL execut ive meeting minu tes , January 27, 1945. MMP, 31-10; BCFL l e g i s l a t i v e b u l l e t i n , February 2, 1945, i b i d . , 31-7 . 37 Pearson to H a r t , January 8, 1945, PP, 1944-5, L-3-G. 38 The Trades and Labour Congress' p r o v i n c i a l execu t i ve was i n v i t e d t o p a r -t i c i p a t e i n the lobby , but dec l i ned to accompany the BCFL to V i c t o r i a and ins tead met the cab ine t two days be fo re the BCFL a r r i v e d . The TLC's b r i e f to the cab ine t a c t u a l l y proposed b e t t e r maximum hours and v a c a t i o n l e g i s l a t i o n than d i d t h a t of the BCFL, but i t was s i l e n t on the s e c u r i t y 72. q u e s t i o n . Some TLC u n i o n i s t s , i n c l u d i n g those i n the CCF-dominated V i c t o r i a Trades and Labour C o u n c i l , d i d p a r t i c i p a t e i n the BCFL lobby . See TLC submission to c a b i n e t , January 12, 1945, PP, 1944-5, L-3-G; Rai lway b ro the rhoods ' submission, January 1945, i b i d . 39 Labour lobby minu tes , February 25, 1945, MMP, 31-10. 40 For the antagonism which t h i s move by the n a t i o n a l S tee l l e a d e r , Charles M i l l a r d , engendered w i t h i n the n a t i o n a l CCL, see Horow i t z , op_. c i t . , 118-22. 41 Labour lobby minu tes , February 25, 1945, MMP, 31-10; Vancouver News-Herald, February 26, 1945, 2 . 42 Labour lobby minu tes , February 25, 1945, MMP, 31-10; V i c t o r i a Times, February 28, 1945, 1 1 . Almost t o a man the Conservat ive c o a l i t i o n i s t s , a long w i t h H a r t , opposed the check -o f f demand. Vancouver Sun, February 28, 1945, 1 . 43 One newspaper descr ibed the s i t u a t i o n as " a d m i t t e d l y t e n s e " . Vancouver News-Herald, February 28, 1945, 1 . 44 Undated l e g i s l a t i v e memorandum, Pearson to H a r t , PP, 1944-5, L-3-G. 45 B.C. D i s t r i c t Union News, March 10, 1945, 6. 46 Labour lobby execu t i ve committee minu tes , February 27, 1945, MMP, 31-10. 47 Quoted i n Horow i t z , op_. c i t . , 126. 48 Horowi tz , op_. e x t . , 125. Another group of CCFers l e d by George Wi lk inson at tempted to organ ize a "rump lobby" to press f o r implementat ion of the o r i g i n a l demands a t the 1945 s e s s i o n . 49 Labour lobby execu t i ve committee minu tes , March 25, 1945, MMP, 31-10. 50 BCFL s ta tement , March 1945, PP, 1944-45, L-20-D. 51 S tee l Labor, September 1945, 4 . 52 Herber t Gargrave (CCF-Mackenzie) had in t roduced i n t o the l e g i s l a t u r e a r e s o l u t i o n i n support of the check -o f f — but on ly the check -o f f — proposals conta ined i n the BCFL b r i e f . 53 BCFL statement , March 1945, PP, 1944-45, L-20-D. 54 The LPP a c t u a l l y supported the L i b e r a l s over the CCF i n the 1945 f e d e r a l e l e c t i o n . See Walter Young, The anatomy of a p a r t y : the n a t i o n a l CCF, 1932-61. Toronto : U n i v e r s i t y of Toronto Press, 1969, 280. 55 The CCL leaders i n Eastern Canada supported the BCFL's s t a n d . See Horow i tz , op_. c i t . , 127. 73. 56 Da l ton to Pearson, March 7, 1945, PP, 1944-45, L-20-D; Pearson to D a l t o n , March 10, 1945, i b i d . 57 Vancouver Sun, March 21, 1945, 1. 58 Vancouver News-Herald, March 21, 1945, 1. 59 Campney to H a r t , March 24, 1945, PP, 1944-45, L-20-D; see a lso James H. Eckman t o Pearson, March 22, 1945, i b i d . 60 Western Miner , A p r i l 1945, p. 39. This e d i t o r i a l was r e p r i n t e d i n Mine-M i l l ' s newspaper under the h e a d l i n e : "He Must Be Good I f They A t t a c k H im" . B.C. D i s t r i c t Union News, September 29, 1945, 3. CHAPTER IV THE UNIONS FIGHT FOR STATUS: BATTLES - I I n t r o d u c t i o n A n a t i o n a l endeavour such as the p r o s e c u t i o n of a war enables a facade of c lass u n i t y to deve lop. Such was the case i n B r i t i s h Columbia du r ing the war yea rs , when the c lass i n t e r e s t s of workers , farmers and even businessmen were t e m p o r a r i l y abandoned i n de ter rence to the "war e f f o r t " . A f t e r v i c t o r y i n Europe, t h i s facade began to f a l l a p a r t . Employers began to t a l k about the s a c r i f i c e s t h a t would have to be made d u r i n g r e c o n s t r u c -t i o n . Workers, f o r t h e i r p a r t , "had a s t rong i n c e n t i v e t o ' ge t what they could w h i l e the g e t t i n g i s g o o d ' " . l Even be fo re the A l l i e d v i c t o r y i n the P a c i f i c , the f i r s t b i t t e r s t r i k e w i t h i t s r o o t s i n the i ssue o f un ion s t a t u s and s e c u r i t y had broken o u t . Th is c o n f l i c t set a p a t t e r n of employer i n t r a n s -igence, a g r a r i a n support f o r the company and government i n t e r v e n t i o n aimed a t m a i n t a i n i n g p r o d u c t i o n t h a t was to be repeated seve ra l t imes i n the f o l -lowing year and formed the s o c i a l bas is f o r the ICA Act of 1947. A. American Can: the maintenance of p r o d u c t i o n I n the l a s t chapter we saw t h a t un ion s e c u r i t y formed the c o r n e r -stone of the post-war b a r g a i n i n g p o l i c y of the Un i ted Steelworkers o f Amer ica. The f i r s t s t rong stand on the issue was taken a t the American Can Co. L t d . , a f t e r f o u r years of ba rga in ing and s i g n i n g c o n t r a c t s . The p l a n t was the on ly manufacturer of meta l cans i n the p rov ince and thus enjoyed a monopoly on the p r o d u c t i o n of a commodity on which the food-produc ing i n d u s t r i e s were u t t e r l y dependent. The f i s h e r i e s and the f r u i t and vegetab le process ing p l a n t s on the Fraser and Okanagan V a l l e y s had to have a cont inuous supply o f meta l con ta ine rs du r i ng the harves t season, as the pe r i shab les they p r o -75. duced could not be s to red f o r long p e r i o d s . P roduc t ion had been runn ing a t a peak du r ing the war and the l e v e l was kept up by the demand f o r food supp l i es i n the l i b e r a t e d c o u n t r i e s and i n the P a c i f i c . Record crops and f i s h runs i n 1945 heightened the p o t e n t i a l impact of a shutdown a t American Can. Peach and pear crops i n B.C. were the l a r g e s t ever . A p r i c o t , r a s p b e r r y , s t rawber ry and grape y i e l d s were up over 1944, and B.C. producers were expect ing to cash i n on eas te rn marke ts , s ince crops 2 had been poor t h e r e . B.C. f ishermen had landed the f o u r t h l a r g e s t ca tch i n h i s t o r y and the showpiece of the p r o v i n c i a l f i s h e r y , the salmon pack, was 3 up, des t ined to r i s e 62 per cent over the p rev ious y e a r . T o t a l va lue of the B.C. f i s h catch turned out t o be by f a r the h ighes t ever : up to $44.5 m i l l i o n f rom $34.9 m i l l i o n i n 1944. Canned salmon alone accounted f o r $18.4 4 m i l l i o n of the 1945 t o t a l . I t i s p o s s i b l e the Steelworkers d i d no t decide t o take a f i r m stand on un ion s e c u r i t y a t American Can u n t i l i t became c l e a r the w a r ' s end was on ly a mat te r of t i m e . The u n i o n ' s r e p r e s e n t a t i v e on a c o n c i l i a t i o n board t h a t began hear ings May 11 i n i t i a l l y concurred w i t h the o ther board members"* i n recommending t h a t the new c o n t r a c t c o n t a i n a v o l u n t a r y check -o f f caluse but no t the un ion shop. Then the r e p r e s e n t a t i v e , George Wi l k inson of the V i c t o r i a Trades and Labour C o u n c i l , changed h i s mind (undoubtedly a f t e r c o n s u l t a t i o n w i t h the Stee lworkers) and wro te a m i n o r i t y r e p o r t i n which he favoured i n c l u s i o n of a un ion shop c lause " t o secure harmonious r e a l t i o n s f rom year to y e a r " . 7 The company accepted the m a j o r i t y r e p o r t bu t the un ion h e ld out f o r the un ion shop and on J u l y 27 the 446 employees s t r u c k . 8 P r o v i n c i a l c o n c i l i a t i o n o f f i c e r s at tempted w i t h o u t success t o at tempt a s e t t l e m e n t . Wires began to pour i n to V i c t o r i a and to H a r t , who 76. was i n Ottawa a t t e n d i n g the d o m i n i o n - p r o v i n c i a l conference on r e c o n s t r u c t i o n , f rom employer and producer groups u r g i n g government i n t e r v e n t i o n t o s e t t l e the s t r i k e . The Salmon Canners Operat ing Committee po in ted to the reco rd salmon r u n , sa id thousands of d o l l a r s had been inves ted i n new equipment t o process the f i s h and warned t h a t a p rov ince-w ide cannery shutdown would occur 9 August 3 i f p r o d u c t i o n was not resumed. S i m i l a r appeals came f rom the B.C. Wholesale Grocers ' A s s o c i a t i o n , the Canned Foods A s s o c i a t i o n o f B.C. , and the Fraser V a l l e y M i l k Producers ' A s s o c i a t i o n . The BCFL a lso urged the govern-ment to i n t e r v e n e , imposing a se t t lement favourab le to the s t r i k e r s . ^ The government could not i n te rvene under P.C. 1003, however, because the USWA had complied w i t h the p r o v i s i o n s r e q u i r i n g a 14-day h i a t u s between the r e p o r t of a c o n c i l i a t i o n board and a s t r i k e . " ^ The s i t u a t i o n was compounded by the absence of Pearson, who was i n h o s p i t a l undergoing an eye o p e r a t i o n . The a c t i n g labour m i n i s t e r was the Tory mines m i n s t e r , Ernest Carson. On August 4 , when the s t r i k e was i n i t s n i n t h day, Carson apparen t l y decided t h a t the c o n c i l i a t i o n e f f o r t s were not going t o succeed and w i red H a r t : "Our l e g a l department have ( s i c ) reviewed 12 l e g a l aspects o f s t r i k e and are of o p i n i o n t h a t s t r i k e i l l e g a l . " T h i s , accord ing to the S tee lworkers , was i n ' d i r e c t c o n f l i c t w i t h statements made to them by the deputy labour m i n i s t e r , who had a l l e g e d l y advised them t h a t 13 no laws were being broken. E i t h e r the re was con fus ion i n the bureaucracy about the l e g a l i t y of the s t r i k e , or Carson and h i s Tory cab ine t co l leagues took advantage o f the s i t u a t i o n to throw the depar tment 's p o l i c y of c o n c i l i a -14 t i o n out the window. I n any event , Carson asked the f e d e r a l government on August 6 to f o l l o w the salmon canners ' suggest ion t h a t the American Can p l a n t be taken over by the dominion under the War Measures Act."'""' Three days l a t e r the f e d e r a l government d i d e x a c t l y t h a t , a p p o i n t i n g a c o n t r o l l e r 77. 16 to oversee opera t ions and o r d e r i n g the men back t o work. The same day, August 9, the " w i n - t h e ' w a r " r a t i o n a l e f o r m a i n t a i n i n g p r o d u c t i o n vanished a b r u p t l y w i t h the bombing of Nagasaki and the surrender of the Japanese. A f e d e r a l I n d u s t r i a l I n q u i r y Commissioner was appointed and e v e n t u a l l y a c o n t r a c t was signed corresponding rough ly to the c o n c i l i a t i o n b o a r d ' s ma jo r -i t y r e p o r t . " ^ B. The second labour lobby ; the employers get a n g r i e r While the American Can c o n c i l i a t i o n dragged on , a four-week c o a l m i n e r ' s s t r i k e i n the f a l l o f 1945, c a l l e d to p r o t e s t the r a t i o n i n g of meat by the f e d e r a l government, kept labour un res t i n the p u b l i c eye. Meanwhile the c o n t r o v e r s i a l government- labour committee e s t a b l i s h e d a t the 1945 sess ion was t r y i n g t o deal w i t h the many proposals f o r changes i n labour l e g i s l a t i o n . No employer r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s had been appointed t o the commit tee. At i t s t h i r d and f i n a l meet ing January 3, 1946, the committee passed a s e r i e s o f r e s o l u t i o n s to be forwarded to the c a b i n e t . Of the 30 quest ions i n t o which the labour demands o f 1945 were c o n s o l i d a t e d , s i x were considered to have been d e a l t w i t h by l e g i s l a t i o n enacted s ince the committee was formed, ten were considered t o r e q u i r e f u r t h e r i n f o r m a t i o n , no a c t i o n a t a l l was taken on n ine and f i v e were recommended f o r l e g i s l a t i o n or government i n v e s t i g a -18 t i o n . The proposals f o r l e g i s l a t i o n and i n v e s t i g a t i o n were a c t u a l l y de -partment p o l i c y i r r e s p e c t i v e of the commit tee, s ince they had been d r a f t e d by department s t a f f . That they were moved and seconded by members of the government- labour committee — most be ing sponsored by one BCFL and one TLC r e p r e s e n t a t i v e — was l a r g e l y a mat te r of w indow-dress ing. The demand f o r a new p r o v i n c i a l labour code was s t a l l e d w i t h the f o l l o w i n g : 78. The Chairman (Pearson) s t a t e d t h a t i t was apparent the Federa l Government was t a k i n g steps to cons ider amendment to P.C. 1003 and i t seemed l i k e l y t h a t the P r o v i n c i a l Labour M i n i s t e r s would be brought toge ther to cons ider recommendations t h a t Had been made by Labour Organ iza t ions and counter-recommendations made by employer groups. I n v iew of t h i s the P r o v i n c i a l Government i s no t prepared to dea l w i t h t h i s mat te r a t t h i s t i m e , nor i s the P r o v i n -c i a l Government prepared to amend the Masters and Servants Act to p rov ide f o r p a y r o l l c h e c k - o f f s , t h i s be ing considered to be w i t h i n the j u r i s d i c t i o n o f the Federa l Government under P.C. 1003. (19) Pearson might have considered i t p o s s i b l e t h a t the prov inces would come to some agreement w i t h the dominion on the ques t ion of j u r i s d i c t i o n over labour m a t t e r s . More l i k e l y he used the c o n s t i t u t i o n a l ques t ion as an excuse to s t a l l the mat te r as long as p o s s i b l e , desp i te h i s persona l p u b l i c p o s i t i o n i n favour of un ion s e c u r i t y . Ins tead o f t h i s i n s t i t u t i o n a l change, the labour leaders were g iven s h o r t - t e r m p a l l i a t i v e s . Of the f i v e recommenda-t i o n s f o r government a c t i o n , t h ree were of l i t t l e importance and two were des t ined t o widen the gap between the LPP and CCF f a c t i o n s i n the labour movement. One, moved by B i r t Showier of the TLC and seconded by Murphy, proposed lower ing the maximum work week f rom 48 to 44 hours . The second, moved by the TLC's Roly Gerv in and seconded by Danny O ' B r i e n , p rov ided f o r 20 a s t a t u t o r y week's v a c a t i o n w i t h pay. This was obv ious ly as f a r as the government was prepared to go, bu t the labour members of the committee had to keep i n mind the pressure on them f rom below. Both un ion c e n t r a l s , a t convent ions the p rev ious f a l l , had favoured the 40-hour week and a two-week s t a t u t o r y v a c a t i o n and agree-ment had been reached to mount a j o i n t lobby to V i c t o r i a a t the 1946 sess ion . A c c o r d i n g l y , a t a p r e l i m i n a r y meet ing w i t h the cab ine t January 18, the same leaders who two weeks p r e v i o u s l y had agreed t o a 44-hour week and one week's v a c a t i o n pressed f o r 40 hours and two weeks, as w e l l as r e p e a t i n g the p r o -79. posals of 1945 regarding the labour code, union s e c u r i t y and company unions. When the 340 delegates (including a sizeable veterans' contingent) descended on V i c t o r i a February 24, the anti-LPP unionists suspected some-thing was up. At the f i r s t mass r a l l y , one of them asked whether the com-mittee members would be so kind as to inform the delegates of the progress the committee had made. The committee members were "not i n a p o s i t i o n to report to t h i s delegation", stammered Gervin, because "they have dealt with matters submitted a year ago" and "did not come here with the i n t e n t i o n of making a report". Not s a t i s f i e d , the CCF supporter pressed further: "Does i t mean that t h i s Committee i s not prepared to support every item i n t h i s (the lobby's) b r i e f ? " Replied Gervin, somewhat evasively: "Every item i n t h i s (the lobby's) agenda w i l l be supported by t h i s lobby." Murphy jumped i n h u r r i e d l y to add that the lobby's agenda was made up of BCFL and TLC con-vention decisions which had to be supported. Another CCF sympathizer pro-posed that the lobby adopt the strategy t r i e d i n 1945 by the CCF, requesting the convening of the standing l e g i s l a t i v e committee on labour and demanding that the house remain s i t t i n g u n t i l the labour proposals were considered. This was ruled out of order by Gervin on the dubious ground that "we don't 22 know what the reply w i l l be." The c l a s s d i v i s i o n s i n the c o a l i t i o n began to show on the second day, when the lo b b y i s t s t r i e d to buttonhole MLAs i n the l e g i s l a t u r e . A few apparently wished to avoid the issue altogether: one c o l o u r f u l account had the MLAs "scurrying around corners and up corridors t r y i n g to avoid the 23 determined l o b b y i s t s . " The Conservatives were almost uniformly h o s t i l e , and i n t e r i o r Tories p a r t i c u l a r l y so. Some, such as Thomas Love (Grand Forks-24 Greenwood) refused to speak to the delegation. Anscomb, MacDonald and Eyres, the l a t t e r two soon to j o i n the cabinet, declared themselves i n basic 80. o p p o s i t i o n , w i t h Eyres r e p o r t e d l y s t a t i n g t h a t he was "opposed to e v e r y t h i n g 25 labour stands f o r . " The two L i b e r a l cab ine t m i n i s t e r s the l o b b y i s t s were ab le to reach i n d i c a t e d a bas ic sympathy and L i b e r a l MLAs f rom urban or i n d u s t r i a l areas such as James Mowat ( A l b e r n i ) or Byron Johnson (New West-m i n s t e r ) added t h e i r encouragement. On the whole 13 of the 37 C o a l i t i o n 26 MLAs were r e p o r t e d rough ly i n agreement w i t h the labour demands. The apparent presence o f support f o r the lobby w i t h i n the ranks of the C o a l i t i o n alarmed the employer groups, which had grown i n c r e a s i n g l y apprehensive about the government 's p lans s ince be ing f r o z e n out of the government- labour commit tee. The way to the good l i f e f o r the work ing c lass of B.C. , they t o l d the government the f o l l o w i n g week, was through increased p r o d u c t i v i t y and " p r i c e s our customers w i l l p a y . " Only i n d u s t r i e s s h e l t e r e d f rom f o r e i g n compet i t i on could a f f o r d the r e d u c t i o n i n the maximum work week and the increased minimum wage the unions were ask ing f o r , they argued. The employers ' b r i e f to the government, s igned by the CMA and 18 o ther o rgan-i z a t i o n s , showed t h a t the p a t e r n a l i s m c h a r a c t e r i z i n g much of t h e i r i n i t i a l o p p o s i t i o n to u n i o n i z a t i o n was not ye t dead. I n the pr imary i n d u s t r i e s , they s a i d , The f i v e - d a y week would be even more d i s r u p t i v e , of course, s i n c e , i n remote areas w i t h o u t the c i t y ' s f a c i l i t i e s f o r r e c r e a t i o n , i t would leave employees w i t h two i d l e days a week on t h e i r hands. The human i n c l i n a t i o n under those c i rcumstances i s to leave the camp i n search of amusement. Any exper ienced super-in tenden t would expect , on the bas is of exper ience, t h a t l a r g e - s c a l e absenteeism would e n s u e t a f f e c t i n g p r o d u c t i o n i n the remaining f i v e days of the week. (27) The employer 's b r i e f alwso prov ided a nove l i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of seasonal u n -employment. I t c la imed t h a t the p roposa l f o r s t a t u t o r y pa id vaca t ions was i n a p p r o p r i a t e i n an economy where employment f l u c t u a t i o n s ' gave many workers extended " v a c a t i o n s " anyway. These aspects o f employer o p p o s i t i o n t o improve-ments i n labour l e g i s l a t i o n show how bo th the gr ievances o f the work ing c lass 8 1 . and the a t t i t u d e s of t h e i r employers were shaped by the needs o f resource -based c a p i t a l i s t p r o d u c t i o n . This t r e n d i s f u r t h e r i l l u m i n a t e d by the barrage o f l e t t e r s f rom B r i t i s h Columbia c a p i t a l i s t s to the government which f o l l o w e d the submission to the c a b i n e t . Mines M i n i s t e r Carson forwarded to Hart a l e t t e r f rom Howard T. M i t c h e l l , p u b l i s h e r of Western Business and I n d u s t r y , which warned t h a t i n the min ing i n d u s t r y the r e s u l t of improved labour s tandards would be " h i g h - g r a d i n g " , or u t i l i z a t i o n o f on ly ore w i t h the h ighes t m i n e r a l content and consequent ly the r a p i d d e p l e t i o n o f m i n e r a l resources . Ne i ther Carson, M i t c h e l l , nor H a r t , of course, e n t e r t a i n e d the n o t i o n t h a t t h i s might ho t be the case i f s o c i a l u t i l i t y r a t h e r than the p r o f i t mot ive governed the p r i o r -28 i t i e s of the min ing i n d u s t r y . H. J . Macking, p res iden t of the Canadian Western Limber Co. and of the I n d u s t r i a l A s s o c i a t i o n o f B.C. , mainta ined t h a t the i n e v i t a b l e r e s u l t o f the s h o r t e r work week would be lower produc-t i v i t y . He added, perhaps w i t h tongue i n cheek: " I am not a t tempt ing t o employ any pressure methods . . . bu t am j u s t t r y i n g to impress you w i t h the 29 g r a v i t y of the s i t u a t i o n . " The chairman o f the B.C. Logger 's A s s o c i a t i o n , H. J . I r v i n e , c la imed t h a t the s h o r t e r work week would mean, 25,000 fewer 30 urgent ly -needed housing s t a r t s i n 1946. Since the c o n s t r u c t i o n i n d u s t r y was one of the few capable of passing increased costs d i r e c t l y to the consumer, and there was no reason f o r any d e c l i n e i n the t o t a l number of man'hours -worked, t h i s p r e d i c t i o n can on ly be i n t e r p r e t e d as a t h r e a t to cut back l o g p r o d u c t i o n . F i n a l l y , the genera l manager o f the Sorg Pulp Co. wrote CCF MLA Herber t Gargrave and s t a t e d t h a t the a n t i q u a t e d Por t Me l lon pu lp m i l l i n Gargrave's r i d i n g would be shut down, th row ing soem 300 men out o f work i f the maximum work week was lowered. These employer ou tbu rs t s were backed by telegrams f rom beef c a t t l e and f r u i t growers and, of course, the government a lso got the usua l mass of w i res f rom u n i o n i s t s and l a d i e s ' a u x i -82. l i a r i e s i n favour of the labour demands. The l a c k of unan imi ty among the c o a l i t i o n MLAs l e d to a genera l acceptance by them of the compromise proposals o f the government- labour com-m i t t e e . I n March 1946 Pearson in t roduced l e g i s l a t i o n to enact the 44-hour week and the s t a t u t o r y one-week pa id v a c a t i o n as proposed by the committee. Hugh Da l ton of the CMA immediate ly c r i e d f o u l . I n a . l l e t t e r to Hart he c la imed Pearson had promised the employers r e p r e s e n t a t i o n on the government- labour 32 committee and he enclosed as proof h i s 1945 correspondence w i t h Pearson. "We accepted the M i n i s t e r ' s repeated promises i n good; f a i t h and r e f r a i n e d f rom lobby p r e s s u r e , " Da l ton complained. "Th is apparen t l y was a mistake 33 on our p a r t . " Har t r e p l i e d t h a t the views o f the employers were made c l e a r i n t h e i r meet ing w i t h the c a b i n e t , and added t h a t CMA r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s had met MLAs a t a d inner i n the Empress Ho te l i n February , where the sub jec t o f 34 labour l e g i s l a t i o n had been discussed t h o r o u g h l y . Yes, Da l ton shot back, these meetings had indeed taken p l a c e , but the employers had been g iven no i n s i d e i n f o r m a t i o n on what the'-government planned to do, hav ing i n s t e a d to r e l y on "rumour and newspaper r e p o r t . " Da l ton con t inued , ominously : There i s a s t r i k i n g c o n t r a s t between the t rea tment a f f o r d e d i n d u s t r y i n t h i s whole mat te r and the very c lose c o l l a b o r a -t i o n which has e x i s t e d between the Government and organized Labour . . . I t on ly remains to express the hope t h a t t h i s p o l i c y w i l l not c o n s t i t u t e s tandard p r a c t i c e on the p a r t of the Government i n the f u t u r e . (35) This was the v o i c e of a man used t o g e t t i n g h i s own way, or a t the ve ry l e a s t to be ing in formed i n advance of planned government a c t i o n . The grudge borne by the m a j o r i t y of B.C. employers toward the l e f t wing o f the c o a l i t i o n was becoming more acu te , and H a r t ' s apparent r e l u c t a n c e to oppose h i s labour m i n i s t e r ' s hand l ing of the s i t u a t i o n more i rksome. The CMA's o u t b u r s t s a t the new l e g i s l a t i o n were r i v a l l e d on ly by those of the CCF and i t s un ion s u p p o r t e r s . When the minutes o f the govern-83. ment- labour commit tee 's January 3 meeting were t a b l e d i n the l e g i s l a t u r e , the o p p o s i t i o n screamed t h a t the lobby leaders had bet rayed t h e i r f o l l o w e r s and mainta ined t h a t the s i t u a t i o n had a r i s e n through LPP c o l l u s i o n w i t h the govern -ment. "Haro ld Winch, .wanted to know what l a b o u r ' s demands were — those of 36 January 3 or those of February 2 5 . " A V i c t o r i a Trades and Labour Counc i l pamplet branded the whole exe rc i se an " e l a b o r a t e pantomime" on the p a r t o f the BCFL and TLC l e a d e r s , and the Vancouver Labour Counc i l (CCL) nar rowly 37 defeated a Steelworkers mot ion " r e g r e t t i n g " the a c t i o n s of the BCFL l e a d e r s . The debate between the BCFL leaders and the CCF cont inued a f t e r the l e g i s l a t i o n was passed i n e a r l y A p r i l . O 'Br ien po in ted out t h a t the CCF caucus had supported the government- labour committee proposals when they came t o a vo te i n the house; P r i t c h e t t acknowledged t h a t the committee mem-bers had been " c o n f r o n t e d . . , w i t h a problem" but sa id they had made i t c l e a r t h a t they "would not r e l i n q u i s h any r i g h t to press and lobby i f necessary f o r a 40-hour week. . . . I t was the government 's b i l l and we are no t a r e v o l u t i o n a r y o r g a n i z a t i o n and were making g a i n s . " He added t h a t no o ther p rov ince i n Canada boasted such advanced s t a t u t o r y work ing c o n d i t i o n s . O 'Br ien charged t h a t the CCF had embarked on a "planned program and p o l i c y . . . to b e l i t t l e the e f f o r t s of the Federa t ion o f Labour. . . They are a f r a i d , " he con t inued , " t h a t the Federa t ion w i l l get advanced l e g i s l a t i o n , t h a t we 38 can get i t and the CCF are unable to e l e c t more members." Desp i te these p r o t e s t a t i o n s , the government- labour committee e p i -sode was d i s a s t r o u s f o r the dominant LPP f a c t i o n i n the BCFL. The dec is ions made by the f e d e r a t i o n execut ive were pragmat ic and r e a l i s t i c ones which d i d r e s u l t i n s h o r t - t e r m gains f r o the work ing c l a s s . But they s imply looked bad. Fuzzy as the CCF's n o t i o n of " c l a s s " was, i t was a s imple task f o r the s o c i a l -democrat ic MLAs and suppor ters to make the charge of " c l a s s c o l l a b o r a t i o n " s t i c k . The c lass base of the p a r t y system had been r e i n f o r c e d and h i g h l i g h t e d 84. by the c o a l i t i o n o f - the two " o l d - l i n e " p a r t i e s . Any form of c o - o p e r a t i o n w i t h the government — even w i t h i t s l e f t wing — was bound to be q u i t e obv ious ly a d i s t a s t e f u l backroom d e a l . The i m p l i c a t i o n of a peacetime s e l l - o u t was added to the communists' reco rd o f wart ime c o l l a b o r a t i o n . Had the BCFL been ab le to e x t r i c a t e i t s e l f f rom the government- labour committee arrangement a f t e r the v i c t o r y i n the P a c i f i c , i t would not have been as v u l -nerab le t o the CCF charges and might have begun to develop g r a s s - r o o t s i n i t i a t i v e s f o r p o l i t i c a l a c t i o n , perhaps even i n c r e a s i n g the LPP's e l e c t o r a l chances. As i t was, the BCFL had l i t t l e o f t h i s k i n d of resource to f a l l back on i n 1947 when the government abandoned Pearson and h i s f r i e n d s i n the labour movement. But to c r i t i c i z e the BCFL leaders i s not to endorse the a c t i o n s of the CCF, whose p o l i c y of v i t u p e r a t i o n toward anyone a t t e m p t i n g independent p o l i t i c a l a c t i o n was the essence o f s e c t a r i a n i s m . The communist un ion l e a d -ers could l a y more c l a i m , as f a r as t rade un ion o b j e c t i v e s went , t o the sympathies of the work ing c lass than could the CCF MLAs, d e s p i t e the p r o -l e t a r i a n e l e c t o r a l support which the l a t t e r en joyed. The i n s i s t e n c e of CCFers i n the labour movement t h a t labour p o l i t i c a l a c t i o n be keyed t o the l e g i s l a t i v e e f f o r t s of the CCF probably a l i e n a t e d as many workers as i t won over to the cause of s o c i a l i s m . To be u s r e , the CCF i n B.C. had been s l i g h t l y l ess s e c t a r i a n than elsewhere, a t one p o i n t ( i n 1943) propos ing t h a t the n a t i o n a l CCF study the p o s s i b i l i t y o f e l e c t o r a l c o - o p e r a t i o n w i t h the LPP. But these r a d i c a l , - a l b e i t somewhat i n t e l l e c t u a l , tendencies were crushed by the n a t i o n a l CCF, p a r t l y through the i n f l u e n c e of Steelworker emissar ies 39 such as James Robertson and E i l e e n Ta l lman. This a s s i s t e d the growth of the CCF on a n a t i o n a l s c a l e , bu t i t k i l l e d the p o s s i b i l i t y of any c o - o p e r a t i o n between the labour and s o c i a l i s t movements on the West Coast u n t i l the LPP i n f l u e n c e was v i r t u a l l y wiped out i n 1948-51. 85. Notes t o Chapter 4 1 S tuar t Jamieson, Times o f t r o u b l e : labour unres t and i n d u s t r i a l con- f l i c t i n Canada, 1900-1966, Task f o r c e on labour r e l a t i o n s , s tudy no. 22, Ottawa, 1966, p. 301 . 2 Canada, Dominion Bureau of S t a t i s t i c s , Q u a r t e r l y b u l l e t i n of a g r i c u l - t u r a l s t a t i s t i c s , 38: 3 (July-September, 1945) p. 153. 3 Canada, Dominion Bureau of S t a t i s t i c s , F i s h e r i e s s t a t i s t i c s of Canada, 1945, Ottawa: K i n g ' s P r i n t e r , 1947, 22, 47. 4 I b i d . , 22, 26. 5 The employer r e p r e s e n t a t i v e was R. H. Pooley, a former Conservat ive house leader i n the p r o v i n c i a l l e g i s l a t u r e . 6 The union shop was not recommended f o r the cur ious reason t h a t i t "would no t be acdepted by the Company, and such recommendation might endanger t h i s sp lend id s p i r i t o f c o - o p e r a t i o n " wh ich , the board had been t o l d , had e x i s t e d s ince the f i r s t agreement was signed w i t h the Com-pany i n August , 1941. See Labour Gazet te , (1945): 975-9. 7 I b i d . 8 Under P.C. 1003 the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y of the f e d e r a l labour department f o r i n d u s t r i a l d isputes ended as soon as the c o n c i l i a t i o n board r e p o r t was made p u b l i c . 9 Salmon Canners' Operat ing Committee to H a r t , August 1 , 1945, PP, 1944-45, L-20-D. 10 McAuslane and P r i t c h e t t t o H a r t , J u l y 3 1 , 1945, i b i d . 11 The c o n c i l i a t i o n board had r e p o r t e d June 15, more than a month p r e v i o u s l y . Labour Gazet te , (1945): 975. 12 Carson to H a r t , August 4, 1945, 45 EE, 1944-45, L-20-D. 13 BCFL, Convention Proceedings, 2 (1945) , 2. 14 This was what the unions c la imed. See l o c . c i t . 15 Salmon Canners. ' -Operat ing Committee to H a r t , August 2, 1945, PP, 1944-45, L-20-D; Labour Gazet te , 45 (1945) : 1505. 16 Labour Gazet te , 45 (1945): 1505. 17 Stee l Labor, June 1946, 9. 18 Government-labour committee minu tes , January 3, 1946, PP, 1946-7, L-20-D. 19 I b i d . 20 I b i d . 86. 21 B.C. D i s t r i c t Union News, January 2 1 , 1946, 1-2. 22 Labour lobby minu tes , February 24, 1946, Miff, 53 -5 . 23 B.C. D i s t r i c t Union News, March 4 , 1946, 1 . 24 I b i d . 25 I b i d , ; Labour lobby minu tes , February 25, 1946, MMP, 53-5 . 26 B.C. D i s t r i c t Union News, March 4 , 1946, 1 . 27 Canadian Manu fac tu re rs ' A s s o c i a t i o n submission to c a b i n e t , March 4 , 1946, PP, 1946-47, D-3-G. 28 M i t c h e l l t o Carson, February 2 1 , 1946, PP, 1946-47, L-20-D. 29 Mackin to H a r t , March 6, 1946, PP, 1946-47, L-3-G. 30 I r v i n e t o H a r t , March 8, 1946, i b i d . 31 H. M. Lewis t o Gargrave, March 13, 1946, I b i d . The m i l l d i d not c l o s e . 32 See above, c h . 3. 33 ' D a l t o n 1 t o H a r t , A p r i l . 1 , 1946, PP,' 1946.-47, L-3-G. 34 Har t to D a l t o n , A p r i l 4 , 1946, i b i d . 35 Da l ton to H a r t , A p r i l 9 , 1946, PP, 1946-47, L-20-D. 36 Gad Horow i tz , Canadian Labour i n P o l i t i c s , Toronto : U n i v e r s i t y of Toronto Press, 1968, 128. 37 Loc. c i t . 38 At the BCFL execu t i ve meet ing where these statements were made. O 'Br ien produced a l e t t e r f rom n a t i o n a l CCL s e c r e t a r y - t r e a s u r e r Pat Conroy sup-p o r t i n g the BCFL s tand . The l e t t e r read i n p a r t : "The main issue I t h i n k i s to. m a i n t a i n good r e l a t i o n s h i p s w i t h the C a b i n e t . " O 'Br ien a lso charged t h a t the CCF was r e c e i v i n g money under the t a b l e f rom the CCL's p o l i t i c a l a c t i o n committee. BCFL execu t i ve c o u n c i l m inu tes , A p r i l 22, 1946, MMP, 31-10. 39 See Walter Young, The anatomy of a p a r t y : the n a t i o n a l CCF 1932-61, Toronto : U n i v e r s i t y of Toronto Press , 1969, 275-76; I r v i n g A b e l l a , N a t i o n a l i s m , communism and Canadian l a b o u r , Toron to : U n i v e r s i t y of Toronto Press, 1973, 116; Horowi tz , op_. c i t . , 120-2. CHAPTER V THE UNIONS FIGHT FOR STATUS: BATTLES - I I I n t r o d u c t i o n Even as the labour standards l e g i s l a t i o n of 1946 was being debated, events on the c o l l e c t i v e ba rga in ing scene were b u i l d i n g up to an a l l - t i m e h igh i n labour u n r e s t . Before the year was out f o u r b i g s t r i k e s , i n c l u d i n g two i n the c r u c i a l lumber and min ing i n d u s t r i e s , produced a t ime loss of more than 1% m i l l i o n person-days"*" i n B.C. i n d u s t r y and con f ron ted the govern-ment square ly w i t h the urgency of m o d i f i c a t i o n s to i t s labour p o l i c y . These s t r i k e s were matched i n Eastern Canada by o thers i n the c o a l , au tomobi le , rubber , e l e c t r i c a l , s t e e l and sh ipp ing i n d u s t r i e s . The B.C. s t r i k e s posed problems to the government i n the area of the r o l e of t rade unions and t h e i r l e g a l s t a t u s , which were addressed, a l though i m p e r f e c t l y , by the I n d u s t r i a l C o n c i l i a t i o n and A r b i t r a t i o n Act of 1947. The major areas of con t roversy were un ion s t r i k e v o t e s , i n d u s t r y - w i d e b a r g a i n i n g , j u r i s d i c t i o n a l s t r i f e and the use of the cour ts i n labour d i s p u t e s . B r i t i s h Columbia's manufactur ing i n d u s t r y underwent a p e r i o d of c o n s o l i d a t i o n and reconvers ion a f t e r the war, as some f i r m s managed t o con-v e r t to peacetime p r o d u c t i o n w h i l e o thers were fo rced out of bus iness . But i n the pr imary i n d u s t r i e s , s ince the demand f o r c o n s t r u c t i o n lumber and f o r most metals was h i g h , the ou t look f o r p r o f i t s and employment was superb. These i n d u s t r i e s were thus r i p e t a r g e t s f o r the newly -acqu i red s t r e n g t h of the i n d u s t r i a l un ions . But years of f l u c t u a t i n g demand t o l d the employers t h a t the s i t u a t i o n would not l a s t and warned them t o ho ld f a s t aga ins t un ion e n -croachment on t h e i r p r o f i t s and powers. Thus w h i l e the i n d u s t r i e s could — and d i d — a f f o r d o u t s i z e d wage i n c r e a s e s , they fought them as hard as they c o u l d , and encouraged the government t o make sure the 1946 s i t u a t i o n was never repeated . 88. We have seen t h a t un ion leaders i n the post-war years feared no t on ly t h a t a d i s p r o p o r t i o n a t e share of the b e n e f i t s of the post-war boom would wind up i n the bank accounts of employers, but a lso t h a t a concerted at tempt would be made t o wrest f rom the labour movement the s t a t u s i t had gained dur ing the war . The groundwork f o r a concer ted wage and s e c u r i t y d r i v e by the CCL had been l a i d by s t r i k e s such as the one a t American Can and the Campaign had g o t t e n under way i n earnest w i t h the s t r i k e i n l a t e 1945 a t the Ford Motor Co. i n Windsor, O n t a r i o . The genera l demand was f o r a 15-cent h o u r l y wage i n c r e a s e , i n d i r e c t o p p o s i t i o n to p u b l i c statements by Wartime Pr i ces and Trade Board chairman Donald Gordon t o the e f f e c t t h a t employers 2 could on ly pay 10-cent i nc reases . The 15-cent p a t t e r n was e v e n t u a l l y se t 3 a f t e r an unprecedented show of un ion s t r e n g t h . The impact of t h i s crescendo o f labour unres t can be bes t under-stood i n g raph ic f o r m . F igure 5-1 shows the loss of person-days i n r e l a t i o n to the p e r i o d 1938-48. F igu re 5 - 2 , f o r a l l o f Canada, shows the r a p i d suc-cess ion i n which the l a r g e s t s t r i k e s o f 1946 were c a l l e d . I n the two months f o l l o w i n g the s t a r t of the B.C. lumber s t r i k e , 17 of the most impor tan t ( i n terms of t ime l o s t ) s t r i k e s began. For f o u r weeks du r ing J u l y and August , a s i m i l a r number were i n p rog ress . The s t r i k e s shown i n F igu re 5-2 i n v o l v e d 4 some 45,000 worke rs . F igure 5-3 adds t o the data used i n F igure 5 -2 , f o r the e i g h t s t r i k e s r e s u l t i n g i n a loss of more than 100,000 person-days, the dimension of the number of workers i n v o l v e d . Of these e i g h t s t r i k e s , the lumber and meta l -m in ing s t r i k e s i n B.C. were the on ly ones t o , o c c u r i n r e s o u r c e - e x t r a c t i v e or l o w - l e v e l p rocess ing i n d u s t r i e s , and of the 25 i n F igure 5-2 on ly two occurred i n these i n d u s t r i e s o u t s i d e B.C. T h i s , of course, r e f l e c t s the predominance i n the B.C. economy of resource e x t r a c t i o n and process ing and the r e l a t i v e i n s i g n i f i c a n c e of secondary manu fac tu r ing . The cha r t s a lso show the p a c e - s e t t i n g r o l e o f the B.C. lumber s t r i k e . F i n a l l y , 89. Figure 5-4 shows t h a t besides the lumber and meta l -m in ing s t r i k e s , two o thers r a t e s p e c i a l ment ion . These were the p r i n t e r s ' s t r i k e a t the Vancouver D a i l y Prov ince ( i n c l u d i n g a sympathy s t r i k e of pressmen) i n v o l v i n g a t o t a l of 400 workers and a s t r i k e of some 500 foundry workers i n Vancouver and New West-m i n s t e r , members of M i n e - M i l l . " * I w i l l dea l i n some d e t a i l w i t h the f o u r impor tan t s t r i k e s i n the order i n which they began. A. The f o r e s t i n d u s t r y Thanks t o government c o - o p e r a t i o n , aggress ive salesmanship and a s t a b l e labour f o r c e , B.C. edged ahead o f the U.S. P a c i f i c Coast i n the race f o r wor ld lumber markets i n the p e r i o d between the F i r s t and Second World Wars. The i n t e g r a t i o n process which was to produce t o d a y ' s f o r e s t cong lo -merates got under way i n the l a t e 1930s, w i t h lumber m i l l s buy ing out l o g g i n g companies to ensure a steady supply o f l o g s . 7 I n t e g r a t i o n , or " r a t i o n a l i z a -t i o n " got under way i n earnest a f t e r the war and cont inued u n t i l 1951, by which t ime most of the p roduc t i on of lumber i n B r i t i s h Columbia was c o n t r o l l e d by f i v e c o r p o r a t i o n s . B r i t i s h markets had been l o s t when the Soviet Union entered the war and lumber f rom B a l t i c f o r e s t s became a v a i l a b l e , bu t t h i s was g more than o f f s e t by the increases i n demand i n bo th Canada and the U.S. At the end of the war , B.C. lumber opera to rs prepared t o take advantage of a c r i t i c a l housing shortage i n Canada, an unprecedented demand f o r lumber i n the U.S. , an adequate labour supply owing t o the slowdown i n manufac tur ing and an e i g h t per cent inc rease i n the p r i c e o f lumber and plywood scheduled 9 to take e f f e c t May 1 , 1946. There was good reason t o b e l i e v e t h a t the IWA was capable of s e t t i n g a h igh s tandard which eas te rn manufac tur ing i n d u s t r i e s would be compelled t o f o l l o w . S t imu la ted by the 1943 ICA Act amendments, by P.C. 1003 and by the wart ime s e l l e r s ' labour market , the IWA by 1946 had a t o t a l p r o v i n c i a l 90. loo mm-« - O S T (,00 Pea SOAJ-DAYS LOST /w STklHES, BRITISH COLUMBIA SOU£C£: LABOUR. &*2.eTT£ AND 8>L. bEf>r. OFLABOU*. REPORT; /*S*-V9. Sbo Hoo 3oo 400 100 t — I 1 — I YEAR 195? ml l<W0 Mi M</ MS" Ml W> 92. 5 S 2 35 £ <* o 5 « 3 3 3. : -UJ IA ^ 3 ^ 3 ^ iA iT * u. w o > o t a O © * 8 ~ * P i o 2 a & s t a » X 2 o — ro e> 93. A-/©• Zo—» f-lo zo tor 4 10 a 10 Id Jk f O -10-ZO Au (0« 2 D -£ o ZdH At (0-20-1 I>-N .u>6sr 'ft PuftAr/ow O F sr&k.£ AA/D NUMBS& OF t0OMLE*S Dl&eCTLy IKjObLVBD. SouQ.ce- t-ABouQ. ifizerrB. MAfi.cn (9*/7 COAL MMVli, 'xcouveex-(deduced -fo e*>«/M) D f e V ttJMS, ctovttttesr ! / V J A / C M - tfoo pt&ecrt,!/ /A/uoiueo a>6ft.g.gftS jJwcffP at. peurkroH TRAMSfTt VICTOMPl. 94. membership of 18,000 or s l i g h t l y less than h a l f the number employed i n the f o r e s t i n d u s t r y . While the un ion had signed i t s f i r s t c o n t r a c t w i t h a Vancouver sash and door manufacturer i n 1937,"'"''" i t was not u n t i l 1943 t h a t a master agreement was signed w i t h management n e g o t i a t o r R. V. S tua r t Research L t d . , a c t i n g on beha l f of more than 100 employers. Union s e c u r i t y was r a r e , a l though a un ion shop had been won a t a Vancouver I s l a n d l ogg ing camp i n 12 1941 and the 1943 master agreement had been supplemented w i t h s e c u r i t y 13 p r o v i s i o n s i n a few camps. But s e c u r i t y was an impor tan t i ssue among the p r o v i n c e ' s lumber workers . As one s tudent of the IWA put i t , the a t t e n t i o n o f the logger and m i l l worker toward the end o f the war "was be ing focussed 14 once aga in upon h i s own s e c u r i t y r a t h e r than t h a t of the c o u n t r y . " "Woods w o r k e r s , " says another account , "were s t i l l poor i n the mat te r o f incomes. I n Lake Cowichan most of the workers l i v e d i n smal l shacks or homes. There was never enough t o get on p r o p e r l y f rom pay-day to pay-day, w i t h o u t a s t r u g -g l e . I t seemed i n e v i t a b l e t h a t the contes t must come, t h a t year.""' '" ' The IWA's d i s t r i c t convent ion e a r l y i n 1946 agreed on a t h r e e - p o i n t program f o r t h a t y e a r ' s coast n e g o t i a t i o n s : a 25-cent h o u r l y r a i s e , the 16 40-hour week and the un ion shop and dues c h e c k - o f f . The submission to the employers emphasized the need f o r a wage inc rease i n the face of a soar ing cost of l i v i n g and a housing shor tage: . . . increased p r o d u c t i v i t y of i n d u s t r y i s devoid o f b e n e f i t to workers unless i t i s accompanied by increases i n r e a l wages and s h o r t e r hours o f work. Indeed, increased p r o d u c t i v i t y , i n s t e a d o f b e n e f i t t i n g workers , plagues them w i t h unemployment, unless purchasing power i s r a i s e d to p rov ide expanding markets , and hours of work shortened t o spead the employment. (17) The employers countered w i t h an o f f e r of a 5-cent i n c r e a s e , r e j e c t i n g a l l the o ther un ion p roposa ls . The wage o f f e r was increased t o 12*s cents e a r l y i n May, bu t the employers re fused to budge on hours of work or s e c u r i t y . A 18 s i m i l a r p a t t e r n was f o l l o w e d i n the i n t e r i o r f o r e s t i n d u s t r y . On May 7 the un ion leaders c a l l e d an i n d u s t r y - w i d e s t r i k e f o r May 15 f a i l i n g employer 95. acceptance of t h e i r demands. They c i t e d a 9 0 - p e r - c e n t - f a v o u r a b l e s t r i k e 19 vo te taken be fo re n e g o t i a t i o n s began March 2 1 . Now the i n e v i t a b l e l e t t e r s f rom apprehensive employers began t o reach the government. The CMA's r e t i r i n g B.C. d i v i s i o n head, James Eckman, d e l i v e r e d up to Hart the o p i n i o n t h a t the s t r i k e should be outlawed because the s t r i k e v o t e had been taken be fo re the s t a r t of n e g o t i a t i o n s , adding t h a t 20 he was " c o n f i d e n t " the government would a v e r t a shutdown. (This argument, 21 not s t r i c t l y accurate accord ing to law, was to be echoed the f o l l o w i n g year i n the employers ' clamour f o r government s u p e r v i s i o n of s t r i k e v o t e s . ) But the Dominion government moved f i r s t . The c h i e f j u s t i c e of the p r o v i n c e , 22 23 Gordon Sloan was appointed May 11 as an i n d u s t r i a l i n q u i r y commissioner to at tempt to r e c o n c i l e the p a r t i e s . The employers, m a i n t a i n i n g they would not n e g o t i a t e w i t h a gun to t h e i r heads, re fused t o ba rga in u n t i l the un ion c a l l e d o f f the s t r i k e , which the un ion re fused to do — a l though i t lowered the wage demand t o 18 cen ts . Sloan repo r ted th ree days l a t e r t h a t he had f a i l e d . At 11 a.m. May 15, most of the p r o v i n c e ' s 37,000 loggers and lumber m i l l workers — b a r e l y h a l f of them IWA members — downed t o o l s . By 12 noon on May 1 5 t h , a l l the vas t opera t ions of the t imber count ry were s i l e n t , except f o r a few unorgan i -^ zed areas l i k e Pr ince George and there i n a few days the loggers walked out t o o . Even i n the i s o l a t e d Blue R iver count ry behind Kam-loops where no union o rgan ize r had ever set f o o t , the smal l t i e camps and logg ing opera t ions came o u t , i n the wave of s o l i d a r i t y t h a t swept the p r o v i n c e . (24) 25 Some 8,000 workers r e p o r t e d l y j o i n e d the IWA a f t e r the s t r i k e began. The f o r e s t wa lkou t , accord ing to the Labour Gazet te , q u i c k l y made i t s e l f f e l t f a r beyond the bounds of the f o r e s t products i n d u s t r y , Cons t ruc t i on came to a h a l t on p u b l i c works and on housing p r o j e c t s . Many box p l a n t s soon used up reserve supp l ies of raw m a t e r i a l s f o r making c ra tes f o r f r u i t growers and f i s h canner ies . 96. Ships in tended to c a r r y t imber to Great B r i t a i n and UNRRA (Uni ted Nat ions R e l i e f and R e h a b i l i t a t i o n Ad-m i n i s t r a t i o n ) areas were tu rned away. Work stopped on a m i l l i o n r a i l r o a d t i e s f o r China ordered by UNRRA. Even sh ips to c a r r y g r a i n t o famine s t r i c k e n areas were hampered by the l ack of lumber to l i n e t h e i r h o l d s . Newspapers i n bo th Canada and the Un i ted States were compelled to cut down i n s i z e . (26) Eckman's successor a t the CMA, H. A. Renwick, c la imed the lumber s t r i k e and M i n e - M i l l ' s foundry s t r i k e represented a communist a t tempt t o des t roy p r i v a t e e n t e r p r i s e by p l a c i n g i n d u s t r y under f o r e i g n un ion c o n t r o l and 27 i n c r e a s i n g p r o d u c t i o n costs i n Canada to the l e v e l of those i n the U.S. The CMA recommended a f o u r - p o i n t program t o wipe out s t r i k e s : the i m p o s i -t i o n of f i n a n c i a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y on the un ions , government-supervised accep-tance votes on a l l employer o f f e r s , government s u p e r v i s i o n o f s t r i k e vo tes and a ban on s t r i k e vo tes be fo re n e g o t i a t i o n s and the removal of the r i g h t of employees w i t h l ess than s i x months' s e n i o r i t y t o vo te i n un ion e l e c t i o n s . The un ion accused the CMA of be ing "a group of f a s c i s t - m i n d e d r e a c t i o n a r i e s , whose o b j e c t i v e f o r the day i s to smash a l l t rade un ion o r g a n i z a t i o n l ead ing to the f i n a l sub juga t ion of the Canadian p e o p l e . " No longer was the LPP's 29 wart ime " u n i t e d - f r o n t " p o l i c y shack l ing the IWA r h e t o r i c i a n s . Perhaps the most v o c i f e r o u s p r o t e s t s to the B.C. government came f rom the a g r i c u l t u r a l a s s o c i a t i o n s , which complained t h a t the shutdown of box-making p l a n t s i n the 30 i n t e r i o r would endanger the f r u i t c rop . As u s u a l , the prosperous farmers o f B.C. i d e n t i f i e d t h e i r c lass i n t e r e s t w i t h the c a p i t a l i s t s r a t h e r than w i t h the work ing c l a s s . Both f e d e r a l and p r o v i n c i a l governments co-operated i n an at tempt to s e t t l e the d i s p u t e . On Pearson's recommendation, S loan 's appointment as i n q u i r y commissioner was extended and he was asked to n e g o t i a t e a wage r a t e and a r b i t r a t e the i ssue o f un ion s e c u r i t y . On June 1 , he recommended a 15-cent ac ross - the -board i nc rease , a 44-hour week ( t o be achieved through a 97. 40-hour week i n the s lack summer months and a 48-hour week du r ing the w i n t e r ) and the v o l u n t a r y revocable c h e c k - o f f . An employer p roposa l t h a t the c o n t r a c t con ta in a p r o v i s i o n making i t v o i d i n the event of a s t r i k e was r e j e c t e d , as was the un ion demand f o r the un ion shop. Sloan claimed he was "unable t o reach the conc lus ion t h a t the u n i o n , du r i ng the l i f e o f the agreement, would 32 stand i n any need of any form o f a d d i t i o n a l " s e c u r i t y . " The IWA was faced w i t h a dilemma. The 15-cent inc rease was a l l t h a t could r e a l i s t i c a l l y be hoped f o r and was s u f f i c i e n t to break the 10-cent p a t t e r n the Eastern i n d u s t r i a l i s t s wanted t o impose. The award on hours o f work, w h i l e not much of a ga in s ince the 44-hour week law was due to come i n t o e f f e c t i n J u l y , o f f e r e e d i n the seasonal d i f f e r e n t i a l a s o l i d bas is . - fo r f u t u r e n e g o t i a t i o n s . But the IWA leaders f e l t so s t r o n g l y about the s e c u r i t y i ssue t h a t they termed the award "unacceptable to the membership". The 33 employers accepted the Sloan award June 3. But S loan 's appointment had covered on ly the coast f o r e s t i n d u s t r y , and the shor tage of boxes i n the i n t e r i o r was becoming c r i t i c a l . I n t e r i o r employers urged Pearson ( i n h i s r o l e as the Regional War Labour Board) t o a u t h o r i z e a 10-cent increase i n t h e i r r e g i o n so t h a t boxes f o r f r u i t , vege-tab les and f i s h could be produced. Pearson r e f u s e d , c l a i m i n g he had no 34 a u t h o r i t y to do so . The un ion then decided to t r y a l i t t l e p ressu r ing o f i t s own. On June 14, 3,000 s t r i k e r s and suppor ters converged on V i c t o r i a , sur rounding the l e g i s l a t i v e b u i l d i n g s and chan t ing slogans w h i l e t h e i r leaders 35 con fe r red i n s i d e w i t h the c a b i n e t . But the government gave them no cause f o r hope. The IWA then met aga in w i t h Sloan, who suggested t h a t h i s revocable check -o f f award cou ld e a s i l y be made i r r e v o c a b l e i f the union r e q u i r e d i t s members to s i g n an agreement promis ing not to revoke t h e i r assignment of 98. 36 dues f o r the l i f e of the c o n t r a c t . This scheme became known as the Sloan formula and was a precedent w i d e l y f o l l o w e d i n post-war b a r g a i n i n g . The IWA leaders r e a l i z e d t h i s would be a v i c t o r y of s o r t s , bu t s t i l l they re fused to 37 c a l l o f f the s t r i k e . The government i n V i c t o r i a had l o s t a l l pa t ience by t h i s t ime and on Pearson's request the f e d e r a l government appointed a con-t r o l l e r June 18 to oversee o p e r a t i o n of the box and shook (s tave) m i l l s i n the i n t e r i o r and the lumber camps supp ly ing them. The o r d e r - i n - c o u n c i l which au tho r i zed t h i s step a lso r e q u i r e d the employees of these m i l l s to r e t u r n to work and a t the same t ime S loan 's appointment was extended to cover 38 the i n t e r i o r o p e r a t i o n s . I t was obvious t h a t t h i s government i n t e r v e n t i o n would soon be extended to a l l the lumber and logg ing opera t ions i n the p r o v i n c e . Some 39 d issens ion was a lso repo r ted among the rank and f i l e i n the Okanagan. Faced w i t h these prospects the IWA d i s t r i c t c o u n c i l decided t o c a l l o f f the s t r i k e and on June 20 the camps and m i l l s resumed p r o d u c t i o n , w i t h the excep-t i o n of a few smal l n o r t h e r n opera t ions which were q u i c k l y coaxed back to work by the IWA l e a d e r s . By J u l y 5 agreements had been signed i n c o r p o r a t i n g the Sloan award i n the coast i n d u s t r y and a 10-cent inc rease i n the i n t e r i o r . B. The foundr ies The meta l t rades i n d u s t r y i n Greater Vancouver had i t s t r o u b l e s f o l l o w i n g the end of the war w i t h the s lacken ing of demand f o r cas t i ngs and machinery. But those f i r m s i n business i n mid-1946 g e n e r a l l y had amassed enough c a p i t a l by f i l l i n g war c o n t r a c t s to conver t r e l a t i v e l y p a i n l e s s l y to peacetime p r o d u c t i o n . For these employers, prospects were b r i g h t owing to government and business p lans f o r development of the p r o v i n c e ' s i n t e r i o r . Or ganized i n t o one o f the most v o c i f e r o u s sec t ions of the CMA, the Meta l Trades S e c t i o n , the owners o f f oundr ies and pa t te rn -mak ing shops had learned to co -99. operate i n i n d u s t r i a l r e l a t i o n s . Their negotiations with a l l unions were handled through the CMA's f u l l - t i m e i n d u s t r i a l r e l a t i o n s d i r e c t o r . The metal manufacturers were also represented p o l i t i c a l l y : the chairman of the Metal Trades Section, A l l a n McDonell, won a Vancouver Centre seat i n 1945. McDonell 41 was a Conservativ e ' C o a l i t i o n i s t and a h y s t e r i c a l a n t i - u n i o n i s t . If the degree of employer s o l i d a r i t y was high, the state of union representation i n the foundries was chaotic, i n v o l v i n g three unions. The TLC's International Moulders' and Foundry Workers' Union, a c r a f t organization, generally represented the most s k i l l e d machine operators. The United S t e e l -workers of America attempted plant-wide organization, but often represented only the semi- or u n s k i l l e d workers i n shops where the Moulders represented the craftsmen. Mine-Mill attempted to pursue an industry-wide organizing s t y l e , but represented only pattern-makers at many of the foundries f o r which 42 i t was c e r t i f i e d . Intense r i v a l r y existed among the three unions and attempts to a r r i v e at working agreements which would enable them to l i v e side 43 by side had f a i l e d . The foundry s t r i k e of 1946 i n i t i a l l y involved only Mine-Mill. I t did not involve a large number of workers or l a s t f o r a p a r t i c u l a r l y long time, but was important i n i t s c o n t r i b u t i o n to the CCL wage drive and i n i n t e n s i f y i n g the employers' desire for r e s t r i c t i v e labour l e g i s l a t i o n . The 500-man s t r i k e began a f t e r two months of negotiations on May 17, j u s t two days a f t e r the IWA walkout. The main union demands were for the 15-cent increase and the 40-hour week, union s e c u r i t y being l e s s s i g n i f i c a n t i n the small metal shops than i n the mass-production i n d u s t r i e s . As the s t r i k e developed f r i c t i o n between Mine-Mill and the Moulders increased. Pickets were thrown up around shops where Mine-Mill was not c e r t i f i e d , but t h i s t a c t i c was dropped i n the i n t e r e s t 44 of preventing "dissension and chaos." Nevertheless the Moulders not only 100. crossed M i n e - M i l l p i c k e t l i n e s where bo th unions were c e r t i f i e d , bu t a lso at tempted to undercut the s t r i k e by s i g n i n g agreements w i t h some f i r m s f o r 45 a 10-cent i n c r e a s e . The CMA n e g o t i a t o r s were d e l i g h t e d a t t h i s d i ssens ion and threatened to sue M i n e - M i l l f o r m a i n t a i n i n g p i c k e t s a t the shops which 46 had signed w i t h the Moulders. 47 When the Regional War Labour Board (RWLB) approved the Moulders ' 10-cent i nc rease , t h ings looked bad f o r M i n e - M i l l . L u c k i l y the f o u n d r i e s ' i n i t i a l s o l i d a r i t y cou ld not be ma in ta ined . On. J u l y 3 two of them, dec id ing t h a t the l o s t p r o d u c t i o n was wor th more than the wage increase M i n e - M i l l was ask ing f o r , broke ranks and announced they would s i g n c o n t r a c t s p r o v i d i n g f o r 48 the c h e c k - o f f , a 15-cent inc rease and the 40-hour week. Th is was the t u r n i n g p o i n t . But t o the out rage of M i n e - M i l l ' s Harvey Murphy, the RWLB re fused to approve the 15-cent se t t lement because i t had a l ready approved a 49 10-cent c o n t r a c t between the foundr ies and the Moulders. Here Murphy's i n f l u e n c e w i t h Pearson apparen t l y came i n t o ' p l a y , f o r a f t e r the RWLB was bombarded w i t h un ion submissions, the approva l o f the 10-cent se t t lement was revoked and d e c i s i o n reserved on the M i n e - M i l l a p p l i c a t i o n . On the assumption t h a t the 15-cent increase would e v e n t u a l l y be approved and f o l l o w i n g a govern -ment pledge t o appo in t an i n q u i r y commissioner f o r the 30 foundr ies which remained w i t h o u t a s e t t l e m e n t , the workers vo ted to go back to work August 6 . " ^ Sure enough, the f o l l o w i n g week the 15-cent inc rease was approved. The r e a c t i o n of McDonell and h i s Meta l Trades Sect ion i s not recorded , bu t we may assume t h a t i t was not f a v o u r a b l e . Another employers ' group, i n a r a d i o broadcast c la imed t h a t Pearson's a c t i o n opened the door to i n f l a t i o n and an outrageous d i s p l a y of un ion p o w e r . A l l the foundry workers were e v e n t u a l l y awarded the 15-cent increase and the 40-hour week, c o n f i r m i n g the wage p a t -52 t e r n set by the IWA and improv ing the maximum work week. But the un ions , and indeed the r e s t of the p r o v i n c e , h a d n ' t heard the l a s t of McDonel l , who 101 . tu rned w i t h renewed v i g o u r to the task of f i n d i n g l e g i s l a t i v e ways to curb the power of the un ions . C. The Prov ince The most v i o l e n t and the l e a s t success fu l of the 1946 s t r i k e s i n B.C. had i t s o r i g i n s ou ts ide the p r o v i n c e . An at tempt by the I n t e r n a t i o n a l Typographica l Union to develop mu l t i -emp loyer b a r g a i n i n g i n the newspaper i n d u s t r y , through the p u b l i s h e r s ' a s s o c i a t i o n s of Nor th Amer ica, proved u n -s u c c e s s f u l . As a s u b s t i t u t e , the un ion i nco rpo ra ted c e r t a i n standards r e l a -t i n g to wages and work ing c o n d i t i o n s i n i t s own by- laws and sought t o have p r o v i s i o n s inc luded i n agreements d e c l a r i n g the by- laws to be i n t e g r a l p a r t s 53 of c o n t r a c t s , no t sub jec t to a r b i t r a t i o n . Th is amounted to a devious at tempt to c i rcumvent wart ime wage c o n t r o l s and increase take-home pay and i t was opposed by Canadian p u b l i s h e r s , who c la imed the un ion sought t o remove " f rom the realm of c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g mat te rs t h a t belonged t h e r e . " ^ ^ Never the less , the th ree Vancouver d a i l i e s , which bargained j o i n t l y w i t h the ITU through a p u b l i s h e r ' s committee of which Prov ince p u b l i s h e r Leigh Spencer was chairman, s igned a c o n t r a c t c o n t a i n i n g the n o n - a r b i t r a b i l i t y c lause i n 1945. The r e f u s a l of o ther Canadian p u b l i s h e r s to do l i k e w i s e l e d t o a s t r i k e aga ins t the two Winnipeg d a i l i e s beg inn ing i n November 1945. Soon a f t e r w a r d the Southam-owned Tr ibune and the Si f ton-owned Free Press began t o p u b l i s h a j o i n t e d i t i o n and s h o r t l y they swi tched to an open-shop o p e r a t i o n , f o r m a l l y d i sm iss ing the ITU men. L i t t l e cou ld be done about the Free Press , bu t to put pressure on the Southam o r g a n i z a t i o n the un ion expanded the s t r i k e t o i t s papers i n Hami l ton , Ottawa, Edmonton and V a n c o u v e r . ^ T h e Prov ince s t r i k e began June 5. I t was c l e a r l y i l l e g a l , s ince a l though the ITU had g iven the r e q u i r e d n o t i c e of i n t e n t i o n to te rm ina te the 1945 c o n t r a c t , the men had walked out w i t h o u t w a i t i n g f o r a c o n c i l i a t i o n s r e p o r t . B u t 102. Spencer could take l i t t l e solace i n t h i s knowledge, f o r more ominous deve lop-ments were i n the works . He thought the p u b l i s h e r s of the Sun and Prov ince had an agreement to the e f f e c t t h a t a s t r i k e aga ins t e i t h e r would r e s u l t i n pub-l i c a t i o n o f a j o i n t paper. But Sun p u b l i s h e r Don Cromie re fused t o do t h i s , c i t i n g as h i s reasons a d e s i r e t o preserve r e l a t i o n s w i t h the Vancouver News-paper G u i l d , ^ 7 the lack of a f i r m agreement and apprehension about the Southam 58 Co . ' s degree of dominat ion over the Prov ince . The Prov ince was c r i p p l e d by the s t r i k e , as the competing a f te rnoon Sun gained s t e a d i l y i n c i r c u l a t i o n . Spencer t r i e d despera te ly to put out a paper, but The b a r r i e r s were f o r m i d a b l e . Vancouver labor was i n fe rment . A woods-workers t r i k e and o ther walkouts were under way. Unions set up a c o - o r d i n a t i n g committee to f o r c e complete stoppage i n a l l s t r i k e - b o u n d i n d u s t r y i n B r i t i s h Columbia. The c i t y ' s labour c o u n c i l q u i c k l y put the Prov ince on i t s "do not p a t r o n i z e " l i s t . A c o u n c i l o f a l l i e d p r i n t i n g t rades r e p r e s e n t i n g f o u r newspaper un ions , i n c l u d i n g the pressmen, d i d the same t h i n g . (59) On J u l y 12 the Prov ince impor ted f o u r s t r i k e b r e a k e r s , but ITU p i c k e t s and o ther sympathet ic u n i o n i s t s f o l l o w e d the men i n t o the b u i l d i n g and threw them o u t . This was the f i r s t i n a s e r i e s o f v i o l e n t i n c i d e n t s f o r which the ITU and i t s suppor ters were l a t e r brought to t r i a l . Pressmen who were persuaded by t h e i r un ion to end t h e i r sympathy s t r i k e managed t o make i t through the 60 p i c k e t l i n e on J u l y 18, but got co ld f e e t and walked out the same day. P u b l i c a t i o n resumed on J u l y 22, but the labour movement was not about to g i ve up i t s a n t i - P r o v i n c e campaign. Non-union d e l i v e r y t r u c k s were besieged and the second issue o f the non-union Prov ince was burned i n the 61 s t r e e t . Over-zealous u n i o n i s t s "persuaded" news vendors not to handle the 62 paper — on some occasions by o v e r t u r n i n g t h e i r news-stands. An i n j u n c t i o n aga ins t p i c k e t i n g was ob ta ined by the company i n the B.C. Supreme Court on J u l y 15 i n " the f i r s t major post-war labour i n j u n c t i o n case" , one which "formed 103. a precedent f o r many labour i n j u n c t i o n s subsequent ly a p p l i e d f o r and o b t a i n e d . " The i n j u n c t i o n was ignored by ITU p i c k e t s and suppor ters f rom the IWA, the Canadian Seamen's Union and M i n e - M i l l , bu t f rom t h i s p o i n t the Prov ince was ab le to p u b l i s h c o n t i n u o u s l y , w i t h the except ion of a p e r i o d i n September when the pressmen aga in walked out under t h r e a t o f expu ls ion f rom the Vancouver Trades and Labour C o u n c i l . For v a r i o u s p i c k e t l i n e o f fences a t o t a l of 12 persons were c o n v i c t e d . Eighteen months l a t e r s i x l o c a l ITU leaders were assessed nominal c i v i l damages of $10,000 f o r the i n t e r r u p t i o n of p u b l i c a t i o n . When the Prov ince f i n a l l y s igned a c o n t r a c t w i t h the ITU l a t e i n 1949, i t had 65 l o s t f o r e v e r i t s l e a d i n g p o s i t i o n i n the a f t e r n o o n newspaper f i e l d . While no one was charged w i t h contempt i n the breach of the Prov ince i n j u n c t i o n , the precedent set by t h i s c o u r t a c t i o n was used i n l a t e r years to send u n i o n i s t s to j a i l f o r s i m i l a r v i o l a t i o n s . The lawlessness i n v o l v e d i n • the Prov ince s t r i k e added f u e l t o the clamour f o r l e g a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s to be imposed on un ions . For businessmen robbed of an a d v e r t i s i n g o u t l e t , the s t r i k e increased the d e t e r m i n a t i o n to press f o r l e g i s l a t i o n which would guar -antee the s e c u r i t y of p r o d u c t i o n . The h i g h v i s i b i l i t y of the newspaper s t r i k e meant t h a t o p p o s i t i o n to r e s t r i c t i v e labour l e g i s l a t i o n would be t h a t much harder f o r the labour movement to muster . D. The meta l mines While the demand dec l i ned a f t e r 1945 f o r some i n d u s t r i a l meta ls such as copper which were e s s e n t i a l t o wart ime p r o d u c t i o n , o ther f a c t o r s made the f u t u r e of meta l min ing i n B r i t i s h Columbia b r i g h t . The i n t e r n a t i o n a l p r i c e of go ld had been r a i s e d through the post-war i n t e r n a t i o n a l monetary agreement and some go ld mines which had been out of p r o d u c t i o n began opera -t i n g a g a i n . About t w o - t h i r d s of the meta l mines i n B.C. a t t h i s t ime were 66 go ld producers . Almost a l l the mines produced s i l v e r , which was a lso i n 104. h igh demand. Not on ly producing mines were l o o k i n g forward to a prosperous p e r i o d : e x p l o r a t i o n f o r new d e p o s i t s , i n c l u d i n g minera ls no t p r e v i o u s l y known t o e x i s t i n B.C. such as tungs ten , was a lso spurred by the g e n e r a l l y buoyant economy. But success, perhaps more than i n any o ther i n d u s t r y , depended on c a p t u r i n g expor t markets and the problem of p r o f i t a b i l i t y which t h a t dependence always poses was compounded by the wor ld -w ide u n i f o r m i t y o f the p roduc t : B.C. copper had no i n h e r e n t advantages over U.S. or Rhodesian copper. P r o f i t s depended on the o p e r a t o r ' s a b i l i t y to.:keep overhead and t r a n s p o r t a t i o n costs 68 down. These were some o f the reasons B.C. meta l mine owners and opera tors used to oppose i n d u s t r y - w i d e b a r g a i n i n g . They claimed c o n d i t i o n s were so d i f f e r e n t a t each mine t h a t on ly b a r g a i n i n g on a l o c a l bas is was p r a c t i c a l . The Western M i n e r ' s f e a t u r e d co lumnis t i n toned e a r l y i n 1946: No man w i t h any sense and no company w i t h any sense, i s aga ins t un ions . '. . . A l l t h a t the companies p r o t e s t i s t h a t b a r g a i n i n g a t any th ing h igher than the company or p l a n t l e v e l i s not on ly death t o compe t i t i ve business but death to the worke rs ' own g r e a t e s t p r o f i t s . (69) The man on the o ther end of the wage r e l a t i o n s h i p saw the i ssue d i f f e r e n t l y . To h im, a miner was a miner whether he worked i n Bra lo rne or i n S tewar t . He d i d the same work and. he and h i s f a m i l y had the same needs. The d e s i r e f o r s t a n d a r d i z a t i o n of c o n d i t i o n s had helped the wart ime o r g a n i z i n g d r i v e of the I n t e r n a t i o n a l Union of Mine, M i l l and Smelter Workers, whose B.C. d i s t r i c t , w i t h Harvey Murphy as d i r e c t o r , was se t up i n 1944. Between 1942 and 1946 the number of M i n e - M i l l l o c a l s i n the p rov ince increased s i x f o l d t o 18. The 7,000 M i n e - M i l l members comprised n e a r l y 100 per cent of the meta l mine and smel ter workers i n the p r o v i n c e . 7 ^ M i n e - M i l l ' s memberhip could be broken down i n t o th ree c a t e g o r i e s . One was the meta l and chemical w o r k e r s ' l o c a l i n Vancouver, which c a r r i e d o f f the 1946 foundry s t r i k e . The second inc luded the workers a t the Consol idated 105. M i n i n g and Smel t ing Co. complex, which i n c l u d e d mines i n T r a i l and K i m b e r l e y and the T r a i l s m e l t e r . F i n a l l y t h e r e were s l i g h t l y more than 2,000 workers i n 12 o ther p r o d u c i n g m e t a l mines , who s t r u c k f o r f i v e months b e g i n n i n g i n J u l y , 1946. C o n s o l i d a t e d would have been a n a t u r a l t a r g e t had the u n i o n been, as the CMA charged, a t t e m p t i n g to shut down B . C . i n d u s t r y i n concer t w i t h o ther communist- led u n i o n s . But c e r t a i n f a c t o r s m i l i t a t e d a g a i n s t a s t r i k e a t C o n s o l i d a t e d . The company produced s i l v e r , l e a d and z i n c , as w e l l as o ther b y - p r o d u c t s and thus was not as s u s c e p t i b l e to p r i c e f l u c t u a t i o n s or r i g i d i t y as s ingle-commodity p r o d u c e r s . Therefore i n the i n t e r e s t of c o n t i n u e d p r o d u c -t i o n i t was more i n c l i n e d to grant s u b s t a n t i a l wage i n c r e a s e s . Second, the presence of o r g a n i z e d o p p o s i t i o n moderated M i n e - M i l l ' s approach i n T r a i l . A l -though B l a y l o c k had r e t i r e d , the company u n i o n he d e a l t w i t h c o n t i n u e d to a t -t r a c t some support even though M i n e - M i l l was c e r t i f i e d . Whi le M i n e - M i l l ' s p o s i t i o n under normal c o n d i t i o n s was s e c u r e , a prolonged s t r i k e might l e a v e the way open f o r d e c e r t i f i c a t i o n and the r e - o r g a n i z a t i o n of the company u n i o n . F o r these reasons M i n e - M i l l was content to s i g n an agreement f o r a h e a l t h y 15%-cent h o u r l y i n c r e a s e and a 40-hour week.7"'" w i t h C o n s o l i d a t e d and l e t i t 72 set the p a t t e r n f o r the o t h e r mines . I n t h i s way the dues and s t r i k e a s s e s s -ments from the T r a i l and Kimber ley workers s w e l l e d the u n i o n ' s t e a s u r y and helped support the miners who d i d go on s t r i k e . M i n e - M i l l c la imed i n the 1946 n e g o t i a t i o n s t h a t d i s t r i c t - w i d e nego-t i a t i o n , not a b i n d i n g d i s t r i c t - w i d e agreement was the i s s u e , a l t h o u g h i n f a c t the u n i o n was a f t e r a s tandard e i g h t - p o i n t program a p p l i c a b l e to a l l mines i n the p r o v i n c e , w i t h other i tems to be n e g o t i a t e d l o c a l l y . The program i n c l u d e d a demand f o r a $ l - p e r - s h i f t wage i n c r e a s e , the 40-hour week, o v e r t i m e , h o l i d a y , v a c a t i o n , severance and s i c k pay, a minimum annual wage and the c h e c k - o f f . The wage demand was backed up by s t a t i s t i c s showing p r i c e s had r i s e n 35.2 per cent 106. 73 but wages on ly 24 per cent s ince 1939. I n d u s t r y - w i d e b a r g a i n i n g was anathema to the mine o p e r a t o r s , bu t they managed to make t h e i r p o s i t i o n about as i m p l a u s i b l e as p o s s i b l e . As n e g o t i a t i o n s reached a c r i t i c a l p o i n t i n May, the un ion uncovered a l e t t e r f rom the Min ing A s s o c i a t i o n of B.C. which showed a concerted e f f o r t was be ing made t o m a i n t a i n u n i f o r m l y low labour s tandards . Sent to a l l mine o p e r a t o r s , the l e t t e r advised ;'them to re fuse to d iscuss any of the M i n e - M i l l demands e x r cept the wage i n c r e a s e . Grounds f o r t h i s admoni t ion were sa id to be t h a t ;, miners were h i r e d by the day or hour and were not " s a l a r i e d s e r v a n t s " e n -74 t i t l e d to, any form o f company b e n e f i t s . The M i n e - M i l l leaders were qu ick to p o i n t out the i ncons is tency o f the o p e r a t o r s ' p o s i t i o n . Loca l b a r g a i n i n g could h a r d l y be c a r r i e d out i n good f a i t h when opera to rs were be ing pressured. i n t o conforming w i t h t h e i r c o m p e t i t o r s . The opera tors made t h e i r stance even more l u d i c r o u s by choosing the same lawyer t o represent them a l l , ye t r e f u s i n g t o n e g o t i a t e as a body . 7 " ' I n these circumstances n e g o t i a t i o n q u i c k l y reached an impasse. The un ion began to order s t r i k e supp l ies and l o c a l s were urged t o s t reng then t h e i r o r g a n i z a t i o n wherever they could i n the s i n g l e - i n d u s t r y and company towns by s i g n i n g up " f o r c e r t i f i c a t i o n purposes w a i t r e s s e s , s t o r e c l e r k s 76 e t c . , and becom(ing) t h e i r b a r g a i n i n g a g e n t . " An e d i t o r i a l c o n t a i n i n g the f o l l o w i n g excerpt appeared i n M i n e - M i l l ' s B.C. D i s t r i c t Union News: Jus t as the loggers of B.C. w i l l g i ve t h e i r answer ( t o employer i n t r a n s i g e n c e ) , so a l l of us w i l l g ive our answer. We want some of the f r u i t s f rom the g rea t 0 v i c t o r y we have won a t such h o r r i b l e c o s t . We want a s h o r t e r work ing week, we want the p o s i t i o n of our un ion secured so the gains we make w i l l no t be taken away f rom us and Canada plunged i n t o the depths of a c r i s i s worse than we've ever known. (77) Workers a t 12 o p e r a t i o n s , a l l the producing meta l mines i n the p r o -78 v i n c e except those i n the Consol idated complex, walked out on J u l y 3. A bad break f o r a l l concerned came two days l a t e r when the Canadian d o l l a r was r a i s e d to p a r i t y w i t h the U.S. d o l l a r . The e f f e c t was t o lower the va lue t o 107. Canadian opera t ions o f go ld so ld i n the U.S. , g i v i n g some credence t o the go ld 79 mine o p e r a t o r s ' c la ims of i n a b i l i t y to pay l a r g e wage i n c r e a s e s . Chief J u s t i c e Sloan, f r e s h f rom the lumber s t r i k e , was appointed as an i n q u i r y com-miss ioner by the f e d e r a l government hours a f t e r the s t r i k e began and f o l l o w i n g the r e - v a l u a t i o n of the d o l l a r he separated the gold mines f rom the copper mines 80 i n h i s c o n s i d e r a t i o n s . But Sloan res igned on J u l y 13 , say ing " t h e min ing com-panies have no i n t e n t i o n of e n t e r i n g i n t o a master c o n t r a c t w i t h the un ion on an i n d u s t r y - w i d e basisV and t h a t he c o u l d n ' t c o n c i l i a t e i n d i v i d u a l l y w i t h a 81 m u l t i t u d e o f employers. " I f 147 lumber opera to rs can s i g n an agreement," he 82 t o l d the companies, "so c a n / y o u . " Sloan cont inued as adv ise r to a f e d e r a l c o n c i l i a t o r but h i s w i t hd rawa l robbed the proceedings of a c e r t a i n urgency, and they dragged on i n t o September. At l e a s t one mine threatened to shut down, c la im ing t h a t i t would "never n e g o t i a t e w i t h a Communist or be d i c t a t e d t o by 83 Moscow or Ch icago. " But the s o l i d a r i t y of the 12 union l o c a l s remained i n t a c t . The meta l mine opera tors used the s t r i k e t o beg in a v igo rous campaign aimed a t r e s t r i c t i v e labour l e g i s l a t i o n . Almost d a i l y broadcasts d u r i n g the summer and f a l l o f 1946, sponsored by the B.C. Me ta l Mine Opera to rs ' A s s o c i a -t i o n , r a i l e d a t the u n i o n , i t s communist l eadersh ip and the government 's f a i l -ure i n the f i e l d of labour l e g i s l a t i o n . ^ More thorough was the Western Miner , which be fo re the s t r i k e began p r i n t i n g the f o l l o w i n g e d i t o r i a l on " E f f e c t i v e Labour L e g i s l a t i o n " : . . . i n Canada we cont inue sheep - l i ke to f o l l o w the path of l e a s t r e s i s t a n c e i n labour mat te rs . . . We countenance prolonged s t r i k e s i n our own bas ic i n d u s t r i e s d u r i n g t h i s d i f f i c u l t reconvers ion pe r iod and, seemingly , we are power-less to take any e f f e c t i v e a c t i o n . Whether or no t Canadian leaders are Communists f i r s t and Canadians on ly as an a f t e r t h o u g h t (and most c e r t a i n l y many of them are) i s a ques t ion of secondary importance a t t h i s t i m e . The Labor -Progress ive (Communist) Par ty i s recognized t e m p o r a r i l y a t l e a s t as l e g a l and accep tab le . . . . The f a u l t , and the r o o t cause o f the present d i s r u p t i o n , l i e s 108. i n the ex is tence of a s i t u a t i o n which the Communists are on ly too ab le and w i l l i n g to e x p l o i t f o r the f u r t h e r a n c e o f t h e i r own p e c u l i a r ends. Organised labour i s no t e f f e c t i v e -l y respons ib le i n law f o r i t s a c t i o n s and u n t i l t h i s s i t u a t i o n i s remedied we w i l l con t inue t o have aggravated i n d u s t r i a l d i s r u p t i o n organized and fomented by members o f the Labour-Progress ive Par ty or succeeding p o l i t i c a l o p p o r t u n i s t s . . . . There has been no p r o v i s i o n made i n our laws to cope w i t h the r a p i d l y i n c r e a s i n g power concent ra ted i n the hands of un ion l e a d e r s . . . . Once t rade unions are made respons ib le i n law f o r t h e i r a c t i o n s t o the same ex ten t as co rpo ra t i ons and i n d i v i d u a l s there w i l l be an end t o the i n d u s t r i a l chaos we now w i t n e s s ; the unions w i l l a l l the more e f f e c t i v e l y f u n c t i o n as b a r -ga in ing agents f o r t h e i r members; and the Communists, no longer ab le t o make p o l i t i c a l c a p i t a l of d i f f e r e n c e s between employers and employees, w i l l be depr ived o f t h e i r most po tent weapon. (The workers) would have l i t t l e reason t o oppose such l e g i s l a t i o n . (85) I n August the Western Miner took the f e d e r a l and p r o v i n c i a l govern-ments to task f o r t h e i r a l l e g e d f a i l u r e t o p rov ide proper c o n c i l i a t i o n mach i -86 n e r y . Whi le r e p e a t i n g the demand f o r l e g i s l a t i o n r e s t r i c t i n g communist l eadersh ip and imposing l e g a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y , the t rade j o u r n a l c la imed the f e d e r a l government was " reap ing the w h i r l w i n d , a good p a r t o f which was sown severa l years ago when the C . I . O . was accorded more encouragement than c u r r e n t events can j u s t i f y . " Pearson too was slammed f o r h i s a t t a c k on employers who re fused to g ran t un ion s e c u r i t y and i t was noted t h a t i n B.C. " l i t t l e has been accomplished i n the l i n e of med ia t ion and less i n the p r o t e c t i o n of non-un ion ized c i t i z e n s . " ^ When the break i n the meta l mine s t r i k e came, i n mid-October , i t was the s o l i d a r i t y of the employers which broke down. Unable to s tand the shutdown any l onger , the copper mine opera to rs accepted se t t lement recommenda-t i o n s handed down by S loan. These p rov ided f o r bas ic wage increases of e i g h t cents f o r miners and s i x f o r o ther workers and a bonus system t i e d t o copper p r i c e s which e f f e c t i v e l y brought the increases t o 14 and 12 cen ts , p lus the 109. 88 44-hour week. Somewhat r e l u c t a n t l y , and over the o b j e c t i o n o f a t l e a s t one member, the u n i o n ' s d i s t r i c t p o l i c y committee accepted the recommendations and 89 90 on October 16 the men a t the two copper mines voted to go back to work. Soon a f t e r t h i s se t t l ement the two s i l v e r - l e a d - z i n c mines owned by the Base Metals Min ing Co. i n the Revelstoke area resumed p r o d u c t i o n , s i g n i n g a con-91 t r a c t which c l o s e l y p a r a l l e l l e d the se t t l ement reached a t Conso l ida ted . The ranks of the go ld mine employers s p l i t i n mid-November, when the Hedley Mascot mine signed an agreement p r o v i d i n g f o r a 12-cent h o u r l y inc rease f o r miners and 10 cents f o r o t h e r s , w i t h a v o l u n t a r y revocable check-o f f . The o ther opera to rs stood t h e i r ground, bu t when Sloan recommended a 10^-cent ac ross - the -board increase f o r these mines and the un ion accepted, they changed t h e i r minds and the go ld miners went back to work December 5. The un ion leaders acknowledged t h a t the wage gains were "no t a complete v i c -t o r y " bu t main ta ined they had " e s t a b l i s h e d something which the g rea te r number o f opera to rs never wanted to happen" — i n d u s t r y - w i d e b a r g a i n i n g and p roo f 92 of the s o l i d a r i t y of the p r o v i n c e ' s meta l m ine rs . Despi te the f i ve -mon th shutdown, the va lue of m i n e r a l p r o d u c t i o n 93 i n B.C. rose by an est imated $7 m i l l i o n t o $70 m i l l i o n i n 1946. Never the-l e s s , the Western Miner wept f o r the mine owners whose "courage" l e d them t o s tay i n business d e s p i t e "unprecedented c o s t s " and " inadequate numbers o f 94 w o r k e r s . " And the omnibus employer p u b l i c a t i o n , Western Business and I n - d u s t r y , was so incensed by the 1946 s t r i k e s as t o c a l l f o r Pearson's r e p l a c e -ment as m i n i s t e r of labour w i t h a " s t r o n g e r " , "more b r o a d - v i s i o n e d " i n d i v i d u a l Before the year 1947 was over , t h i s w ish was g ran ted . 110. Notes to Chapter 5 1 The term used i n the sources on which my d i s c u s s i o n of s t r i k e s i s based i s "man-days". I have taken the l i b e r t y o f c o r r e c t i n g t h i s i naccuracy . 2 Canadian U n i o n i s t , March 1946, p. 58. 3 Some TLC un ions , n o t a b l y the Un i ted T e x t i l e Workers o f Amer ica, the I n t e r n a t i o n a l Typographica l Union and the Canadian Seamen's Un ion, were i n v o l v e d i n the 1946 s t r i k e s . 4 Labour Gazet te , 47 (1947) : 435-50. 5 A s t r i k e among Vancouver and d i s t r i c t f i s h n e t makers occurred e a r l y i n 1946, bu t i t was of min imal importance bo th to the labour movement gen-e r a l l y and t o the development o f unionism i n the f i s h i n g i n d u s t r y , which by t h i s t ime was s u b s t a n t i a l l y complete. See Percy Gladstone, Indus- t r i a l d i spu tes i n the commercial f i s h e r i e s o f B r i t i s h Columbia, MA t h e s i s , U n i v e r s i t y o f B.C. (economics), 1959. 6 Joseph C. Lawrence, Markets and c a p i t a l : a h i s t o r y of the lumber i n d u s -' t r y of B r i t i s h Columbia, 1778-1952, MA t h e s i s , U n i v e r s i t y of B.C. ( h i s t o r y ) 1957, 143-4. 7 A l f r e d C. K i l b a n k , The economic bas is o f c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g i n the lum- ber i n d u s t r y of B r i t i s h Columbia, BA essay, U n i v e r s i t y o f B.C. (economics and p o l i t i c a l s c i e n c e ) , 1947, 68 -9 . 8 Lawrence, op_. c i t . , 156-7. 9 F i n a n c i a l Post , May 25, 1946, 15. 10 K i l b a n k , op. c i t . , 1 0 0 - 1 . This o r g a n i z a t i o n d u r i n g the war years was conf ined p r i m a r i l y to the c o a s t a l r e g i o n , bu t a w h i r l w i n d campaign dur ing 1945 set up most of the i n t e r i o r l o c a l s . 11 D. E. Anderson, The growth of organized labour i n the lumber ing i n d u s t r y o f B r i t i s h Columbia, BA essay, U n i v e r s i t y of B.C. (economics and p o l i t i c a l s c i e n c e ) , 1944, 131 . 12 I b i d . , 134. 13 I b i d . , 140. 14 K i l b a n k , op_. c i t . , 99. 15 M y r t l e Bergren, Tough t imber : the loggers of B r i t i s h Columbia — t h e i r s t o r y , Toronto : Progress Books, 1967, 231 . 16 I b i d . , 230. 17 I n t e r n a t i o n a l Woodworkers of Amer ica, D i s t r i c t 1 , Submission to S tua r t Research re i n d u s t r y - w i d e n e g o t i a t i o n s , Vancouver, 1946, 3. 111. 18 Labour Gazet te , June 1946, 775. 19 Bergren, op_. c i t . , 232. 20 Eckman to H a r t , May 9, 1946, PP, 1946-7, L-20-D. 21 P.C. 1003 was s i l e n t on the sub jec t o f s t r i k e v o t e s , a l though the IWA s t r i k e was c l e a r l y i l l e g a l s ince the proper c o n c i l i a t i o n procedure was not f o l l o w e d . 22 Sloan was the son of a former B.C. mines m i n i s t e r and had been a t t o r n e y -genera l f rom 1933 to 1937 i n the P a t t u l l o c a b i n e t . 23 The appointment was made under P.C. 4020 of June, 1941. 24 Bergren, op_. c i t . , 233. 25 K i l b a n k , op_. c i t . , 1 0 0 - 1 . 26 Labour Gazet te , 46 (1946) : 776. 27 Renwick to H a r t , May 28, 1946, PP, 1946-7, L-20-D. 28 F i n a n c i a l Pos t , June 22, 1946. 10. 29 The f o l l o w i n g passage f rom the LPP's Trade Union C o - o r d i n a t i n g Committee s i g n i f i e d the end o f the wart ime p o l i c y : "The a t t i t u d e of ( the CMA) demonstrates f u l l y t h a t our f i g h t aga ins t these d o l l a r p a t r i o t s , who came out of the war w i t h new m i l l i o n s and expanded p l a n t s d i s t i l l e d f rom the b lood of Canadian dead, i s the f i g h t of the Canadian people as a whole aga ins t the most v i c i o u s element i n our m i d s t . Since the War ended these manufacturers have been on the b igges t s i t -down s t r i k e t h i s count ry has ever known, i n an endeavour t o r a i s e p r i c e s and f o r c e down wages . " , B.C. D i s t r i c t Union News, June 10, 1946, 2. 30 P. E. French to H a r t , May 20, 1946, PP, 1946-7, L-2-D... 31 I have i d e n t i f i e d ( ch . 2) the independent producers and smal l r e t a i l mer-chants i n the i n t e r i o r c o n s t i t u e n c i e s as p a r t of the Conservat ive p a r t y ' s c lass base, so i t i s wor th quo t ing a t l e n g t h one example of t h i s a g r a r i a n a n t i - l a b o u r ph i losophy : "Farmers are men of w o r t h , owning t h e i r own p r o p e r t y , taxed to the l i m i t on the v a l u e of t h e i r p r o p e r t y . . . "What investment have the i n d u s t r i a l worker ( s i c ) got? What have they a t stake o ther than the labour they do w i t h t h e i r hands? "Go down i n t o the p i c k e t l i n e s you w i l l f i n d teen ( s i c ) aged boys on duty w i t h an o lde r man of some undertermined n a t i o n a l i t y who can b a r e l y make h imse l f understood i n our language, and there are q u i t e a few em-ployees of t imber and m i l l you got t o l i s t e n very c l o s e l y to f o l l o w what they are say ing . They cannot t e l l you i n t e l l i g e n t l y why they are on s t r i k e . " I s i t f a i r t h a t the farmer should be p e n i l i z e d ( s i c ) by i r r e s p o n s i b l e people w i t h no stake i n the count ry o ther than t h e i r l a b o u r ? " (George Tr iggs to H a r t , June 7, 1946, PP, 1946-7, L-20-D.) 112. I r o n i c a l l y , desp i te the r a d i c a l tendencies of some union l e a d e r s , i t was p r e c i s e l y a "s take i n the c o u n t r y " t h a t the post -war s t r i k e s sought t o achieve f o r the work ing c lass — t h a t r e s p e c t a b i l i t y , the l ack o f which prec luded the p o s s i b i l i t y of farmer support i n the labour s t r u g g l e s . 32 Labour Gazet te , 46 (1946) : 776. S loan 's award was based more on p r a c -t i c a l c o n s i d e r a t i o n s than was the j u r i s p r u d e n t i a l e f f o r t o f I van Rand i n O n t a r i o . See Appendix A. 33 Loc. c i t . P r i t c h e t t l a t e r admi t ted the r e j e c t i o n of t h i s award was a "major e r r o r " which " tended to improve the p o s i t i o n of the employers i n the eyes o f the p u b l i c . " Cor rec t s t r a t e g y , he sa id would have been t o do then what was done a few days l a t e r — propose t h a t the award be made the bas is f o r n e g o t i a t i o n s . Haro ld P r i t c h e t t , "The B.C. woodworkers' s t r i k e , " N a t i o n a l A f f a i r s , 3 (1946) : 237. 34 Labour Gazet te , 46 (1946) : 776. 35 Bergren, op_. c i t . , 234-5. The d e l g a t i o n c i t e d the IWA's wart ime n o - s t r i k e record and the inc rease i n the cost o f l i v i n g to back up i t s demands f o r wages and s e c u r i t y . To counter the employers ' c la ims t h a t the h igher wages would mean lower p r o d u c t i v i t y , the un ion po in ted out t h a t r e t u r n i n g veterans could be employed on second and t h i r d s h i f t s i n the m i l l s , to reduce the unemployment problem and ease the housing shor tage . IWA, b r i e f t o c a b i n e t , June 14, 1946, PP, 1946-7, L-20-D. 36 Vancouver Sun, June 17, 1946, 1 . 37 The un ion proposed a r e t u r n t o work on cond i ton the f e d e r a l government ho ld a referendum ask ing un ion members whether they favoured the i n c l u s i o n of a maintenance of membership c lause i n the master c o n t r a c t . Th is was r e f u s e d . See Labour Gazet te , J u l y 1946, 918-9. 38 Loc. c i t . 39 Some of these members apparen t l y b o l t e d the IWA f o r a TLC u n i o n , b u t a l l were back i n the f o l d by the end of the y e a r . There i s no evidence of d i ssens ion i n the coast r e g i o n . See K i l b a n k , op_. c i t . . , 114. 40 Labour Gazet te , J u l y 1946, pp. 918-9. The 15-cent goa l had a c t u a l l y been reached on May 23 when pulp workers i n a T L C - a f f i l i a t e d un ion s e t t l e d w i t h employers f o r t h a t amount w i t h o u t a s t r i k e . Labor Statesman, Sept-ember 1946, 1 . 41 When M i n e - M i l l was c e r t i f i e d a t the McDonell Meta l Manufac tur ing Co. i n December 1945, McDonell immediately c a l l e d a meet ing of h i s employees a t which he "stormed and cursed a t the un ion u n t i l c a l l e d to order by an o u t b u r s t of resentment f rom the w o r k e r s . " (B.C. D i s t r i c t Union News, De-cember 15, 1945, 8 . ) McDonel l ' s p o l i c y on union s e c u r i t y was s imp le . His son, the shop manager, posted a n o t i c e say ing no employee would ever have t o j o i n a un ion as a c o n d i t i o n of employment " w i t h i n the l i f e t i m e o f the present owner . " (Loc. c i t . ) 42 This anomaly was due p a r t l y t o M i n e - M i l l ' s r i v a l r y w i t h the S tee lworkers , bu t a l so t o the pa t te rn -make rs ' d e s i r e t o be represented as a c r a f t and t h e i r b e l i e f t h a t M i n e - M i l l cou ld do a b e t t e r j o b than the Moulders. 113. John Stanton t o B. H. E. Gou l t , A p r l 23, 1946, MMP, 55-17. 43 An agreement signed between M i n e - M i l l and l o c a l USWA leaders p r o v i d i n g t h a t j u r i s d i c t i o n a l d ispu tes should be s e t t l e d by a b a l l o t among the a f f e c t e d workers had been repud ia ted by the n a t i o n a l USWA l e a d e r s h i p . B.C. D i s t r i c t Union News, March 10, 1945, 1 . 44 B.C. D i s t r i c t P o l i c y Conference m inu tes , May 26, 1946, MMP, 31-4 . 45 B.C. D i s t r i c t Union News, June 10, 1946, 1-2. 46 Walter Owen t o J . Frame, June 1 1 , 1946, MMP, 55-17. 47 Under the wart ime labour law which was s t i l l i n e f f e c t , a un ion and an employer had t o apply j o i n t l y to the Regional War Labour Board f o r r a t i -f i c a t i o n of an agreement. These boards were designed t o ensure u n i f o r m labour standards and func t i oned s ince 1941 under P.C. 8253 and subsequent amendments. See H. A. Logan, Trade Unions i n Canada, Toron to : Macmi l lan 1948, 16. The RWLB should not be confused w i t h the Regional Wartime Labour Re la t i ons Board set up to admin is te r P.C. 1003. The l a t t e r s ' f u n c -t i o n s i n B.C. were d ischarged by the m i n i s t e r of l a b o u r . See above, ch . 1 . 48 B.C. D i s t r i c t Union News, J u l y 9, 1946, 1 ; Vancouver Sun, J u l y 5, 1946, 9. 49 One o f the board members v o t i n g aga ins t the 15-cent inc rease was B i r t Showier, a prominent p r o v i n c i a l TLC l e a d e r . BCFL, Convent ion Proceedings, 3 (1946) , 12. 50 B.C. D i s t r i c t Union News, August 3, 1946, 1 . The r e t u r n t o work i nc luded Steelworker members a t two shops who had s t r u c k J u l y 20 f o r the 15-cent r a i s e and who re tu rned t o work under the c o n d i t i o n they would be g iven the inc rease granted by the commissioner t o the M i n e - M i l l members. Two o ther S t e e l w o r k e r - c e r t i f i e d foundr ies had a l ready agreed t o the 15-cent i n c r e a s e , one a f t e r a week-long s t r i k e . S tee l Labor, September 1946, 2 . 51 Broadcast by Bob Mor r i son f o r B.C. Meta l Mine Opera to rs ' A s s o c i a t i o n , August ,22 , 1946, MMP, 54-13. 52 Labour Gazet te , 46 (1946) : 1434. 53 S tua r t Jamieson, Times o f t r o u b l e : labour unres t and i n d u s t r i a l c o n f l i c t i n Canada, 1900-1966, Task f o r c e on labour r e l a t i o n s , study no. 22, Ottawa: P r i v y Counc i l O f f i c e , 1968, 308. 54 Charles Bruce, News and the Southams, Toron to : Macmi l lan , 1968, 209. 55 Bruce, op_. c i t . , 213; Jamieson, op. c i t . , 311-12. This a c t i o n f o l l o w e d a long and f r u i t l e s s s e r i e s of appearances be fo re bo th f e d e r a l and p r o -v i n c i a l labour boards , i n which the union unsuccess fu l l y argued t h a t Southam as a newspaper cha in should be r e q u i r e d t o ba rga in on a na t i on -w ide b a s i s . 56 Bruce, op_. c i t . , 353. 57 The g u i l d was c e r t i f i e d a t the Sun but not a t the P rov ince . 58 Bruce, op_. c i t . , 353-4. 114. 59 I b i d . , 355. 60 I b i d . , 356-7. 61 I b i d . , 358. 62 Jamieson, op_. c i t . , 315. 63 A. W. R. Ca r ro the rs , The labour i n j u n c t i o n i n B r i t i s h Columbia, Toron to : CCH Canadian L t d . , 1956, 110. A v a r i a t i o n o f the i n j u n c t i o n J u l y 30 a l lowed peace fu l p i c k e t i n g as de f i ned i n the Trade-unions A c t , so long as no at tempt was made to i n c i t e v i o l e n c e or gather l a r g e crowds. I b i d . , 108-9. 64 Bruce, op_. c i t . , 359-60. 65 By 1949 the Prov ince had dropped i n c i r c u l a t i o n f rom 127,000 t o 97,000 w h i l e the Sun had grown from s l i g h t l y less than 100,000 t o 160,000. (Bruce, op_. c i t . , 361.) The Prov ince was e v e n t u a l l y fo rced to enter i n t o an agreement w i t h the Sun t o share mechanical f a c i l i t i e s , and t o s w i t c h to morning p u b l i c a t i o n , l e a v i n g the l u c r a t i v e a f t e r n o o n f i e l d t o the Sun. 66 Dean R. MacKay, A study of labour r e l a t i o n s i n the meta l -m in ing i n d u s t r y of B r i t i s h Columbia, MA t h e s i s , U n i v e r s i t y o f B.C. (economics) , 1948, 18. 67 See W. T. Easterbrook and Hugh G. J . A i t k e n , Canadian Economic H i s t o r y , Toronto : Macmi l lan , 1961, 535-7. 68 The mines a l so s u f f e r e d f rom more or less chron ic labour shortages p a r t l y induced, as the un ion men never t i r e d of p o i n t i n g o u t , by the danger i n -vo lved i n underground work. 69 Western Miner , January 1946, 33. See a lso MacKay, op_. c i t . , 101 . 70 MacKay, o p . c i t . , 49. Despi te the favourab le wart ime c o n d i t i o n s , the o r g a n i z a t i o n had to be fought f o r every i n c h of the way, Mine managers and super in tendents whose f o r e i g n p r i n c i p a l s demanded a steady p r o f i t r a t e used a l l the s t a l l i n g t a c t i c s a v a i l a b l e t o them to thwar t the b u i l d -i n g of the u n i o n . Employer harassment was so bad t h a t i n the g i a n t Consol idated smel ter a t T r a i l some workers were signed up f o u r t imes be -f o r e c e r t i f i c a t i o n was f i n a l l y g r a n t e d . This was a good example, Murphy commented, " o f the need f o r un ion s e c u r i t y and why the bosses. . . are f i g h t i n g check -o f f and o ther un ion s e c u r i t y demands." B.C. D i s t r i c t Execut ive Board minu tes , December 6, 1945, MMP, 31-3 . 71 To be reached by a p rogress ive r e d u c t i o n du r ing the l i f e of the agreement. 72 B.C. D i s t r i c t Union News, May 20, 1946, 1 . 73 MacKay, op_. c i t . , 102-3; B.C. D i s t r i c t P o l i c y Committee m inu tes , May 26, 1946, MMPy 31-4 . 74 B.C. D i s t r i c t Union News, May 6, 1946, 1 . 75 Employer r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s present a t n e g o t i a t i o n s i n s i s t e d they had power 115. not t o s i g n agreements but on ly to l i s t e n and r e p o r t back to t h e i r s u p e r i o r s . B.C. D i s t r i c t P o l i c y Committee minu tes , June 22, 1946, MMP, 31-4 . 76 I b i d . , June 4 - 5 , 1946, MMP, 31-4 . 77 B.C. D i s t r i c t Union News, June 10, 1946, 4 . The un ion s e c u r i t y demand was not as impor tan t i n the metal -mine s t r i k e as i t was i n the f o r e s t ( i n d u s t r y . Murphy exp la ined l a t e r : "The ques t ion o f un ion s e c u r i t y does not b u l k ve ry l a r g e l y here i n go ld and copper mines where a t l e a s t h a l f of our membership are a l ready covered by check -o f f or s i m i l a r p r o v i s i o n s . " (B.C. D i s t r i c t P o l i c y Committee minu tes , September 5, 1946, MMP, 31-4 ; see a lso MacKay, pp_. c i t . , 126) By e a r l y September the un ion s e c u r i t y demands had been dropped. 78 "To enable development", un ion members kept work ing a t the h a n d f u l o f min ing p r o p e r t i e s not ye t i n p r o d u c t i o n . B.C. D i s t r i c t Union News, J u l y 9, 1946, 1 . 79 MacKay, op_. c i t . , 103. 80 I b i d . , 104. 81 B.C. D i s t r i c t Union News, J u l y 22, 1946, 1 . 82 P. W. Luce, "B.C. workers lose m i l l i o n s i n wages because of s t r i k e s " , Saturday N i g h t , August 10, 1946, 13. 83 B.C. D i s t r i c t Union News, August 26, 1946, 1 . 84 One of these broadcasts was the one i n which Pearson was c r i t i c i z e d f o r h i s hand l ing of the foundry s t r i k e . See above, 18, esp. n . 5 1 . 85 Western Miner , June 1946, 39. 86 Th is argument cou ld be g iven l i t t l e credence. The most moderate observer would have t o agree t h a t the mine o p e r a t o r s 1 performance i n n e g o t i a t i o n and be fo re Sloan was e s s e n t i a l l y designed t o s t a l l and o b s t r u c t as much as p o s s i b l e . 87 Western M iner , August 1946, 36. The mine opera to rs were put out w i t h Pearson a t t h i s t ime f o r another reason. The 44-hour-week p r o v i s i o n s passed the p rev ious s p r i n g were in tended to app ly t o a l l i n d u s t r i e s except a g r i c u l t u r a l and oh te r seasonal l a b o u r . But a c lause i n the M e t a l l i f e r o u s Mines Regu la t ion Act p rov ided f o r a maximum 48-hour-week and some companies claimed t h i s ac t should take precedence. I n t h i s they had the support o f the mines department and i t s Tory m i n i s t e r , Roder ick Macdonald. But Pearson i n s i s t e d on e n f o r c i n g the 44-hour l e g -i s l a t i o n . The c o n f l i c t e v e n t u a l l y reached the B.C. Supreme Cour t , where i t was reso lved i n favour of Pearson. The i n c i d e n t d i d n o t h i n g f o r Pearson's r e l a t i o n s w i t h the o p e r a t o r s , or f o r the c o a l i t i o n ' s cohes ion. (Western Miner , October 1946, 33; MMP, 5 5 - 1 1 ) . Macdonald was e v i d e n t l y no f a n , e i t h e r , o f Pearson's hand l i ng o f the s t r i k e . " I t seems a g rea t p i t y , " he t o l d the Canadian I n s t i t u t e of Min ing and M e t a l l u r g y , " t h a t when meta l p r i c e s are f a i r l y s a t i s f a c t o r y , we can-116. not take f u l l advantage o f t h i s s i t u a t i o n . " Vancouver Sun, November 13, 1946, 23. 88 Labour Gazet te , 46 (1946): 1575-6. 89 At B r i t a n n i a Beach (Howe Sound Min ing Co.) and Copper Mountain (Granby C o n s o l i d a t e d ) . 90 B.C. D i s t r i c t Union News, October 23, 1946, 1 ; B.C. D i s t r i c t P o l i c y Com-m i t t e e minu tes , October 14, 1946, MMP, 31-3 . 91 MacKay, op_. c i t . , 104. 92 B.C. D i s t r i c t Union News, November 15, 1946, 1 ; B.C. D i s t r i c t P o l i c y Com-m i t t e e minu tes , November 2 1 , 1946, MMP, 31 -4 . 93 Vancouver Sun, November 13, 1946, 23. 94 Western Miner , January 1947, 30. 95 Western Business and I n d u s t r y , J u l y 1946, 33. CHAPTER V I THE GOVERNMENT REACTS: THE PASSAGE OF BILL 39 I n t r o d u c t i o n The fo rego ing accounts of i n d u s t r i a l unres t i n post -war B r i t i s h Columbia have demonstrated, I t h i n k , the concer ted and c o - o r d i n a t e d at tempt made by the employers of the p rov ince to m a i n t a i n the condi tons o f p r o d u c t i o n and weaken the s t a t u s of wo rk ing -c lass o r g a n i z a t i o n . I n the face of t h i s c a p i t a l i s t s o l i d a r i t y , wo rk ing -c lass m i l i t a n c e and a degree o f u n i t y managed to w in impor tan t t rade un ion b a t t l e s on the l e g i s l a t i v e and economic f r o n t s . Unable to w in economic v i c t o r i e s , the employers i n the CMA and r e l a t e d a s s o c i a -t i o n s stepped up t h e i r campaign f o r l e g i s l a t i o n which would r e s t r i c t the r o l e o f the un ion to t h a t o f pa r tne r i n the maintenance of p r o d u c t i o n , by means o f a s e r i e s of i n s t i t u t i o n s i n c l u d i n g government-supervised s t r i k e v o t e s , a leng thy c o n c i l a i t i o n procedure and the expansion of the r o l e of the c o u r t s i n labour d i s p u t e s . The p o l i t i c s of the 1947 l e g i s l a t i v e sess ion were d i r e c t l y concerned w i t h c lass c o n f l i c t , as the d i f f e r e n t c lass i n t e r e s t s i n the l e g i s -l a t u r e b a t t l e d over the k i n d of l e g i s l a t i o n t h a t was t o rep lace P.C. 1003. The government 's task was made somewhat eas ie r i n t h a t the unions themselves, or a t any r a t e t h e i r l e a d e r s , sought i n s t i t u t i o n a l s t a t u s i n p o s t -war s o c i e t y — a l though w i t h o u t the r e s t r i c t i o n s which were e v e n t u a l l y p laced on them. But by the t ime the 1947 session was over , the employer i n t e r e s t s had c l e a r l y done t h e i r l obby ing w e l l , Pearson's c r e d i b i l i t y as a " f r i e n d of l a b o u r " was e f f e c t i v e l y des t royed , and a new era of rep ress ion i n labour r e l a t i o n s had been ushered i n . To understand the passage of the l e g i s l a t i o n , we must b r i e f l y d iscuss developments w i t h i n the c o a l i t i o n s ince the end of the war which had t h e i r e f f e c t on, and i n t u r n were a f f e c t e d by , the pressure f o r a new I n d u s -t r i a l C o n c i l i a t i o n and A r b i t r a t i o n A c t . 118. A. Tension i n the c o a l i t i o n The c o a l i t i o n he ld toge ther as long as the war e f f o r t d i v e r t e d the a t t e n t i o n of p o l i t i c i a n s f rom the d i f f e r e n c e s which separated them i n peacet ime. A f t e r 1945, however, the c o a l i t i o n and i t s two c o n s t i t u e n t p a r t i e s began a slow and p a i n f u l d i s i n t e g r a t i o n . The arrangement was s t r a i n e d , as i n t r u t h i t had always been, by i d e o l o g i c a l d i f f e r e n c e s . These were man i fes t a t t imes i n c o n f l i c t s over p o l i c y a t the p r o v i n c i a l l e v e l and a t t imes i n d i s a p p r o v a l o f the c o a l i t i o n on the p a r t of the f e d e r a l wings of the p a r t i e s . The f e d e r a l L i b e r a l s had f o r the most p a r t favoured the f o r m a t i o n of the c o a l i t i o n as a wart ime exped ien t , but they began to f e a r the e ros ion o f " l i b e r a l p r i n c i p l e s " and the g r a s s - r o o t s p a r t y o r g a n i z a t i o n which kept the ph i losophy of the p a r t y a l i v e . As p a r t of t h e i r p r i c e f o r the support of the c o a l i t i o n dea l i n 1941, the f e d e r a l L i b e r a l s i n s i s t e d t h a t the at tempt be made to keep the p a r t y o r g a n i z a t i o n i n tac t . ' ' " Never the less , many L i b e r a l r i d i n g o r g a n i z a t i o n s f unc t i oned as c o a l i t i o n o r g a n i z a t i o n s much of the t ime and the re were even i n -stances when L i b e r a l and Conservat ive r i d i n g o r g a n i z a -t i o n s he ld j o i n t meetings f o r purposes o ther than the nominat ion of c o a l i t i o n cand ida tes . (2) The d i s i n t e g r a t i o n of the p a r t y , i r o n i c i n v iew of the L i b e r a l s ' unquest ioned predominance i n the c o a l i t i o n i t s e l f , f i r s t became apparent i n the f ede ra l - . 3 e l e c t i o n of 1945, when the p a r t y l o s t h a l f of i t s 10 sea ts . The f a c t t h a t c o a l i t i o n premier John Hart bent over backwards to avo id appear ing as a L i b e r a l p a r t i s a n c o n t r i b u t e d no th ing to the p a r t y ' s a t tempt t o m a i n t a i n a vital p r o v i n c i a l o r g a n i z a t i o n . The T o r i e s , bo th f e d e r a l and p r o v i n c i a l , were more sympathet ic to the c o a l i t i o n , e v i d e n t l y t h i n k i n g themselves ab le to " b u i l d the p a r t y i n t o a s t rong f o r c e which cou ld then s t r i k e out on i t s own aga ins t the L i b e r a l s " by 4 us ing "advantages de r i ved f rom p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n government." E x a c t l y how the Conservat ives planned to do t h i s i s u n c l e a r , bu t the p a r t y d i d r e c e i v e 119. a d i s p r o p o r t i o n a t e share of cab ine t p o s i t i o n s , i n c l u d i n g the a t t o r n e y - gen-e r a l s h i p and the m i n i s t r y o f p u b l i c works. These p o s i t i o n s o f f e r e d patronage o p p o r t u n i t i e s and patronage i s one way to b u i l d a p a r t y . The Conservat ives were e n t h u s i a s t i c c o a l i t i o n i s t s , bu t they knew the arrangement had a f i n i t e l i f e - s p a n . As M a r t i n Robin put i t , " t he j u n i o r pa r tne r was p r u d e n t l y p repar ing f o r the f i r m ' s demise."" ' The Tor ies began t h e i r p r e p a r a t i o n s i n earnest on the death i n March 1946 of t h e i r l e a d e r , Royal M a i t l a n d . Since no Conservat ive MLA was q u a l i f i e d to take M a i t l a n d ' s p lace as a t t o r n e y - g e n e r a l i n the c a b i n e t , the p a r t y gave up i t s c l a i m to t h a t p o s i t i o n i n exchange f o r the f i n a n c e p o r t f o l i o , h i t h e r t o he ld by H a r t , which went to Pub l i c Works M i n i s t e r Herber t Anscomb. The l a t t e r prompt ly proceeded to h i s p a r t y ' s June l eade rsh ip convent ion and was e lec ted M a i t l a n d ' s successor a f t e r p ledg ing to "uphold the d i g n i t y and i n t e g r i t y of the p a r t y a t a l l t i m e s . " The defeated cand ida te , W. A. C. Bennet t , had p u b l i c l y proposed f o r m a t i o n of a c o a l i t i o n p a r t y . P l a c i n g Anscomb i n the power fu l f i nance p o r t f o l i o had been a dangerous move f o r the L i b e r a l s , e s p e c i a l l y i n l i g h t o f h i s not i n c o n s i d e r a b l e persona l a m b i t i o n . The two Conservat ive Fraser V a l l e y merchants, L e s l i e Eyres (Tirade and I n d u s t r y and Rai lways) and Roder ick Macdonald (Mines and M u n i c i p a l A f f a i r s ) a lso entered the cab ine t a t t h i s t i m e . ^ These changes i n the cab ine t marked a d e f i n i t e s h i f t to the r i g h t . Anscomb was an a r c h - c o n s e r v a t i v e accountant w i t h f i n a n c i a l i n t e r e s t s i n the l i q u o r i n d u s t r y , an almost paranoid a n t i -g communist who had a l l e d g e d l y , d u r i n g the depress ion , proposed t h a t P a t t u l l o 9 " c u t w e l f a r e expend i tu res to the bone, and then "scrape the bone . " Less than two years a f t e r h i s accession to the f i nance p o r t f o l i o he was t o impose the f i r s t sa les tax i n the p r o v i n c e ' s h i s t o r y . Here was no f r i e n d of the work ing man and woman. Eyres and Macdonald represented conserva t i ve r u r a l c o n s t i t u e n c i e s to the economies of wh ich , as p e t i t - b o u r g e o i s merchants, they 120. were c l o s e l y l i n k e d . ^ * The man who d i d rep lace M a i t l a n d as a t t o r n e y - g e n e r a l , Gordon Wismer, was the acknowledged leader of the r i g h t - w i n g Vancouver-based L i b e r a l p a r t y "machine" , w i t h t i e s to pr imary business and l i q u o r i n t e r e s t s 12 His re-appearance i n the cab ine t s i g n i f i e d the emergence of o p p o s i t i o n t o the w e l f a r e - s t a t i s t i n f l u e n c e o f George Pearson and Educat ion M i n i s t e r George „14 T T • 13 Wexr. As long as H a r t , "a f i g u r e of d i g n i t y , p r o b i t y and conf idence ' and a master of brokerage p o l i t i c s , was i n c o n t r o l these o r g a n i z a t i o n a l and i d e o l o g i c a l s t r a i n s w i t h i n the c o a l i t i o n were he ld i n check. A f t e r he r e -signed l a t e i n 1947 the s p l i t between the r i g h t and l e f t i n the L i b e r a l p a r t y came i n t o the open and the Conservat ives at tempted to press p r o g r e s s i v e l y more r e p r e s s i v e p o l i c i e s on the government. The exper ience of the 1947 labour l e g i s l a t i o n c o n t r i b u t e d a g rea t dea l to these i n t e r - and i n t r a - p a r t y a n t a -gonisms . B. A- government pressured The f e d e r a l government had announced t h a t war t ime emergency l e g i s l a -t i o n , i n c l u d i n g P.C. 1003, would lapse on A p r i l 1 , 1947. The p o s s i b i l i t y of dominion-wide labour r e l a t i o n s l e g i s l a t i o n cover ing a l l j u r i s d i c t i o n s was wiped out w i t h the co l l apse o f the d o m i n i o n - p r o v i n c i a l labour m i n i n s t e r s ' conference i n November 1946. "^ Since P.C. 1003 had put the ICA Act sadly out of da te , i t needed amendment i f not a t o t a l r e w r i t i n g . As Pearson put i t , the 16 ac t " i n i t s present s t a t e . . . w i l l not be s a t i s f a c t o r y to anyone." On h i s r e t u r n f rom the d o m i n i o n - p r o v i n c i a l conference, labour department s t a f f mem-bers began t o d r a f t a new a c t . Meanwhile the cab ine t heard submissions f rom the unions and employer o r g a n i z a t i o n s . A major un ion o b j e c t i v e was to get " t he p r i n c i p l e o f un ion s e c u r i t y . . . e s t a b l i s h e d by law and t h i s ques t ion thus removed as a s t r i k e 1 2 1 . i s s u e . " 1 7 A j o i n t TLC-BCFL d e l e g a t i o n met the cab ine t on January 14, 1947 t o press f o r t h i s and o ther amendments, i n c l u d i n g p r o h i b i t i o n of a wide range of " u n f a i r labor . . .p rac t ices" such as i n d u s t r i a l espionage, company unionism and i d s c r i m i n a t i o n f o r un ion a c t i v i t y . The unions a lso asked f o r c l a r i f i c a t i o n of the d i s t i n c t i o n between a company un ion and a l e g i t i m a t e one, es tab l ishment of a labour r e l a t i o n s board and a r e d u c t i o n f rom 21 to 10 i n the number of days ' n o t i c e r e q u i r e d be fo re an employer had t o commence b a r g a i n i n g . "Labor " , the d e l e g a t i o n s a i d , "has no i n t e r e s t s separate and apar t f rom the community as a whole. Based upon the improved l i v i n g s t a n -18 dards of the work ing people depends the p r o s p e r i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia. " As the unions l a i d the groundwork f o r the 1947 e d i t i o n of the labour lobby , the r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s of a g r i c u l t u r e and i n d u s t r y pressed f o r r e s t r i c t i v e l e g i s l a t i o n . Remembering the t h r e a t of hardship i n the IWA s t r i k e the p r e - ' v i ous s p r i n g , the B.C. F r u i t Growers' A s s o c i a t i o n urged the government t o r e v i s e the ICA Act "so t h a t i t can ac t more e f f e c t i v e l y i n the event o f a 19 threatened s t r i k e . F i f t e e n employer a s s o c i a t i o n s , represented by B r i g . -Gen. Sherwood L e t t , presented a common submission to the cab ine t on February 28. Inc luded were employer o r g a n i z a t i o n s i n lumber, m i n i n g , pulp and paper and f i s h i n g , assor ted boards of t r a d e , the CMA and the Canadian Restaurant A s s o c i a t i o n . The employers couched t h e i r demands f o r curbs on the power of the unions i n terms of concern f o r a nebulous and undef ined " p u b l i c i n t e r e s t " . "Exper ience w i t h th ree d i sas t rous i l l e g a l s t r i k e s i n B.C. i n 1946, " they op ined, " c l e a r l y shows t h a t c e r t a i n amendments should be made t o ( s i c ) bo th i n the T.;C.A. Act and i n the Trades Union Act to b r i n g about needed reforms i n the i n t e r e s t of everyone concerned. " The p u b l i c i n t e r e s t , they s a i d , would be best p r o t e c t e d i f unions were sub jec ted to " f o r m a l r u l e s o f p roce -dure and s u p e r v i s i o n . " Government-supervised s t r i k e v o t e s , they argued, 122. would " p r o t e c t " the p u b l i c f rom unscrupulous un ion leaders who c a l l e d men out on s t r i k e f o r p o l i t i c a l ends. They a lso demanded t h a t the government r e q u i r e a superv ised vo te on any "bona f i d e proposa l f o r s e t t l e m e n t " made by an employer when a s t r i k e was i n p rogress . The b r i e f exp la ined : We make t h i s recommendation i n the l i g h t of exper ience, i n p a r t i c u l a r du r ing 1946, where such bona f i d e o f f e r s have been made and where such o f f e r s have been r e j e c t e d out of hand by a union s t r i k e committee. . . The r e s u l t of t h i s has been the p ro long ing of s t r i k e s u n n e c e s s a r i l y , w i t h g r e a t l y increased loss of earn ings by employees and loss of p r o d u c t i o n . . . We do no t t h i n k t h a t the t a k i n g of such a secre t b a l l o t presents any insurmountable d i f f i c u l t i e s . . . . un ion o f f i c i a l s can assemble mass meetings o f members t o l i s t e n to the union v e r s i o n of s t r i k e progress and we b e l i e v e t h a t by adequate p u b l i c i t y employees can be a s -sembled f o r the t a k i n g of such a v o t e . . . The employers a lso repeated the growing demands of the p rev ious year f o r the l e g a l i z a t i o n of i n d u s t r i a l r e l a t i o n s and they made i t c l e a r t h a t they sought to d i v e r t i n d u s t r i a l c o n f l i c t i n t o i n s t i t u t i o n a l channels in t h i s way. The l a c k o f l e g a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y a t tached to p o s i t i o n s of un ion o f f i c e was, they s a i d , "no t i n the i n t e r e s t s of peace, order and good govern-ment, as ide a l t o g e t h e r f rom the aspects o f i n d u s t r i a l s t a b i l i t y and maximum 20 p r o d u c t i o n . 1 1 They asked t h a t c o l l e c t i v e agreements be g iven l e g a l s t a t u s , t h a t unions be corpora te e n t i t i e s sub jec t t o c i v i l damage s u i t s and t h a t employees on i l l e g a l s t r i k e cease t o be employees under the ICA Act and. thus be removed f rom the scope of i t s p r o t e c t i v e c lauses . I n the area o f c e r t i f i c a t i o n , they proposed t h a t the v o t e to determine employees' wishes be mandatory, whereas the ICA Act and P.C. 1003 had l e f t the v o t e up to the d i s -21 c r e t i o n o f l a b o u r . F i n a l l y , the employers added t h e i r thoughts on un ion s e c u r i t y . Invok ing " t h e i n h e r e n t r i g h t of the i n d i v i d u a l to work " , t h e y / n o t on ly opposed the i n c l u s i o n i n the ac t o f any re fe rence to s e c u r i t y , bu t sug-22 gested t h a t the union shop and check -o f f should be out lawed. To be sure , the employers by t h i s t ime had accepted the p r i n c i p l e 123. of the r i g h t t o organ ize ( w i t h the excep t ion o f d ie -ha rds such as McDone l l ) , bu t when i t came t o a choice between a u n i o n ' s r i g h t t o conduct i t s own a f -f a i r s and the maintenance of i n d u s t r i a l s t a b i l i t y , they came down u n e q u i -v o c a l l y on the s ide o f the l a t t e r y Many of the employer proposals were n o t h i n g shor t of o b s t r u c t i o n i s t . For i n s t a n c e , the re i s no evidence to i n d i c a t e t h a t the s t r i k e s of 1946 were begun or cont inued aga ins t the wishes of un ion members. Indeed, a l l s igns p o i n t to the c o n t r a r y : the r a p i d inc rease i n IWA membership f o l l o w i n g the s t a r t of the lumber i n d u s t r y s t r i k e and the long d u r a t i o n of the metal -mine s t r i k e w i t h o u t a break i n un ion ranks , are two.which come to mind. To be sure , t he re were cases o f i n t i m i d a t i o n i n the s t r i k e a t the P rov ince , but i t must be remembered t h a t these were d i r e c t e d by s t r i k i n g u n i o n i s t s toward o ther workers or members of n o n - s t r i k i n g un ions , and no t toward t h e i r c o l -leagues. The government-super ivsed v o t e , t h e r e f o r e , would be a s t a l l i n g de-v i c e r a t h e r than a means of ensur ing e f f e c t i v e i n t e r n a l un ion democracy. The c r i p p l i n g e f f e c t a superv ised vo te could have on a s t r i k e i n an i n d u s t r y as w i d e l y s c a t t e r e d as the lumber i n d u s t r y i s obv ious . tin a similar vein were the proposals f o r mandatory vo tes on "bona f i d e " employer o f f e r s and on c e r t i f i c a t i o n and b a r g a i n i n g r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s . T h e o r e t i c a l l y the re was no l i m i t to the number of t imes an employer cou ld make an " o f f e r " — s u b s t a n t i a l l y the same o f f e r — and i n v o l v e bo th un ion and membership i n a demora l i z ing s e r i e s of v o t e s . The demand f o r a v o t e on i n d i -v i d u a l b a r g a i n i n g r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s was o s t e n s i b l y based on a c o n v i c t i o n t h a t members would spurn r a d i c a l d i s t r i c t and i n t e r n a t i o n a l o f f i c e r s i f they had the chance, but probably more t r u t h f u l l y i n the employers ' s u p p o s i t i o n t h a t inexper ienced l o c a l o f f i c e r s would not d r i v e as hard a b a r g a i n . S i m i l a r l y , a l though the employers proposed sadd l ing the unions w i t h a g rea te r degree o f l e g a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y , they a lso wanted to remove the power needed t o exe r -c i s e t h a t r e s p o n s i b i l i t y , by ou t law ing un ion s e c u r i t y . 124. C. B i l l 39: a l i b e r a l ' s de fea t By the beg inn ing of March the l e g i s l a t i v e . c o u n s e l had n e a r l y f i n i s h e d d r a f t i n g B i l l 39, "An Act r e s p e c t i n g the R igh t of Employees to o r g a n i z e , and p r o v i d i n g f o r M e d i a t i o n , C o n c i l i a t i o n and A r b i t r a t i o n of I n d u s t r i a l D i s p u t e s . " I n d i v i d u a l employers meanwhile cont inued to bombard the government w i t h t h e i r v iews . R. W. Diamond, B l a y l o c k ' s successor a t Consol idated Min ing and Smel t ing expressed the hope t h a t no check -o f f l e g i s l a t i o n was contemplated, as i t "would be the means of c r e a t i n g a: f r a n k e n s t e i n i n the form of a r a d i c a l , w e l l - f i n a n c e d p o l i t i c a l b loc w i t h tremendous power. " Diamond a lso reminded Har t t h a t the l a t t e r had promised to show him the l e g i s l a t i o n i n d r a f t form "and of e x p r e s -s ing our o p i n i o n i n regard to any measures we thought undes i rab le be fo re they 23 were f i n a l l y passed by caucus . " Har t r e p l i e d s o l i c i t o u s l y on March 7 t h a t the ac t was almost ready and would be forwarded to Diamond i n a day or so , 2 A adding t h a t he would d iscuss i t w i t h Conso l ida ted 's lawyer i n V i c t o r i a . I n c o n t r a s t to t h i s t rea tmen t , Pearson in formed Danny O 'Br ien of the BCFL t h a t labour leaders w o u l d n ' t get a chance to see the b i l l u n t i l i t was i n t roduced 25 i n the l e g i s l a t u r e . B i l l 39, the I n d u s t r i a l C o n c i l i a t i o n and A r b i t r a t i o n Act (1947) was p r i n t e d on March 8. On March 10 the Vancouver Sun r e p o r t e d t h a t i t had passed the c o a l i t i o n caucus s u b s t a n t i a l l y as d r a f t e d , i n c l u d i n g p r o v i s i o n s f o r govern-ment-superv ised votes on c o n c i l i a t i o n board r e p o r t s — a s l i g h t l y watered-down v e r s i o n of the government-supervised s t r i k e v o t e . "Employers have been p r e s s -i n g s t r o n g l y f o r the secre t s t r i k e v o t e , " the Sun r e p o r t e d , "and have gained enough support i n the caucus to ensure i t , " f rom MLAs who f e l t unions had ac -26 q u i r e d " too much power du r ing the war y e a r s . " But i t soon became ev ident t h a t the superv ised vo te c lause had been inc luded over Pearson's o b j e c t i o n and t h a t the caucus b a t t l e over the act was not over . The b i l l was f o r m a l l y i n t roduced i n t o the l e g i s l a t u r e on March 1 1 . 125. Three months e a r l i e r , a research o f f i c e r i n the labour department had sug-gested the f o l l o w i n g p r i n c i p l e s as the bas is f o r a new labour code: 1 . The r i g h t of workmen to ba rga in c o l l e c t i v e l y w i t h t h e i r employer should be guaranteed: 2 . the r i g h t o f the employer to operate h i s business i n an economic and e f f i c i e n t manner should be p reserved : 3. the c e r t i f i c a t i o n f rom t ime t o t ime of b a r g a i n i n g r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s of the workman should be e f f e c t e d by democrat ic process, i n such a way t h a t i t i s apparent to a l l , t h a t those r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s a c t u a l l y represent a m a j o r i t y of the employees a f f e c t e d : 4 . s t r i k e s and lockouts should not be r e s o r t e d to du r ing the l i f e of a c o l l e c t i v e agreement, o r , where agreement has not been reached, u n t i l a c o n c i l i a t i o n procedure has been exhausted: 5. harmonious r e l a t i o n s between employer and employee can on ly be achieved by n e g o t i a t i o n i n an atmosphere f r e e f rom compuls ion. (27) The f i f t h p r i n c i p l e , the research o f f i c e r argued, would be preserved i f a r -b i t r a t i o n and c o n c i l i a t i o n dec is ions were not made b i n d i n g by s t a t u t e and i f the government r e f r a i n e d f rom i n t r o d u c i n g l e g i s l a t i o n p r o v i d i n g f o r un ion s e c u r i t y on demand. But he suggested s e v e r a l amendments t o the ICA Act which would enshr ine the o ther f o u r p r i n c i p l e s i n law. Foremost among these was the suggest ion f o r mandatory government-supervised s t r i k e v o t e s : The h i s t o r y of s t r i k e s i n t h i s count ry and i n the Un i ted States d u r i n g the past two y e a r s , shows t h a t i n many cases the m a j o r i t y of the employees i n v o l v e d had no r e a l w ish to s t r i k e , and were not g iven a r e a l o p p o r t u n i t y o f making a d e c i s i o n i n t h a t regard themselves. S t r i k e a c t i o n , which should always be the l a s t r e s o r t , should be fo rb idden by s t a t u t e , unless supported by a s u b s t a n t i a l m a j o r i t y (say a t w o - t h i r d s or t h r e e - f o u r t h s m a j o r i t y ) of the workmen i n -vo lved and a f t e r the t a k i n g of a vo te by secre t b a l l o t . (28) As i n t r o d u c e d , B i l l 39 d i d not go t h i s f a r , p r o v i d i n g f o r vo tes on ly on c o n c i l i a t i o n r e p o r t s , r e q u i r i n g on ly a s imple m a j o r i t y . But the ph i losophy behind the employers ' c o n t e n t i o n t h a t unions were not competent t o run t h e i r own a f f a i r s unsupervised was present i n the mind of Pearson's research o f f i c e r and found i t s way i n t o the a c t . The b i l l a lso p rov ided s t i f f p e n a l t i e s f o r o f f e n c e s . For un ion a c t i v i t y du r i ng work ing hours , r e s t r i c t i n g p r o d u c t i o n , 126. N re fused to supply i n f o r m a t i o n or co-opera te w i t h a Labour Re la t i ons Board o rder , or an i l l e g a l lockou t or s t r i k e , i n d i v i d u a l s were l i a b l e to a $100 f i n e and c o r p o r a t i o n s or unions to a $250 f i n e . For r e f u s a l to ba rga in c o l l e c t i v e l y or r e f u s a l to comply w i t h any o ther p r o v i s i o n s of the ac t the c o r p o r a t i o n / u n i o n 29 f i n e was to remain the same and the i n d i v i d u a l f i n e a maximum of $50. S i m i -l a r f i n e s had been prov ided under P.C. 1003, bu t were considered a f u n c t i o n o f 30 the wart ime emergency and — more impor tan t — were r a r e l y en fo rced . Assess-ment of these p e n a l t i e s aga ins t the unions and workers i n v o l v e d i n the i l l e g a l 1946 s t r i k e s wou ld , of course, have d e a l t them a c r i p p l i n g b low. More impor-t a n t , f o r the f i r s t t ime an i n s t i t u t i o n a l i n c e n t i v e was present f o r unions and t h e i r leaders to curb spontaneous unres t on the p a r t of t h e i r members, s ince f a i l u r e t o do so could endanger the f i n a n c i a l base of the un ion and thus the l e a d e r s ' p o s i t i o n . These sec t ions of B i l l 39 were des t ined t o cause the most c o n t r o v e r s y . Not a l l the employers ' requests f o r r e s t r i c t i v e l e g i s l a t i o n were g ran ted . The b i l l p rov ided t h a t a l l p a r t i e s " s h a l l do e v e r y t h i n g they are r e q u i r e d to do and s h a l l r e f r a i n f rom doing any th ing t h a t they are r e q u i r e d 31 to r e f r a i n f rom d o i n g , by the p r o v i s i o n s of the c o l l e c t i v e agreement." But i t appeared to deny the employers ' requests t h a t c o l l e c t i v e agreements have the l e g a l s t a t u s o f o ther c o n t r a c t s : Unless o therwise prov ided t h e r e i n , no a c t i o n may be brought under or by reason of any c o l l e c t i v e agree-ment, un less i t may be brought i r r e s p e c t i v e of the p r o v i s i o n s of t h i s A c t . (32) Also not i nc luded were the proposals f o r mandatory c e r t i f i c a t i o n vo tes and a ban on un ion s e c u r i t y p r o v i s i o n s , a l though the ambiguous s e c t i o n 8 appeared to ho ld t h a t on ly a v o l u n t a r y assignment o f dues was l e g a l . The un ion request f o r a r e d u c t i o n t o 10 days i n the r e q u i r e d n o t i c e of i n t e n t i o n to ba rga in was i n c l u d e d . But the drawn-out two-s tage c o n c i l i a t i o n procedure was c a r r i e d over 33 f rom P.C. 1003, w i t h the a d d i t i o n of the superv ised v o t e . The b i l l a l so 127. perpetuated the con fus ion found i n b o t h the o l d ICA Act and P.C. 1003 on the sub jec t of company un ions , i n c l u d i n g i n the category of o r g a n i z a t i o n s e l i g i b l e 34 f o r c e r t i f i c a t i o n "an o r g a n i z a t i o n o f employees o ther than a t rade u n i o n . ' F i n a l l y , a Labour Re la t i ons Board was to be set up to c e r t i f y unions as b a r -ga in ing agents and t o decide numerous quest ions of d e f i n i t i o n i n the course 35 of a d m i n i s t r a t i o n of the a c t . P r e d i c t a b l y , B i l l 39 met w i t h p r a i s e f rom employers and e d i t o r i a -36 l i s t s . But un ion leaders p r e d i c t e d more i l l e g a l s t r i k e s than ever would occur i f i t were passed. "Where i t puts one t o o t h i n , " s a i d the BCFL's O ' B r i e n , 37 i t puts i n a p a i r of p l i e r s to yank i t o u t . " The BCFL l e a d e r s , f u r i o u s a t the government 's f a i l u r e ; t o i n f o r m them of i t s i n t e n t i o n s , stepped up p r e p a r -a t i o n s f o r the labour lobby which had been scheduled f o r March 16. Two days be fo re the delegates a r r i v e d i n the c a p i t a l , the f i r s t se r ious s p l i t i n the c o a l i t i o n caucus occur red . The occasion was a CCF p rocedura l maneouvre, the p a r t y ' s t r a d i -t i o n a l response to c o a l i t i o n labour l e g i s l a t i o n : a mot ion t h a t the b i l l , a long w i t h submissions from the labour movement, be r e f e r r e d to the l e g i s l a t u r e ' s s tand ing committee on l a b o u r . This was the demand, designed to s p o t l i g h t the CCF's l e g i s l a t i v e e f f o r t s as opposed t o the lobby ing of the BCFL, which had 38 s p l i t the 1945 labour lobby . The CCF had the same purpose i n mind i n 1947: p a r t y whip Herber t Gargrave t o l d the l e g i s l a t u r e t h a t r e f e r r a l t o the committee would remove the need f o r a labour lobby . Pearson r e p l i e d : A l l l abor bodies have been g iven a chance t o t e l l the cab ine t t h e i r views on the l abo r l e g i s l a t i o n . We have a l ready g iven them the f u l l e s t c o n s i d e r a t i o n and reached our d e c i s i o n s . . . . The M i n i s t e r of Labour i s no t a f r a i d of a n y t h i n g , bu t I d o n ' t r e q u i r e the adv ice of a House committee on t h i s s u b j e c t . (39) Charged CCF leader Haro ld Winch: C You've made up your mind and you d i s r e g a r d what thousands of organized labour people t h i n k . (40) 128. When the i ssue came to a d i v i s i o n , the CCF was supported by the Labour member, Tom U p h i l l (Fern ie ) and f i v e c o a l i t i o n MLAs: Dr . J . J . G i l l i s ( L - Y a l e ) , the labour committee chairman; W i l l i a m Smith ( L - A t l i n ) ; W i l l i a m Johnson (C-Revel -s t o k e ) ; T i l l i e Ro ls ton (C-Vancouver-Point Grey) and W. A. C. Bennett (C-South 41 Okanagan). S i g n i f i c a n t l y , Johnson and Smith were the on ly two i n d u s t r i a l workers i n the c o a l i t i o n caucus. A l though a major f a c t o r i n the f i v e MLA's d i s s e n t was the c o n t e n t i o n t h a t the cab ine t had "usurped the r o l e of the l e g -42 i s l a t u r e " , they e v i d e n t l y considered the issue o f labour l e g i s l a t i o n impor-43 t a n t enough to be the p o l i t i c a l l y a s t u t e p lace to take such a s t a n d . Organized labour a r r i v e d i n V i c t o r i a cons iderab ly less u n i t e d than i t had been the prev ious yea r . The p r o v i n c i a l execu t i ve o f the TLC had ap -peared be fo re the cab ine t w i t h the BCFL i n January and had been the f i r s t to 44 propose the s e t t i n g of a date f o r the 1947 labour lobby . But on March 5 the TLC leadersh ip had suddenly denounced the lobby p l a n s . Roly Gerv in of the Vancouver Trades and Labour Counc i l (TLC) charged t h a t the 1946 lobby had "accomplished n o t h i n g " : The lobby l a s t year l e f t a somewhat sour t a s t e i n the mouths of some of the members o f the l e g i s l a t u r e and they are not i n c l i n e d to look f a v o r a b l y on l a b o u r ' s rep resen ta t i ons a t t h i s t i m e . (45) The TLC leaders were runn ing scared, d r i v e n by a f r a n t i c d e s i r e to d i s s o c i a t e themselves f rom the communist i n f l u e n c e i n the un ion movement, the a l l e g e d e v i l s of which were beg inn ing to be "exposed" as the decade of w i t c h - h u n t i n g 46 we know today as McCarthyism got under way. Hard on the heels o f the TLC r e p u d i a t i o n came a second blow to the BCFL's image. The day be fo re the d e l e -gates were due to a r r i v e i n V i c t o r i a , f r o n t - p a g e head l ines across the n a t i o n screamed t h a t n a t i o n a l TLC s e c r e t a r y - t r e a s u r e r Pat S u l l i v a n had renounced h i s LPP membership and embarked on a campaign t o d r i v e communist o rgan ize rs out 47 of the labour movement. 129. Despi te these setbacks the 300-s t rong BCFL lobby a r r i v e d on schedule on the 1 6 t h , accompanied by 24 TLC delegates i n r e p u d i a t i o n of t h e i r execu-48 t i v e . The lobby emphasized what the BCFL leaders considered to be the f i v e most o b j e c t i o n a b l e f e a t u r e s i n B i l l 39: 1) the government-supervised vo te on c o n c i l a i t i o n board r e p o r t s , 2) the p e n a l t i e s f o r i l l e g a l s t r i k e r s , 3) the l ack o f assurance t h a t labour would be represented on the Labour Re la t i ons Board, 4) the a l l e g e d f a v o u r i t i s m toward company un ions , 5) the c o n t i n u a -t i o n of p r o v i s i o n s i n the o l d ICA Act and P.C. 1003 a l l o w i n g c e r t i f i c a t i o n of separate unions f o r craf tsmen work ing i n l a r g e i n d u s t r i a l p l a n t s . P lacards c a r r i e d by the delegates emphasized the government-supervised vo te i ssue above the o t h e r s . A l e a f l e t c laimed the unions would f i n d themselves " o v e r -49 whelmed i n a maze of government-delayed v o t e - t a k i n g and red t a p e . " The l o b b y i s t s compared t h e . a c t un favourab ly w i t h the Saskatchewan Trade Union Act of 1944, which had sharper t e e t h i n i i t s u n f a i r labour p r a c -t i c e s s e c t i o n . Quoting the preamble t o the U.S. Wagner Act to the e f f e c t t h a t b a r g a i n i n g i n e q u a l i t y between c a p i t a l and labour encourages depressions by decreasing purchasing power, they demanded, i n a d d i t i o n to the f i v e p o i n t s l i s t e d above, l e g i s l a t e d un ion s e c u r i t y , a d e f i n i t i o n of u n f a i r labour p r a c -t i c e s w i t h compensation f o r i n j u s t i c e s and p r o v i s i o n f o r c e r t i f i c a t i o n w i t h -out de lay . The ambiguous check -o f f p r o v i s i o n i n B i l l 39, they po in ted o u t , "p rov ides encouragement f o r a n t i - l a b o u r employers to provoke d i s u n i t y and engage i n a campaign of u n i o n - b u s t i n g and might even be used to break e x i s t -i n g un ion shop check -o f f agreements . " "^ Some of the more l u r i d a n t i - B i l l 39 propaganda p roc la imed: " F a s c i s t Governments wiped o u t : Trade unions f i r s t , R e l i g i o u s groups n e x t , Freedom of Speech, then Forced L a b o u r . " ^ 1 Indeed, Harvey Murphy saw the dark hand of Tory r e a c t i o n behind the l e g i s l a t i o n . He c o u l d n ' t b e l i e v e i t had come f rom h i s o l d f r i e n d George Pearson. Murphy p r e d i c t e d to the l o b b y i s t s 130. t h a t Pearson would soon be rep laced by A l l a n McDonel l , the Tory meta l manu-f a c t u r e r who had locked horns w i t h Murphy's un ion du r ing the 1946 foundry s t r i k e . " * 2 To some ex ten t Murphy was r i g h t . The mandatory government-super-v i s e d vo te s e c t i o n , a l though i t was proposed by the labour department s t a f f , d i d not have Pearson's suppor t . His 14 y e a r s ' exper ience as labour m i n i s t e r t o l d him the procedure would prove unworkable, as indeed i t d i d . He would have p r e f e r r e d to leave government s u p e r v i s i o n to the m i n i s t e r ' s d i s c r e t i o n and the BCFL leaders l i k e l y would no t have ob jec ted to t h i s — a l though the 53 o ther f e a t u r e s o f the b i l l remained repugnant to them. E i t h e r Pearson in t roduced the b i l l to the caucus as d r a f t e d by h i s department, i n c l u d i n g the government-superv is ion c lause , or the c lause was suggested the re by an employer spokesman such as McDonel l . At any r a t e , the Tory and r i g h t - w i n g L i b e r a l elements i n the caucus c a r r i e d the day. The Sun r e p o r t e d on March 27: The s t rong element i n the caucus who have fo rced the superv ised b a l l o t are adamant t h a t labour should be curbed. Some un ions , they c l a i m , abused the power they achieved d u r i n g the war years and t i e d up i n -d u s t r y u n n e c e s s a r i l y . At l e a s t the superv ised vo te would show d e f i n i t e l y t h a t l a b o r ' s rank and f i l e are dec id ing an issue and not j u s t a few leaders who brow beat members i n t o f o l l o w i n g them. (54) Rumours t h a t Pearson planned t o r e s i g n f l e w around the. c a p i t a l . E m p l o y e r s bombarded the government w i t h te legrams i n support of the superv ised v o t e , c la im ing i t s d e l e t i o n would be "a d i s a s t r o u s se t -back to the economic progress o f the P r o v i n c e . " " ^ The labour lobby hav ing obv ious ly been f r u i t l e s s , a w o r r i e d d e l e g a t i o n of un ion leaders v i s i t e d Har t and begged him to amend the l e g i s l a t i o n i n order t o keep Pearson i n the c a b i n e t . But oh''.March 28 the Sun quoted an " a u t h o r i t a t i v e " Vancouver MLA (almost c e r t a i n l y McDonell as saying Pearson w o u l d n ' t r e s i g n , but t h a t the caucus would not back down. " I f nece-131. ssary," the source said, "we are prepared tb:>meet Mr. Pearson again and explain how a supervised b a l l o t can be run." The Sun forecast that Pearson would introduce the b i l l f o r second reading as the "studied p o l i c y of the C o a l i t i o n government: but that i n so doing he would o u t l i n e h i s objections. He would not, the Sun story continued, "embarrass the government by r e s i g n -ing the labor p o r t f o l i o during the session, but may ask to be r e l i e v e d of i t l a t e r t h i s year.""' 7 The months of employer pressure had paid o f f , and Pearson's "welfare l i b e r a l i s m " or "progressive c a p i t a l i s m " had suffered a grave defeat. Thus i t was that on March 31 i n the L e g i s l a t i v e Assembly of B r i -t i s h Columbia a minister of the crown moved second reading of a measure with 58 parts of which he was i n p u b l i c disagreement. Pearson had managed to get the caucus to attempt a measure of appeasement by cutt i n g the f i n e s f or i l l e -59 gal s t r i k e s and other actions i n h a l f . But the supervised vote section had been made even stronger, brought i n l i n e with the o r i g i n a l employer demands. The compulsory vote was now to be a s t r i k e vote rather than a vote on accep-tance of a c o n c i l i a t i o n board report. Yet Pearson t o l d the house that h i s objection to the supervised vote was not s u f f i c i e n t reason f o r him to resign h i s p o r t f o l i o . He explained: 1 f e e l I have been misunderstood on the whole question and an apparent c r i s i s has been b u i l t up out of nothing. I have always been i n favour of the secret b a l l o t i n labour matters. But I don't think the supervised b a l -l o t i s necessary as a general thing. The majority of our unions, e s p e c i a l l y the older ones, have always respected the secret b a l l o t . My own view i s that the old ICA formula, where super-v i s i o n was up to the M i n i s t e r , i s the extent to which we should go. We can depend on the honor of our unions to take proper b a l l o t s . However, there i s a great deal of alarm among the pub-l i c about what i s done i n union votes. There have been many s t o r i e s , some of them no doubt r i d i c u l o u s , about 132. methods t h a t are used. I d o n ' t know i f they are t r u e . I ' v e never watched a s t r i k e v o t e . But I am convinced t h e r e i s a l o t o f p u b l i c f e e l i n g about carelessness i n conduct ing the b a l l o t i n some cases. And i f d i s a s t r o u s s t r i k e s are c a l l e d by such methods they f e e l i t should be s topped. My o ther o b j e c t i o n i s t h a t the superv ised b a l l o t i s cumbersome and i n some cases almost imposs ib le to a p p l y . I f , f o r i n s t a n c e , i n l a s t y e a r ' s IWA s t r i k e i t had been r e q u i r e d the re would have been weeks and weeks of delay and I d o n ' t t h i n k we could have got a t r u e v o t e . I may be p l a c i n g mysel f i n a f o o l i s h p o s i t i o n by say-ing t h a t I b r i n g i n a b i l l c o n t a i n i n g a c lause to which I o b j e c t . I re fuse to b e l i e v e t h a t because I d isagree on t h i s c lause I should sever my connect ion w i t h the government, n o r , i n p a r t i c u l a r , w i t h the Department o f Labor . I t i s an awkward p o s i t i o n . I t may look queer. And some people may say, ' Le t him go anyway, we've had enough of h im. Why doesn ' t he get o u t ? ' But I f e e l I have something to g i ve f rom the exper ience I have had. And I r e a l i z e people are alarmed a t what happened l a s t yea r . The b a l l o t s e c t i o n w i l l be amended to p r o -v i d e t h a t no s t r i k e can be c a l l e d u n t i l a superv ised v o t e has been taken . (60) The CCF members se ized the o p p o r t u n i t y to taun t Pearson. "You are mar r ing a good r e c o r d , " c r i e d Gargrave. "(How can) theJ labo rAmin i s te r re fuse respon-s i b i l i t y f o r the superv ised s t r i k e v o t e when he has brought i t down?" Added Winch: The Tory i n f l u e n c e i n the cab ine t has reached the p o i n t o f r o t t i n g L i b e r a l i s m and the former p rog ress ive thought we had. The premier and the labor m i n i s t e r have l o s t c o n t r o l . This b i l l i s conc lus i ve evidence the Tor ies r u l e the c a b i n e t . (61) 62 The f o l l o w i n g day, on a s t r a i g h t Coal i t ion-CCF d i v i s i o n , the b i l l passed t h i r d r e a d i n g . Dur ing the c lause-by -c lause debate, Winch had manoeuvred a recorded v o t e on the s t r i k e b a l l o t c lause . The Sun observed t h a t Pearson " rose ve ry s low ly f rom h i s c h a i r t o stand beside the C o a l i t i o n 63 members." The CCF had won a moral v i c t o r y , exposing the d e c l i n e o f l i b e r a l 133. p r i n c i p l e s under the pressures of c o a l i t i o n . Through, a dubious procedure, i n terms of pa r l i amen ta ry t r a d i t i o n , Pearson had a l lowed the government t o save f a c e . But he e v i d e n t l y cou ld not stomach the r e p r e s s i v e f e a t u r e s o f the l e g i s l a t i o n , f o r as i t tu rned out he was never to admin i s te r i t . 134. Notes to chapter 6 1 J u d i t h Ward, F e d e r a l - p r o v i n c i a l r e l a t i o n s w i t h i n the L i b e r a l Par ty o f B r i t i s h Columbia, MA t h e s i s , U n i v e r s i t y of B.C. ( p o l i t i c a l s c i e n c e ) , 1966, 62. •2 I b i d . , 64. 3 I b i d . , 67. 4 E. R. B lack, The Progress ive Conservat ive Par ty i n B r i t i s h Columbia: some aspects o f o r g a n i z a t i o n , MA t h e s i s (economics and p o l i t i c a l s c i e n c e ) , U n i v e r s i t y o f B .C. , 1960, 37. 5 M a r t i n Robin , P i l l a r s of p r o f i t : the company p rov ince 1934-1972, Toronto : McCle l land and Stewar t , 1973, 93. 6 Quoted i n i b i d . , 92. 7 I b i d . , 90. At the same t i m e , Ernest Carson was s h i f t e d f rom Mines to Pub l i c Works. 8 "There i s no one who b e l i e v e s l ess i n s o c i a l i s m than Mr. H a r t . Mr. M a i t -l and i s a conserva t i ve t o the marrow o f h i s bones and Mr. Anscomb c a r e -f u l l y looks under the bed every n i g h t , q u i t e sure t h a t a communist i s h i d i n g the re w i t h a bomb." Bruce Hutch ison , Vancouver Sun, January 8, 1942, 4 . 9 Quoted i n Robin, op_. c i t . , 93. 10 As the me,tal-ii i ine s t r i k e o f 1946 was drawing t o a c l o s e , MacDonald i n a v e i l e d re fe rence t o Pearson blamed " l e g i s l a t o r s as w e l l as un ion l e a d e r s " f o r "no t r e a l i z i n g t h a t t he re i s a l i m i t t o the wages an employer can pay and s t i l l s tay i n b u s i n e s s . " Vancouver Sun, November 13, 1946, 23. 11 Robin, op. c i t . , 90; Ward, op_. c i t . , 69. 12 Wismer had been a t t o r n e y - g e n e r a l f rom 1937 to 1941. 13 Weir , a former dean of educat ion a t the U n i v e r s i t y of B .C. , l e f t one i n t e r v i e w e r w i t h the impress ion t h a t he "s tood on the l i n e which d i v i d e d the r i g h t wing of the CCF f rom the l e f t wing of the L i b e r a l P a r t y , " and indeed the CCF cla imed t h a t he " r i g h t f u l l y belonged to them." Weir h i m -s e l f s a i d h i s d e c i s i o n t o run f o r the L i b e r a l s i n 1933 was.?purely p r a g -m a t i c , d i c t a t e d by a bu rn ing d e s i r e f o r s o c i a l re fo rm and the knowledge t h a t the L i b e r a l s were the p a r t y most l i k e l y t o be i n a p o s i t i o n t o e f -f e c t i t . See Douglas C l a r k . Some aspects o f t h e development of the Co-opera t ive Commonwealth Federa t ion i n B r i t i s h Columbia, Undergraduate essay, U n i v e r s i t y of B.C. ( h i s t o r y ) , 1945, 38. 14 S. W. Jackman, P o r t r a i t s o f the p remie rs , Sidney: Gray 's P u b l i s h i n g , 1969, 241 . 15 See above, ch . 1 . 135. 16 Pearson t o H a r t , January 13, 1946, PP, 1946-7, L-3-G. 17 B.C. D i s t r i c t Union News, December 3, 1946, 2. 18 L e g i s l a t i v e proposals submi t ted to the honorable the premier of B.C. arid members .of the c a b i n e t , January 14, 1947, MMP, 31-6 . The unions a lso demanded a 75-cent minimum wage, the 40-hour week and two weeks' s t a t u -t o r y v a c a t i o n , as w e l l as improved workmen's compensation b e n e f i t s . 19 C. A. Hayden to H a r t , February 17, 1947, PP, 1946-7, L-3-G. 20 My emphasis. 21 The employers a l so asked t h a t the c e r t i f i c a t i o n vo te be he ld not on ly on the employees' d e s i r e f o r the un ion but a l so on t h e i r p re fe rence as to i n d i v i d u a l b a r g a i n i n g r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s . 22 I n d u s t r i a l Canada, A p r i l 1947, 85-88. 23 Diamond to H a r t , March 5, 1947, PP, 1946-7, C - l l - G . 24 Har t to Diamond, March 7, 1947, i b i d . 25 Vancouver Sun, March 8, 1947, 2. 26 I b i d . , March 10, 1947, 1 . 27 Michael McGeough to Pearson, Memorandum on the I n d u s t r i a l C o n c i l i a t i o n and A r b i t r a t i o n Act of B r i t i s h Columbia, December 13, 1946, PP, 1946-7, L-3-G. 28 I b i d . 29 I n d u s t r i a l C o n c i l i a t i o n and A r b i t r a t i o n Act ( b i l l ) , 1947, ss . 34-37. These f i n e s were l a t e r a l t e r e d . 30 Wartime Labour Re la t i ons Regu la t ions , P.C. 1003, ss . 38-44. 31 ICA A c t , S. B. C. 1947, 11 Geo. V I , ch . 44, s . 44. 32 I b i d . , s . 47. 33 Added to the c o n c i l i a t i o n process was machinery f o r " i n d u s t r i a l i n q u i r y commissions", t o i n v e s t i g a t e d ispu tes w i t h broader terms of re fe rence than c o n c i l i a t i o n boards , but w i t h o u t the element of compulsion i n v o l v e d i n c o n c i l i a t i o n . See H. D. Woods, Labour P o l i c y i n Canada, second e d i t i o n , Toronto : Macmi l lan , 1973, ch . 10. 34 ICA A c t , 1947, s . 2. 35 I b i d . , ss . 9-12, 55-58. 36 While d isappo in ted t h a t the b i l l d i d not i n t r o d u c e a system of " l abour c o u r t s " , the Sun commented t h a t labour leaders "have ye t to produce 136. reasons as s t rong as t h e i r v i l i f i c a t i o n o f those who w ish to p lace a fundamental democrat ic safeguard on the use o f a weapon ( the s t r i k e ) so ha rmfu l to the p u b l i c i n t e r e s t " , f i n i s h i n g w i t h an admoni t ion t o Pearson to apply the law more v i g o r o u s l y than he had i n the p a s t . Vancouver Sun, March 13, 1947, 4 . 37 B.C. D i s t r i c t Execut ive Board minu tes , March 15-19, 1947, MMP, 31 -3 ; 38 See above, c h . 3. ) 39 Vancouver Sun, March 14, 1947, 12. 40 Loc. c i t . 41 Loc. c i t . 42 Paddy Sherman, Bennet t , Toronto : McCle l land and Stewar t , 1966, 57. 43 Bennett had decided a f t e r h i s l oss t o Anscomb i n the Tory l eadersh ip race the prev ious year t h a t i t was t ime to beg in a i r i n g h i s d i f f e r e n c e s w i t h the c o a l i t i o n . 44 BCFL t a b l e o f f i c e r s minu tes , March 1 , 1947, MMP, 31-7 . 45 Vancouver Sun, March 5, 1947, 9. 46 "We are n o t . . . go ing to be l e d i n t o a chaos -c rea t i ng campaign j u s t to s a t i s f y the p o l i t i c a l a s p i r a t i o n s o f a group of leaders whose a c t i o n s have a d i s t i n c t i v e red t i n g e . " I f economic c o n d i t i o n s are not s a t i s f a c t o r y to the worke rs , t h e r e i s an o p p o r t u n i t y every few years to he lp change those c o n d i t i o n s , bu t i f the workers expect to take a sho r t c u t , then there w i l l be a l o t o f b lood s p i l l e d l i k e the re has been i n many ins tances s ince the P a r i s Commune." E d i t o r i a l , Labor Statesman, A p r i l 1947, 4 . 47 Vancouver Sun, March 15, 1947, 1 . 48 Some o f these TLC de lega tes , such as W i l l i a m Rigby of the Un i ted Fishermen and A l l i e d Workers ' Un ion, represented communist- led o r g a n i z a t i o n s . Gerv in and Showier of the TLC met w i t h Pearson on March 14 bu t were unable to secure s u b s t a n t i a l amendments to B i l l 39. Vancouver Sun, March 14, 1947, 2 . 49 GFL l e a f l e t s , MMP, 31-7 . Dave Jantzen o f the Un i ted Brotherhood of Car-penters and Jo ine rs po in ted out t h a t an employer who d i d n ' t want to b a r -ga in i n good f a i t h cou ld s t a l l f o r 79 days be fo re h i s employees would l e g a l l y be f r e e t o s t r i k e : 10 days ' r e q u i r e d n o t i c e of i n t e n t i o n to b a r g a i n , 15 days of b a r g a i n i n g , 14 be fo re a c o n c i l i a t i o n o f f i c e r , seven to appo in t r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s to a c o n c i l i a t i o n board , f i v e to "argue about a cha i rman" , 14 f o r the board to s i t and r e p o r t and a 14-day " c o o l i n g - o f f " p e r i o d du r ing which the superv ised vo te would be taken . Jantzen po in ted o u t : "You cou ld f i n i s h a b u i l d i n g i n 79 days so where would we be?" Vancouver Sun, March 17, 1947, 2, 3. 50 L e a f l e t s , MMP, 31-7 . 51 I b i d . 137. 52 Vancouver Sun, March 17, 1947,. 20. 53 Pearson was e v i d e n t l y opposed a lso to the s t i f f n e s s o f the f i n e s f o r i l -l e g a l s t r i k e s , f o r he l a t e r persuaded the caucus t o agree to lower them. I have not been ab le to determine to what ex ten t Pearson supported the o ther f e a t u r e s of the b i l l . 54 Vancouver Sun, March 27, 1947, 2. 55 Some years l a t e r , on the occasion of Pearson's dea th , a newspaper s t o r y claimed t h a t he a c t u a l l y submi t ted h i s r e s i g n a t i o n but was persuaded by Hart to s tay on . V i c t o r i a D a i l y Times, August 25, 1966, 3. 56 Western Lumber Manu fac tu re rs ' A s s o c i a t i o n o f Canada, Weekly L e t t e r , March 29, 1947. 57 Vancouver Sun, March 28, 1947, 1 . 58 For the i m p l i c a t i o n s of Pearson's a c t i o n , see below, ch . 8. 59 The f i n e s i n most o f the c lauses i n the b i l l were cut by t h i s amendment i n h a l f , to a $25 maximum f o r i n d i v i d u a l s and a $125 maximum f o r c o r -p o r a t i o n s or un ions . The f i n e s conta ined i n s e c t i o n 37, however, stayed a t $50 and $350. To these f i n e s anyone was l i a b l e "who does any th ing p r o h i b i t e d by t h i s A c t , or who re fuses or neg lec ts t o do any th ing r e -qu i red by t h i s Act to be done by him . . . except where some o ther pen-a l t y i s by t h i s Act p rov ided . . . " 60 Vancouver Sun, A p r i l 1 , 1947, 1 . 61 Loc. c i t . 62 Tom U p h i l l , the Labour member f rom F e r n i e , supported the CCF. 63 Vancouver Sun, A p r i l 1 , 1947, 1 . CHAPTER V I I REPRESSION REFINED: THE AFTERMATH OF BILL 39 I n t r o d u c t i o n B i l l 39 was a h a s t i l y - c o n c e i v e d p iece of l e g i s l a t i o n passed i n response t o a c r i s i s of c lass c o n f l i c t . To note t h i s p o i n t i s not to deny i t s importance to post-war c a p i t a l i s m . But the ac t as o r i g i n a l l y passed soon proved unworkable, as government a t tempts to enforce i t ran i n t o l e g a l snags which th reatened t o d i s c r e d i t the government 's approach to labour l e g i s l a t i o n . While t h i s was going on the ques t ion o f the government 's ap-proach to c lass c o n f l i c t cont inued to p l a y a v i t a l r o l e i n the p o l i t i c s of B r i t i s h Columbia. For a t ime i t seemed as i f the r e f o r m i s t l i b e r a l s p i r i t o f Pearson was once again going to ga in ascendancy, w i t h the e l e c t i o n of Byron Johnson to succeed Har t as L i b e r a l leader and premier i n December 1947. But by the t ime amendments to the ICA Act were passed e a r l y i n 1948, i t was c lea r t h i s was not to be the case, and r e p r e s s i o n had been conf i rmed as the response of government as w e l l as business to i n d u s t r i a l u n r e s t . A. The f i r s t cha l lenge 1 . P r e l i m i n a r i e s Employer spokesmen h a i l e d the passage o f B i l l 39 as a " long step fo rward i n the f i e l d of labour l e g i s l a t i o n . " 1 The Western Miner termed i t a " s t a b i l i z i n g and modera t ing" i n f l u e n c e and c la imed "most groups of employers arid employees recognize i t as p r o v i d i n g reasonable d e f i n i t i o n of t h e i r mutual 2 and r e s p e c t i v e r i g h t s and r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s . B.C. manufacturers were de-l i g h t e d a t the CMA's r o l e i n g e t t i n g the l e g i s l a t i o n passed. One t o l d the a s s o c i a t i o n ' s annual convent ion : We c e r t a i n l y were pleased indeed when we f e l t we had made some gains i n B r i t i s h Columbia i n respect to the C o n c i l i a -139. t i o n A c t . . . . I do f e e l we have made a step i n the r i g h t d i r e c t i o n through the good o f f i c e o f those t h a t l e d the f i g h t i n the C. M. A. (3) Another added: . . . our M i n i s t e r of Labour, i n years gone by , has ve ry much favoured the u n i o n ' s v i e w p o i n t and p o s s i b l y has drawn most of h i s p o l i t i c a l support f rom t h a t body. He was one o f the men we had t o use the s t ronges t persuas ion to get the l e g i s l a t i o n th rough . The amount of bombarding by l e t t e r s and telegrams t h a t we d i d to the L e g i s l a t u r e we know had some e f f e c t on p u t t i n g the l e g i s l a t i o n over . (4) Not content to r e s t on t h e i r l a u r e l s , some of the west c o a s t ' s more r a b i d c a p i t a l i s t s added t h e i r vo ices to the groundswel l o f anti-communism which was sweeping the e n t i r e Western w o r l d . They were fond of u r g i n g t h a t the ant i -communist p r o v i s i o n s o f the U.S. T a f t - H a r t l e y A c t , which made the ICA Act look l i k e the Regina M a n i f e s t o , be adopted i n Canada."* I n the summer and f a l l o f 1947 prominent B.C. businessmen and lawyers , p a i n t i n g a p i c t u r e of the communist menace which must have been f l a t t e r i n g to the LPP, c a l l e d f o r ye t more curbs on organized l a b o u r . Walter Owen, then a prominent employ-er n e g o t i a t o r and member o f the L i b e r a l law f i r m of Campney, Owen and Murphy, and now l i e u t e n a n t - g o v e r n o r of the p r o v i n c e , t o l d a convent ion of wholesale g roce rs : Communists bore i n and get c o n t r o l of unions by t i r i n g the b e t t e r people o u t , and once they ga in c o n t r o l the decent f e l l o w s won ' t go to un ion meet ings. . . . We've reached the stage i n B.C. where i t seems t o me we need some curbs on the power ves ted i n the few by our present l e g i s l a t i o n . Thomas Braidwood, p res iden t of the Vancouver Board of Trade, t o l d a r a d i o audience t h a t labour leaders who advocated break ing laws f o r "pe rsona l am-b i t i o n s or l o y a l t y to a f o r e i g n c o u n t r y ' s a ims" were no f r i e n d s of organized l a b o u r . 7 And B.C. E l e c t r i c Railway Co. chairman A. E. " D a l " Grauer, f o n d l y g remembered as a human i ta r ian i n personnnel mat te rs and f r i e n d o f educa t ion , was of the p u b l i c o p i n i o n t h a t labour and o ther s o c i a l unres t were caused by mental i n s t a b i l i t y . He t o l d the CMA convent ion i n Vancouver: 140. . . . p e r h a p s 10 per cent of the p o p u l a t i o n ( s u f f e r s ) f rom neuros is and anyone s u f f e r i n g f rom a sense o f i n f e r i o r i t y i s e x c e l l e n t m a t e r i a l f o r an aggress ive movement t h a t g ives him a m i s s i o n , however wrong t h a t m iss ion may be. . . . (Many s u f f e r f rom) psycho-neu-r o s i s , such as nervous breakdowns, neuras then ia and sever emot iona l imbalance. . . . They d o n ' t know what t h e i r t r o u b l e i s . What should be more n a t u r a l than t h a t many o f them should f a l l f o r h igh -p ressure slogans of e x p l o i t a t i o n and c l a s s - s t r u g g l e and a t t r i -bute t h e i r t r o u b l e s to the na tu re o f the economic system under which they are l i v i n g ? (9) I w i l l ^ n o t specu la te on the p s y c h o l o g i c a l a b n o r m a l i t i e s which might have f u e l l e d the p roud ly aggress ive na tu re and miss ionary zea l o f these post -war boosters of c a p i t a l i s m . I t on ly remains to note t h a t t h e i r co l leagues i n government added t h e i r vo ices to the hue and c r y . Herber t Anscomb t o l d a g a t h e r i n g of p r o v i n c i a l Conservat ives the c o a l i t i o n would " s t a y toge ther because o f t h i s t h r e a t o f Communism. There i s no f e a r of a b r e a k , " he con t inued , " w h i l e t h i s t h r e a t e x i s t s . " 1 ^ As f o r the un ions , they l a y low f o r two months f o l l o w i n g the end of the 1947 sess ion . I t was on ly a mat te r of t ime u n t i l , somewhere or o t h e r , B i l l 39 would be d i r e c t l y cha l lenged by an i l l e g a l s t r i k e . Acco rd ing l y the BCFL execu t i ve vo ted to support " t o the f u l l e s t e x t e n t , f i n a n c i a l l y and m o r a l -l y , a l l unions engaging i n necessary economic or s t r i k e a c t i o n " aga ins t the a c t . 1 1 The f e d e r a t i o n ' s annual convent ion was moved ahead;:from September to June. The convent ion c a l l read i n p a r t : The B r i t i s h Columbia Government has d e l i b e r a t e l y broken f a i t h w i t h the work ing men and women of B r i t i s h Columbia . . . . Business and money, represented by wea l thy c o r -p o r a t i o n s , have compelled the surrender o f , and have taken over , the r e i n s of government. I t i s , t h e r e f o r e , nec^ essary t h a t the people o f B r i t i s h Columbia f o l l o w the example of B ig Business i n t a k i n g an i n t e r e s t i n p o l i t i -c a l a f f a i r s and become a s t r i k i n g f o r c e f o r r e p r e s e n t a t i v e government and r e t u r n i n g the power of government to the people . (12) Any thoughts o f f u r t h e r c o - o p e r a t i o n w i t h the dominant L i b e r a l element i n the c o a l i t i o n had been l a i d to r e s t . The L i b e r a l s "had comple te ly c a p i t u l a t e d 141 . be fo re the pressure of B ig Business and should now be c lassed along w i t h the Conservat ives as complete ly r e a c t i o n a r y . " The BCFL leaders,.went so f a r as to applaud the " s p l e n d i d f i g h t " pu t up by the CCF and Tom U p h i l l aga ins t the b i l l . For a t ime i t looked as i f the .major c o n f o n t a t i o n over B i l l 39 would come i n the f o r e s t i n d u s t r y . The one-year c o n t r a c t s igned a f t e r the 1946 s t r i k e was due t o e x p i r e i n l a t e June. The smug employers a t f i r s t 14 o f f e r e d no wage i n c r e a s e , then came up to 10 cents an hour w i t h no o ther c o n t r a c t changes. They c o n f i d e n t l y assumed t h a t the p roc lamat ion o f the a c t , which occurred May 15, would keep the IWA i n i t s p l a c e . S h r e w d l y , i n v iew of the recen t debate on the superv ised b a l l o t , the IWA l e a d e r s . d i d not r e j e c t the employers ' proposals bu t sa id they would need 30 days to p o l l t h e i r members on the o f f e r . Pearson had once more been conf ined to h o s p i t a l f o r a c a t a r a c t o p e r a t i o n and deputy m i n i s t e r James Thomson at tempted to p r e v a i l upon him to order c o n c i l i a t i o n proceedings and thwar t the u n i o n ' s s t a l l i n g t a c t i c s . Thomson c i t e d employer arguments t h a t the un ion was p l a y i n g a p o l i t i c a l game governed by "some o ther source the i d e n t i t y of which they take i t f o r granted most people are aware and they ( the employers) cons ider i t r a t h e r s i g n i f i c a n t t h a t c e r t a i n o f f i c i a l s of t h a t ou ts ide body are t o a r r i v e i n Vancouver some-16 t ime around the 15th of June . " This was a v e i l e d re fe rence to the scheduled a r r i v a l June 14 of Tim Buck, the n a t i o n a l LPP l e a d e r , f o r a f ou r -day speaking t o u r i n Vancouver, V i c t o r i a and Por t A lbern i . ' ' " ' ' From h i s h o s p i t a l bed Pearson, no t taken i n by t h i s a t tempt to impute s i n i s t e r mot ives to the IWA and the LPP, t o l d h i s deputy there could be l i t t l e q u a r r e l w i t h the u n i o n ' s p o s i t i o n on the l e n g t h of t ime i t would take to p o l l the^membership. "Th is i s one of the ob-j e c t i o n s I r a i s e d to the compulsory secre t b a l l o t , " he s a i d p o i n t e d l y . As 142. long as the un ion agreed t o n e g o t i a t e , he added, the re was n o t h i n g i n B i l l 18 39 to i n d i c a t e t h a t a c o n c i l i a t i o n o f f i c e r should be appo in ted . Th is " I - t o l d - y o u - s o " r o u t i n e was the f i r s t i n d i c a t i o n t h a t Pearson might r e f u s e to admin is te r the ac t rammed through the l e g i s l a t u r e over h i s o b j e c t i o n . 2. The Nanaimo laundry s t r i k e The f i r s t f u l l - s c a l e chal lenge to B i l l 39 was d i r e c t l y l i n k e d to the BCFL conven t ion , he ld June 6 through 8 i n Vancouver. An employee o f Nanaimo's I m p e r i a l Laundry Co. , one V i o l e t Dewhurst, announced toe the com-pany her i n t e n t i o n o f a t t e n d i n g the convent ion as a de legate f rom the Nanaimo 19 Laundry Workers ' Un ion , a d i r e c t l y char te red CCL a f f i l i a t e . The company threatened to f i r e her i f she missed a s h i f t as a r e s u l t of a t t e n d i n g the three-day convent ion and made good the t h r e a t on her r e t u r n June 9. A second employee, who had stayed away f rom work to a t te j i d to her s i c k mother, was a lso f i r e d . Twenty-e ight employees walked out i n sympathy w i t h the two d i s -missed workers , i n open def iance of the s t r i k e - d e l a y i n g p r o v i s i o n s of the 20 ICA A c t . The convent ion i t s e l f saw no r e c o n c i l i a t i o n of the p o l i t i c a l d i f f e r -ence among the p r o v i n c e ' s u n i o n i s t s . The execu t i ve denounced the d e s e r t i o n of the TLC unions and took a sideswipe a t the CCF MLAs f o r " r e l y i n g too much on pa r l i amen ta ry manoeuvre" and f o r no t g i v i n g " f u l l and u n q u a l i f i e d support 21 to the 1947 labour l o b b y . " A .16-member " f i g h t B i l l 39" committee was es -t a b l i s h e d to "de fea t the government by a t t a c k i n g them on bo th the economic and p o l i t i c a l f r o n t s , " work ing toward u n i t y of labour and l e f t - w i n g f o r c e s i n 22 order to de feat the c o a l i t i o n a t the next genera l e l e c t i o n . How such a committee might " u n i f y " the " d i v i s i o n s i n labor and l e f t - w i n g p o l i t i c a l groups" wasnot s p e c i f i e d , bu t presumably the m a j o r i t y of de legates had i n mind the k i n d of e l e c t o r a l arrangement which the LPP had sought f rom the CCF 143. f o r yea rs , whereby the two p a r t i e s would agree not t o con tes t the same con-23 s t i t u e n c i e s . Harvey Murphy made the s a l i e n t p o i n t t h a t the b i l l would j a i l 24 CCF u n i o n i s t s as w e l l as communists. But the CCF f a c t i o n was lukewarm t o the i d e a . "The committee w i l l have t o go some," s a i d the S tee lworkers ' Pen Bask in , " t o u n i t e not on ly the t rade unions but the candidates . . . when the 25 Federa t ion meets a year f rom now we w i l l see whether i t i s w o r k a b l e . " Never-t h e l e s s , the convent ion promised " f u l l ass is tance to any un ion de fy ing the 26 obnoxious clauses of the b i l l " and assessed member unions a s p e c i a l per c a p i t a l e v y which e v e n t u a l l y brought the " F i g h t B i l l 39" committee a war chest 27 o f more than $16,000. The BCFL execut ive immediate ly prepared t o do b a t t l e on b e h a l f o f the Nanaimo s t r i k e r s . Plans we're l a i d f o r demonstrat ions and o ther 28 i n d i c a t i o n s o f mass suppor t . The government d i d no t ac t immediate ly be -cause Hart and h i s co l leagues wanted to take s p e c i a l pains t o ensure any charges l a i d under B i l l 39 were w a t e r t i g h t . The a c t i n g labour m i n i s t e r , Lands and Fores ts M i n i s t e r E. T. Kenney, wa i ted a week b e f o r e ask ing Har t f o r permiss ion to l a y charges aga ins t the s t r i k e r s . F i n a l l y on June 20 charges were l a i d aga ins t the 28 worke rs , the u n i o n , r e g i o n a l CCL o rgan ize r Dan Radford and Percy Lawson of the Un i ted Mine Workers. Radford and Lawson had acted as ba rga in ing agents f o r the laundry workers . The charges were not l a i d under the compulsory s t r i k e vo te s e c t i o n s , 31A and 31B. The lawyer r e t a i n e d by the government apparen t l y feared a c o n v i c t i o n would not be ob-t a i n e d under these sec t i ons because i n the sequence of events p r e s c r i b e d by the a c t , the s t r i k e vo te was to f o l l o w c o n c i l i a t i o n proceed ings , and there had been no c o n c i l i a t i o n . Ins tead the government proceeded under s e c t i o n 27, which forbade s t r i k e s be fo re a c o n c i l i a t i o n board had been appointed and r e -por ted and s e c t i o n 37, the c a t c h - a l l s e c t i o n which p rov ided f i n e s f o r o f fences 144. f o r which p e n a l t i e s wer not s p e c i f i e d elsewhere. The s t r i k e r s and un ion o f f i c i a l s were l i a b l e f o r $50 maximum f i n e s and the un ion f o r a maximum $250. I n a d d i t i o n , the un ion and the o f f i c i a l s might have t h e i r f i n e s m u l t i p l i e d 29 by the number of days the s t r i k e l a s t e d . On the day the charges were l a i d , the p i c k e t l i n e s around the I m p e r i a l Laundry were swel led w i t h the presence o f r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s f rom 69 30 un ions . The f o l l o w i n g weekend, B i l l 39 was hung i n e f f i g y i n a parade 31 through Nanaimo. The case dragged on through a s e r i e s of remands u n t i l August 2, when M a g i s t r a t e L i o n e l Beevor Po t ts i n announcing h i s d e c i s i o n b l a s t e d t h e procedure set out i n the ac t as "cumbersome and long drawn o u t " and added: We can o n l y hope something w i l l be done t o s i m p l i f y and c l a r i f y many o f i i t s s e c t i o n s . One cannot t h i n k the l e g i s l a t u r e contemplated p u t t i n g anyone to a l l t h i s t ime and expense. Beevor Po t ts c a l l e d #or amendments to cover s i t u a t i o n s such as t h a t of the laundry workers , where the walkout had n o t h i n g t o do w i t h the normal process of c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g . " I t ' s a g rea t p i t y t h i s t h i n g ever a r o s e , " he 32 concluded. He had no choice but to f i n d 22 o f the s t r i k e r s g u i l t y , bu t he assessed them each on ly nominal $1 f i n e s and $1 c o s t s . The charges aga ins t the un ion leaders were d ismissed, on the ground t h a t the Crown had f a i l e d to prove they au tho r i zed the s t r i k e , but the charge aga ins t the un ion was upheld 33 i n f u r t h e r cou r t a c t i o n . 34 "We've got them beaten now," c r i e d CCL o rgan ize r A lex McAuslane. His enthusiasm was h a r d l y j u s t i f i e d . The v e r d i c t was a d i s a p p o i n t i n g one f o r the government, but the upho ld ing of the charge aga ins t the un ion conf i rmed one of the major i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z i n g f e a t u r e s of B i l l 39. B e l a t e d l y , the r a d i c a l un ion leaders r e a l i z e d i t s s i g n i f i c a n c e . Before the ac t was passed they had thought the superv ised b a l l o t s e c t i o n the most i n v i d i o u s . They had 145. proclaimed t h e i r l o y a l t y to the maintenance of production and emphasized how much they wanted unions to have a secure place i n the economy so they could work toward i n d u s t r i a l harmony. Now, r e a l i z i n g the organizational and f i n a n -c i a l i m plications a rash of prosecutions and c i v i l actions against unions would have, Murphy wrote that the sections of the act making l e g a l e n t i t i e s of unions were the most " v i c i o u s " . He w i s t f u l l y continued: This law i s not being administered now by the department of labor, but rather by the attorney-general's department. The employers have the green l i g h t to smash unions while the government lays the prosecutions. (35) B. The second challenge 1. The government t r i e s again The magistrate's comments i n the laundry workers' case exposed the inadequacies of the act to public view. The contention gained currency that i t was a hastily-thrown-together piece of l e g i s l a t i o n designed to f r u s -t r a t e unionism rather than ensure a workable system of i n d u s t r i a l government. 36 Other unions began to defy B i l l 39, although f o r short periods of time. The government had hoped to f i n d an a l l y i n the u s u a l l y conservative TLC unions and indeed p r o v i n c i a l vice-president B i r t Showier attacked a n t i - B i l l 39 a g i t a t i o n by comparing i t ot "a mother when her f i r s t - b o r n gets chicken-37 38 pox" . and saying that "most labor men" opposed the defiance of the law. But many TLC unions saw that B i l l 39 could be used against them as e a s i l y as i t was against others and several gave moral andr.financial support to the s t r i k i n g laundry workers. The p r o v i n c i a l TLC executive eventually c a l l e d f or 39 a s p e c i a l l e g i s l a t i v e session to amend the act. While the laundry workers b a t t l e d i n court, the coast f o r e s t indus-tr y , which many feared would be the scene of a major, confrontation, had averted a s t r i k e with a 12%-cent across-the-board hourly increase and the granting 40 of the 40-hbur week. The second major b a t t l e against B i l l 39 began on 146. August 2 1 , when the Un i ted Steelworkers of America s t r u c k f i v e Vancouver--area i r o n and machinery companies w i t h o u t w a i t i n g f o r a government-supervised s t r i k e v o t e . The s tee lworkers wanted the same 12^ cents the IWA had won b u t 41 the companies o f f e r e d on ly 10. A government p roposa l f o r b i n d i n g a r i b t r a -t i o n had been accepted by the employers but r e j e c t e d by the S tee lworkers . The CMA's J . H. Ruddock, n e g o t i a t i n g f o r the s t e e l f i r m s , demonstrated a s i n g -u l a r ignorance o f the d i f f e r e n c e between the s t a t e and business when he t r i e d t o get Har t t o r u n i n t e r f e r e n c e f o r him by n o t i f y i n g the un ions t h a t p r o -42 secut ions would f o l l o w i f a s t r i k e were c a l l e d . (Har t , o f course , r e f u s e d . ) A f t e r the s t r i k e began the companies a p p l i e d f o r and were re fused a Supreme 43 Court i n j u n c t i o n aga ins t i t . The labour department, determined t o improve on i t s showing a t Nanaimo, got the names of s t r i k e r s and un ion leaders f rom the companies and sought m i n i s t e r i a l approva l t o proceed w i t h p r o s e c u t i o n s . 44 Har t , as a c t i n g labour m i n i s t e r , d iscussed the mat te r i n cab ine t and a u -45 t h o r i z e d the p rosecu t ions September 2. I n a l l 114 workers , two un ion o f f i c i a l s and two un ion l o c a l s were charged w i t h s t r i k i n g i l l e g a l l y under 46 Sect ion 31A, the superv ised b a l l o t s e c t i o n of the ICA A c t . 2. Pearson goes on s t r i k e While they awaited t h e i r t r i a l s , the s tee lworkers — no t to ment ion the employers, the newspapers and everyone e lse — began t o wonder what the labour m i n i s t e r o f the p rov ince was up t o . I t was now th ree months s ince Pearson's c a t a r a c t o p e r a t i o n and he had been s t a l k i n g the h a l l s of the l e g -i s l a t i v e b u i l d i n g s , wear ing dark g lasses , s ince m i d - J u l y . He was a t t e n d i n g to h i s d u t i e s as h e a l t h m i n i s t e r and p r o v i n c i a l s e c r e t a r y (a l though he was not s i g n i n g o r d e r s - i n - c o u n c i l ) and the deputy labour m i n i s t e r was o p e r a t i n g 47 under the assumption t h a t h i s r e t u r n to t h a t o f f i c e was imminent. But Pearson was c l e a r l y s t a l l i n g , as the Vancouver News-Herald's James K. N e s b i t t r e p o r t e d : 147. Mr. Pearson a t tends cab ine t meet ings , s tee rs c l e a r of labor:. There i s a s t rong susp i c ion s i c i n some qua r te rs he has t o l d the government he won ' t admin i s te r the ac t u n t i l i t i s r e v i s e d . (48) For the same reason t h a t Hart had been r e l u c t a n t to accept Pearson's r e s -i g n a t i o n when the ICA Act was i n t r o d u c e d , he was not eager to see i t now: The Government, of course, could not take the chance of l o s i n g Mr. Pearson a t t h i s j u n c t u r e . Should he r e s i g n the labor p o r t f o l i o the whole labor s i t u a t i o n would blow up — and the government, n a t u r a l l y , doesn ' t want t h a t . (49) As rumours of not on ly Pearson's but a lso H a r t ' s r e s i g n a t i o n began to c i r -c u l a t e , some " p o l i t i c a l w iseacres" were prompted t o surmise t h a t " t h e m i n i -s t e r of labour has gone on s t r i k e w i t h o u t ask ing the government f o r c o n c i l i a -t i o n and superv ised s t r i k e v o t e . " The m i n i s t e r r e p l i e d , no t too c o n v i n c i n g l y : I am r e c u p e r a t i n g f rom a ser ious i l l n e s s ; j u s t as soon as I get s t rong enough I s h a l l decide what I s h a l l do. I have not res igned the labor p o r t f o l i o ; t h a t i s a mat te r f o r the premier to dec ide . (50) I t was the t i r e d H a r t , who hoped f o r an appointment t o the Dominion S e n a t e , w h o announced h i s i n t e n t i o n s f i r s t . He would r e s i g n , he t o l d the B.C. L i b e r a l A s s o c i a t i o n ' s convent ion October 2, a t the end of the year . I n h i s r e s i g n a t i o n speech he p r a i s e d Pearson's c o n t r i b u t i o n but gave no i n d i c a -t i o n t h a t the government expected the labour m i n i s t e r ' s r e s i g n a t i o n . "We t r u s t t h a t the t ime i s no t f a r d i s t a n t , " Har t s a i d , "when h i s h e a l t h w i l l enable him once aga in t o d ischarge a l l those r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s which were h i s 52 p r i o r to h i s o p e r a t i o n . " The BCLA execu t i ve e v i d e n t l y hoped so t o o . A p o l i c y statement on B i l l 39 asser ted t h a t the ac t needed d r a s t i c r e v i s i o n : ( i t ) has not been accepted g e n e r a l l y by management and l a b o r , and we are s e r i o u s l y concerned w i t h the probable r e s u l t s on our economy. The genera l p u b l i c i s c a l c u l a t e d to be more and more severe ly embarrassed and adverse ly a f f e c t e d t h e r e -by . (53) C l e a r l y having the maintenance of c a p i t a l i s t economic r e l a t i o n s i n mind, the L i b e r a l execut ive demanded amendments to make the ac t "more c o n s i s t e n t 148. w i t h l i b e r a l , democrat ic and e q u i t a b l e p r i n c i p l e s " — apparen t l y an a t t a c k on the superv ised b a l l o t . The statement a lso asked f o r a "more p r a c t i c a l , speedy and e f f i c i e n t method of a d m i n i s t r a t i o n to b r i n g the ac t i n t o g r e a t e r sympathy w i t h p u b l i c o p i n i o n . " I t was a p o l i c y "cons idered by l ead ing L i b -e r a l s an execut ive endorsement" of P e a r s o n ' s . d i s a p p r o v a l of the superv ised b a l l o t . " ' 4 Th is r e f o r m i s t sent iment was to re-emerge when H a r t ' s successor , Byron Johnson, was e l e c t e d . 3. The s t e e l w o r k e r s ' case The two weeks f o l l o w i n g the announcement of h i s i n t e n t i o n to r e s i g n were d i f f i c u l t ones f o r H a r t . His businessmen suppor ters s tuck together and gave him a l l the support they c o u l d . Diamond of Consol idated wro te of h i s outrage a t the BCLA r e s o l u t i o n and asked Har t t o c o r r e c t the press accounts i f they were u n t r u e , "because i t c e r t a i n l y d i s c r e d i t s B i l l 39 i n an u n j u s t -i f i a b l e way.""'" ' James Eckman of the Canadian F i s h i n g Co. and f o r m e r l y CMA r e g i o n a l v i c e - p r e s i d e n t , reached i n t o h i s bag of i d e o l o g i c a l t r i c k s and p u l l e d out the t h r e a t of a f i s h i n g i n d u s t r y shutdown " i f something i s n ' t done t o curb the present un ion leaders and keep t h e i r a c t i v i t i e s w i t h i n 56 reasonable bounds. " He gave the h a r r i e d premier t h i s w r i t t e n pat on the back: . . . we want you to know t h a t those o f us i n the i n d u s t r y are r i g h t behind you and hope you w i l l d e f i n i t e l y f o r c e a l l the s t r i k i n g unions t o s u f f e r the consequences i n f i g h t i n g B i l l 39 and your Government. (57) But as the hear ings aga ins t the s t r i k i n g s tee lworkers got under way, the i l l - s t a r r e d B i l l 39 sank deeper i n t o the mire of i t s own p r o v i s i o n s . To the d i s s e n t i n g vo ices of the p r o v i n c e ' s c h i e f L i b e r a l s and t h a t of the Nanaimo m a g i s t r a t e was added the d i sapp rova l of one of the p r o v i n c e ' s top j u r i s t s . Some of the s t e e l s t r i k e r s had been charged i n Vancouver p o l i c e cour t and some i n Burnaby. The l a t t e r became a t e s t case. The defence con-149. tended t h a t Kenney, the a c t i n g labour m i n i s t e r should not be e n t i t l e d to s i t as a " labour r e l a t i o n s board " under sec t ions 58 and 73 of the ICA A c t , f o r the purpose o f dec id ing quest ions o f f a c t .such as whether a c o n t r a c t e x i s t e d , 58 whether c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g had taken p l a c e , and so on. The argument was based on two p o i n t s : f i r s t , Kenney should n o t . h b l d the hear ing when the labour m i n i s t e r , Pearson, was i n good h e a l t h and ab le t o per form h i s d u t i e s ; second, t h a t i n empowering the labour m i n i s t e r t o ho ld such a hea r -i ng the l e g i s l a t u r e had r e a l l y appoin ted a j u d g e , which under s e c t i o n 96 of the B r i t i s h Nor th America Act was the exc lus i ve p r e r o g a t i v e of the f e d e r a l government. The defence a l so contended t h a t the a n t i - s t r i k e p r o v i s i o n s i n B i l l 39 c o n s t i t u t e d c r i m i n a l law, which was a lso i n the e x c l u s i v e j u r i s d i c -t i o n of the domin ion. The s t r i k e r s sought and rece ived a Supreme Court i n j u n c t i o n p r o h i b i t i n g the t r i a l or Kenney's hear ing f rom going ahead pend-59 i n g a hear ing on the defence submissions. The c h i e f j u s t i c e of the B.C. Supreme Cour t , Wendell B. F a r r i s , r e j e c t e d a l l t h ree of the defence con ten t ions and he ld t h a t the ac t was i n t r a v i r e s the p r o v i n c i a l l e g i s l a t u r e as f a r as the s t e e l w o r k e r s ' case was c o n c e r n e d . ^ But i n the hear ing on the c o n s t i t u t i o n a l i t y of the a c t , F a r r i s termed i t "a ve ry dangerous encroachment on the powers of the laws of our land by g i v i n g to boards r i g h t s which belong t o the c o u r t s . " B i l l 39, he s a i d , was "apparen t l y unknown i n any o ther B r i t i s h c o u n t r y " and the r e s u l t of the t rend i t i n d i c a t e d could be the " d e s t r u c t i o n of the power and freedom of the c o u r t s " and " t o t a l i t a r i a n government." I t would have been a " g r e a t p leasu re " f o r him t o quash the sec t ions r e l a t i n g t o the labour r e l a t i o n s board and m i n i s t e r i a l powers. U n f o r t u n a t e l y , the judge lamented, " t he on ly 61 t h i n g t h a t i s going t o change i t i s the weight of p u b l i c o p i n i o n . " Another blow had been s t r u c k a t the mechanics of the a c t . 150. 4. A new m i n i s t e r : back t o square one The labour department breathed a s i g h of r e l i e f on hear ing of Chief J u s t i c e F a r r i s ' d e c i s i o n . Deputy m i n i s t e r Thomson announced t h a t p rosecu t ions would proceed aga ins t no t on ly the s tee lworkers bu t a lso pack-inghouse and f u r n i t u r e workers who had s t r u c k i l l e g a l l y s ince the s t e e l 62 charges were l a i d . But be fo re Kenney could ho ld h i s hear ing on the mat-t e r s of i n t e r p r e t a t i o n i n the s t e e l case, the long-awa i ted r e s i g n a t i o n o f 63 Pearson f rom the labour p o r t f o l i o was announced. On October 16 the s h o r t , pudgy, somewhat f r o g - f a c e d a t t o r n e y - g e n e r a l , Gordon Wismer, was sworn i n as labour m i n i s t e r . Har t hoped Wismer's sharp l e g a l mind cou ld f i n d a way out 64 of the B i l l 39 mess. He gave perhaps u n w i t t i n g test imony t o the change i n labour r e l a t i o n s wrought by the ICA A c t : The choice of Mr. Wismer f o r the l abo r p o r t f o l i o was made i n v iew of the f a c t t h a t a d m i n i s t r a t i o n of l abor a f f a i r s i s ve ry c l o s e l y i d e n t i f i e d w i t h l e g a l m a t t e r s . (65) The l i b e r a l - m i n d e d Pearson, who r e l i e d on h i s s k i l l as a d ip lomat r a t h e r than r i g i d r e g u l a t i o n s , had been rep laced by a man of the oppos i te tempera-- 6 6 ment. Wismer announced h i s i n t e n t i o n t o enforce the ICA Act "as any o ther p o s i t i o n would not be i n accordance w i t h the p r i n c i p l e s o f democrat ic govern-67 ment . " But he announced f o r the f i r s t t ime t h a t the government planned to amend B i l l 39. He promised t o e s t a b l i s h the Labour Re la t i ons Board as soon as p o s s i b l e , t o i n v e s t i g a t e delays i n c o n c i l i a t i o n proceedings and to hear rep resen ta t i ons f rom employer and labour spokesmen be fo re amending the a c t . He asked f o r a " s p i r i t of genuine c o - o p e r a t i o n " to put an end t o " t he s t r i f e which i s t h r e a t e n i n g inconvenience and s u f f e r i n g t o the p u b l i c and ser ious 68 d i s r u p t i o n of the economy." Wismer then proceeded to . .hb ld , as a one-man " labour r e l a t i o n s b o a r d " , the hear ing t o determine the quest ions of i n t e r p r e t a t i o n i n the 69 s t e e l w o r k e r s ' cases. Since Wismer remained a t t o r n e y - g e n e r a l , the hear ing 151 . was i n r a t h e r shaky accordance w i t h the " p r i n c i p l e s of democrat ic govern-ment" he professed to ho ld so dear . A Steelworker press re lease issued a f t e r the hear ing descr ibed the s i t u a t i o n : The procedure a t the Court House today under B i l l 39 cou ld not be d u p l i c a t e d i n any B r i t i s h count ry on the face of the g lobe . The p rosecu to r , a c t i n g under the d i r e c t i o n of the a t t o r n e y - g e n e r a l f o r B .C. , Gordon Wismer, en -deavored to prove--mater ia l f a c t s i n i l l e g a l s t r i k e charges aga ins t 116 B.C. c i t i z e n s . S i t t i n g i n judgment of h i s own p r o s e c u t i o n e f -f o r t was the same Gordon Wismer, i n h i s capac i t y as m i n i s t e r of labor,:.-Such procedure makes a f a r c e of j u s t i c e under such c i rcumstances and i t i s v i r t u a l l y imposs ib le t o ga in a f a i r v e r d i c t . (70) As i t happened, however, the v e r d i c t favoured the u n i o n . Wismer's l e g a l mind p icked out a d iscrepancy between the f a c t s of the case and the i n f o r m a t i o n s sworn out aga ins tu the s t r i k e r s . The l a t t e r sa id the c o n t r a c t s between the Steelworkers and the companies had e x p i r e d , bu t Wismer r u l e d t h a t t h i s was not so. The charges l a i d aga ins t the un ion leaders and s t r i k e r s i n Vancouver as w e l l as Burnaby, were a c c o r d i n g l y d ismissed when they came t o c o u r t , and the charges aga ins t the un ion l o c a l s were w i t h d r a w n . 7 1 L e g a l l y the i n f o r m a t i o n s could have been r e w r i t t e n and the men charged a g a i n , but the government i n doing so would have appeared unspeakably p e t t y . The exasperated Wismer pledged w i t h renewed c o n v i c t i o n to amend B i l l 39, removing the "pon-derous and unnecessary machinery which was g i v i n g the labour department so much t r o u b l e . He a lso announced t h a t u n t i l the ac t was amended the department 72 -would prosecute no i n d i v i d u a l s t r i k e r s but on ly unions and l e a d e r s . I n f a c t , no more charges were l a i d aga ins t anyone u n t i l a f t e r the 1948 amendments became law, a l though the o p p o r t u n i t y presented i t s e l f on seve ra l occas ions . Among these were the packinghouse and f u r n i t u r e worke rs ' 73 s t r i k e s a l ready r e f e r r e d t o . Employers and t h e i r r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s i n these and o ther d ispu tes repea ted ly pressured the government to invoke the super-152. 74 v i s e d b a l l o t sec t ions of the thorough ly d i s c r e d i t e d a c t , bu t to no a v a i l . A c r i p p l i n g month- long t r a n s i t s t r i k e i n Vancouver, V i c t o r i a , Nanaimo and New Westminster du r ing October and November was s e t t l e d through persona l med ia t ion by Wismer, and was f o l l o w e d by a walkout of coa l miners on Van-couver I s l a n d i n January, 1948. 7"* But Wismer e v i d e n t l y had decided to l e t t h i n g s r i d e u n t i l he cou ld work out amendments t o the a c t . The unions at tempted t o take advantage o f the government 's p r e d i c a -ment. Murphy b l a s t e d the c o a l i t i o n f o r "do ing no th ing to he lp b r i n g l a b o r -management toge ther t o s e t t l e the s t r i k e s , bu t i n s t e a d , . . . embark£ing) upon a course of i n t i m i d a t i o n and mass a r r e s t s . . . . Thus the prov ince of B r i t i s h Columbia, " he con t inued , "which had the best l abor r e l a t i o n s i n a l l of Canada throughout the war and u n t i l the adopt ion of B i l l 39 . . . . i s 76 today i n an i n d u s t r i a l c r i s i s . " A BCFL d e l e g a t i o n v i s i t e d the cab ine t i n mid-October to urge t h a t the p e n a l t i e s f o r i l l e g a l s t r i k i n g , which "serve to mulc t ( s i c ) the un ion t r e a s u r i e s d ry thereby g i v i n g comfor t and a b e t t i n g the employers i n the break ing of a t rade u n i o n " , be e l i m i n a t e d a long w i t h the superv ised b a l l o t . 7 7 When the BCFL was asked by Wismer t o nominate labour r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s t o the Labour Re la t i ons Board, a t f i r s t i t r e f u s e d , 78 c la im ing t h a t to do so would be an i m p l i e d endorsa t ion of B i l l 39. A f t e r be ing t o l d the LRB would recommend changes i iusthe a c t , however, the BCFL changed i t s mind and nominated P r i t c h e t t , Murphy and Mackenzie, on the ground t h a t " p a r t i c i p a t i o n on the Board i s a c o n t i n u a t i o n i n the most e f f e c t i v e way 79 of . . . o p p o s i t i o n . " Some of t h i s labour pressure appeared to be p a y i n -o f f when Wismer t o l d the annual M i n e - M i l l d i s t r i c t convent ion t h a t he favoured shor ten ing the c o n c i l i a t i o n pe r i od and l e a v i n g the d e c i s i o n on the superv ised 80 b a l l o t a t the d i s c r e t i o n of the LRB. But any e l a t i o n on the p a r t of labour leaders was s h o r t - l i v e d , f o r the amendments proved to make the ac t even more r e s t r i c t i v e . 153. C. Labour and the L i b e r a l s Once again the p r e - s e s s i o n p o l i t i c a l a c t i v i t i e s of the labour movement f e l l i n t o the doldrums and a t t e n t i o n s h i f t e d t o the stage o f p a r t y p o l i t i c s , where H a r t ' s r e s i g n a t i o n had brought i n t o the open the d i s c o n t e n t i n bo th the L i b e r a l p a r t y and the c o a l i t i o n . S h o r t l y a f t e r the premier announced h i s impending r e s i g n a t i o n , a Conservat ive convent ion "served n o t i c e 81 on Har t t h a t i t expected Anscomb to become p r e m i e r . " Har t would e n t e r t a i n no such n o t i o n , m a i n t a i n i n g t h a t the L i b e r a l leader e lec ted to succeed him should a lso succeed as p remier . Labour i s s u e s , as might be expected, p layed a prominent r o l e i n the succession c o n t e s t . The " f a v o u r i t e and f r o n t runner " was Wismer, who counted on L i b -82 e r a l "machine" support cent red i n Vancouver. But Wismer was not accep-t a b l e to a s i zeab le number o f L i b e r a l s , i n c l u d i n g many i n the s o - c a l l e d " f e d e r a l w i n g " of the p a r t y and the reform-minded Young L i b e r a l s who de-p lo red the p a r t y ' s d e v i a t i o n f rom the l e f t - w i n g path of P a t t u l l o and Pear-83 son. Th is group put fo rward backbencher Byron Johnson, genera l manager o f a b u i l d i n g supply company i n New Westminster , who appeared acceptab le t o 84 the business community but was " f r e e f rom the t a i n t o f machine p o l i t i c s " 85 which marred the Wismer candidacy. Har t remained p u b l i c l y a l o o f f rom the 86 con tes t but was p r i v a t e l y known to support Johnson. The L i b e r a l de legates assembled i n the H o t e l Vancouver on December 9 to choose the next premier of the p r o v i n c e . The i r e x e c u t i v e ' s p o l i c y statement on B i l l 39 was f r e s h i n t h e i r minds and they were to hear a good deal on the sub jec t of government labour p o l i c y be fo re v o t i n g . Johnson, m i n d f u l o f the e x e c u t i v e ' s s ta tement , began h i s campaign speech by t a l k i n g about l a b o u r , i n v o k i n g the s p i r i t o f George Pearson. " I employ a l o t of labour m y s e l f , " he s a i d , no t i n the l e a s t f a c e t i o u s l y , and he con t inued : I have n e a r l y 1,000 men under my d i r e c t s u p e r v i s i o n and I can say i n a l l my l i f e I have never had a s t r i k e , 1 have never had a se r ious disagreement w i t h men who have 154. been employed by the companies which I ope ra te . I say t o you t h a t I understand labour because I come f rom a l a b o u r i n g home. . . . . . we have on t h i s p l a t f o r m today the o u t -s tand ing man, whether i t i s i n Canada or i n any p a r t of the Empire, who has p layed the g r e a t e s t r o l e and has made the g r e a t e s t c o n t r i b u t i o n to the l a b o u r i n g c lasses of our p r o v i n c e . I r e f e r to the Honourable George Pearson. . . . I remember the days when . . . we were e l e c t e d t o power i n the depths o f the depress ion i n 1933, and I r e c a l l the c o n s t r u c t i v e l e g i s l a -t i o n which George Pearson brought be fo re t h a t l e g i s l a t u r e . . . I remember the tremendous op-p o s i t i o n which there was to i t a t t h a t t i m e . -By the f i x e d de te rm ina t i on of purpose w i t h which Mr. Pearson approached t h a t problem, B r i t i s h Columbia was saved many, many s t r i k e s which would have been had i t no t been f o r the courage o f Mr. Pearson t o go through w i t h i t . . . we as L i b e r a l s can f e e l proud of L i b e r a l labour l e g i s l a t i o n i n t h i s p rov ince . . . the Honourable George Pearson has rendered the g r e a t e s t c o n t r i b u t i o n any L i b e r a l has ever rendered our cause i n connect ion w i t h the sp lend id labour l e g i s l a t i o n which he has placed on our books. (87) Notab le , o f course, was the re fe rence t o " L i b e r a l labour l e g i s l a t i o n , " w i t h the i m p l i c a t i o n t h a t i t s C o a l i t i o n coun te rpa r t was not wor thy o f such h i g h p r a i s e . Indeed, Johnson's suppor ters appeared to s e l l him as the candidate who could r e b u i l d the degenerate L i b e r a l o r g a n i z a t i o n i n p r e p a r a t i o n f o r an 88 imminent s p l i t i n the c o a l i t i o n . Wismer at tempted t o s tand on h i s own r e c o r d . H is seconder, an I n t e r i o r de lega te , po in ted to the labour m i n i s t e r ' s persona l med ia t ion i n the recen t l y - conc luded t r a n s i t s t r i k e as evidence t h a t he possessed the q u a l i t i e s necessary to dea l w i t h labour u n r e s t , the g r e a t e s t obs tac le to post-war p r o s p e r i t y . The L i b e r a l s needed "a man of i n t e g r i t y , w i t h a keen sense of f a i r p l a y , ou ts tand ing a b i l i t y and u n l i m i t e d courage , " the seconder sa id and the man who stepped i n t o the breach and brought about se t t lement of a s t r i k e t h a t was c o s t i n g labour many, many thousands of d o l l a r s i n l o s t wages, t h a t s e r i o u s -l y a f f e c t e d the business l i f e of Canada's t h i r d l a r g e s t c i t y as w e l l as V i c t o r i a and New Westminster , to say 155. no th ing of the inconvenience and i n many cases the hardsh ip caused, i s such a man. (89) I n a speech somewhat more s e l f - i n f l a t i n g than Johnson 's , Wismer t o l d the delegates yes , he was sure h i s r i v a l t r e a t e d h i s employees f a i r l y , bu t never -the less he was best s u i t e d f o r the d r i v e r ' s seat i n a t ime o f labour un res t because " f o r months" , as labour m i n i s t e r , he had been i n " c o n s u l t a t i o n " w i t h labour leaders and employers: . . . i f you g ive me a mandate to c a r r y , I am going t o b r i n g i n a labour code t h a t w i l l make f o r i n -d u s t r i a l peace and which w i l l be acceptab le to l a b o u r , t h a t w i l l not be a t tacked as i t has i n r e -cent months, causing s t r i k e a f t e r s t r i k e and foment-i n g d i s c o r d a f t e r d i s c o r d . (90) Wismer f i n i s h e d by t o s s i n g o f f a b e l a t e d t r i b u t e to Pearson — "one o f the g r e a t e s t humani tar ians there has ever been i n t h i s p r o v i n c e " — and t r y i n g to cash i n on the moral currency of the former labour m i n i s t e r by say ing t h a t 91 the two had been i n " c l o s e c o n t a c t . " Each candidate e v i d e n t l y knew t h a t a major f a c t o r i n the d e l e g a t e s ' d e c i s i o n would be h i s a b i l i t y to dea l w i t h the labour s i t u a t i o n , so t h a t i n d u s t r y might move unimpeded i n t o an era of post -war expansion. While Wis-mer so ld h imse l f as the man who would b r i n g i n l e g i s l a t i o n t h a t worked and downplayed the p h i l o s o p h i c a l aspects o f government labour p o l i c y , Johnson appealed to the r e f o r m i s t t r a d i t i o n of Pearson and P a t t u l l o , which was ob -v i o u s l y f a r f rom dead. This s t r a i n i n the L i b e r a l p a r t y was a l s o , as we have seen, more p a r t i s a n and less enamoured of the c o a l i t i o n t h a t the one which Wismer represen ted . The p a r t y was evenly s p l i t between the two w ings , i f 92 the l eadersh ip v o t i n g i s any i n d i c a t i o n , bu t Johnson won 475-467. The s l i g h t predominance of the r e f o r m i s t sent iment was conf i rmed when A r t h u r 93 L a i n g , who promised to "do a l l I can t o put L i b e r a l i s m f i r s t " , was e l e c -ted p res iden t o f the p a r t y . The m a j o r i t y of L i b e r a l de legates c l e a r l y ex-pected the amendments to B i l l 39 to show t h a t Pearson's o p p o s i t i o n and r e s -156. ignation had not been i n vain. But the placing of t h e i r confidence i n John-son soon proved to have been i l l - a d i v s e d . D. The amendment of B i l l 39 Johnson wasted l i t t l e time i n showing that he planned to maintain the c o a l i t i o n . Anscomb apparently attempted to wheedle more concessions out of the new premier but was unable to do so and on Boxing Day 1947 the two announced that the e x i s t i n g arrangement, inc l u d i n g the composition of 94 the cabinet, would continue as before. In r e t a i n i n g Wismer and Anscomb, Johnson ensured the presence of a strong right-wing influence on government p o l i c y which e f f e c t i v e l y betrayed the reformist i d e a l s which had put him i n power. One of the f i r s t i n d i c a t i o n s that t h i s was to be the case came i n January 1948, when Anscomb stated p u b l i c l y , i n response to a barrage of telegrams and l e t t e r s from employers, that the supervised b a l l o t section 95 would remain i n the ICA Act. Wismer had said the previous f a l l that he favoured leaving the question of supervision up to the Labour Relations Board and he was furious at Anscomb's obvious attempt to head o f f any change. But Wismer did not f e e l strongly enough on the question to.'.make an issue of i t . As the 1948 l e g i s l a t i v e session got under way i n February, he intimated that the section would be retained i n t a c t . Incredibly, he claimed there had 97 been " l i t t l e or no" opposition to i t from labour leaders. Indeed, i t began to look as i f the Johnson government planned to add yet more r e s t r i c t i v e provisions to the labour r e l a t i o n s system ushered i n by the passage of B i l l 39. Yet any p o s s i b i l i t y of united labour opposi-t i o n was precluded by developments i n the union c e n t r a l s . I have given b r i e f glimpses of the barrage of employer propaganda which attempted to l i n k 98 unions and communists together as d i s l o y a l threats to the democratic order. The national CCL had decided to meet t h i s onslaught not by attacking the dubious claims to l o y a l t y and democracy made on behalf of c a p i t a l i s m , but 96 157. by d e c l a r i n g war on the communists i n the un ion movement. The 1947 CCL convent ion had s i g n a l l e d the s t a r t of the d r i v e by passing a number o f r e s o -l u t i o n s condemning wor ld communism, suppor t i ng the M a r s h a l l Plan and so on, 99 drawing charges of " r e d - h a i t i n g " f rom the communist- led un ions . One o f the f i r s t t a r g e t s was the BCFL. A young Steelworker o r g a n i z e r , B i l l Mahoney, was sent to the west coast to at tempt to w in c o n t r o l of the B.C. labour move-ment f o r the CCF f a c t i o n . Mahoney was .to work w i t h the CCF unions such as the USWA and packinghouse workers , and w i t h ant i -communist b locs i n the communist- led u n i o n s . A s k i l l e d and r u t h l e s s un ion p o l i t i c i a n , Mahoney l o s t no t ime i n drawing together the h e r e t o f o r e d iso rgan ized ant i -communist groups. By the end o f January 1948 he had scored h i s f i r s t v i c t o r y , unsea t -i n g the communist execut ive of the CCL's Vancouver Labour Counci l . 1 ^" ' " The second CCL coup, which d i d not d i r e c t l y i n v o l v e Mahoney, con-cerned the appointment of i t s r e p r e s e n t a t i v e to the B.C. Labour R e l a t i o n s Board. Accord ing t o CCL p r a c t i c e t h i s was the p r e r o g a t i v e o f the BCFL, 102 and P r i t c h e t t , Murphy and McKenzie had been nominated f o r the p o s t . But the n a t i o n a l CCL took the unprecedented step of going over the p r o v i n c i a l o r g a n i z a t i o n ' s head and ask ing member un ions^ to make " independent nomina-103 t i o n s " i f they were not s a t i s f i e d w i t h the BCFL cho ices . When one of these " independent" nominees, Harry Strange of the Canadian Brotherhood of Rai lway Employees, was appo in ted , and proceeded to accede to what the BCFL considered unacceptable amendments to B i l l 39, the BCFL leaders were o u t -104 raged — but the re was l i t t l e they could do. I n t h i s l ess than u n i t e d s t a t e 1 ^ the B.C. labour movement p r e -pared to press f o r p r o - l a b o u r amendments to the ICA A c t . The BCFL execu-t i v e met the cab ine t February 27 and repeated s u b s t a n t i a l l y the demands of the prev ious f a l l , bu t accord ing to Murphy " t he d e l e g a t i o n f e l t the g e n t l e 106 whisk o f a b r u s h - o f f . " Some sec t ions of the TLC were p l a y i n g i n t o the 158. government's hands by c a l l i n g f o r r e t e n t i o n of the superv ised b a l l o t sec t ion . i n order to he lp un ion leaders prevent w i l d c a t s t r i k e s . " ^ 7 The employer o r g a n i z a t i o n s , i n a b r i e f presented by the wel l -known Tory T. G. N o r r i s , urged a p r o v i s i o n model led on the U.S. T a f t - H a r t l e y Act r e q u i r i n g un ion o f f i c e r s to s i g n d e c l a r a t i o n s t h a t they were not members of the Communist or Labour-Progress ive P a r t y : Jus t as the l a w - a b i d i n g element i n organized l abo r has accepted the sec re t government-supervised b a l l o t , we b e l i e v e t h a t they would a lso accept t h i s requirement t h a t c o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g agents should comprise men and o r g a n i z a t i o n s which stand f o r the upho ld ing of the law of the land and the maintenance o f present governmental i n s t i t u t i o n s . (108) At the 1948 labour lobby the s p l i t w i t h i n the BCFL.burst i n t o the open. A somewhat i n e b r i a t e d Murphy, du r ing the lobby banquet on the evening of A p r i l 8, launched i n t o a persona l a t t a c k on CCL o f f i c e r s f o r t h e i r co -o p e r a t i o n w i t h the government i n the d e p o r t a t i o n of M i n e - M i l l ' s i n t e r n a t i o n a l 109 p r e s i d e n t on the ground t h a t he was a f o r e i g n communist a g i t a t o r . L a b e l -l i n g CCL leaders " r e d - b a i t i n g f l o o z i e s " and i m p l y i n g t h a t they engaged i n b i z a r r e sexual ac ts w i t h employers j"*""*"^ Murphy sparked a walkout by Mahoney and 16 o ther d e l e g a t e s , who f o r the remainder o f the sess ion l o b b i e d the 111 government as "CCL" r a t h e r than BCFL r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s . The e f f e c t i v e n e s s of the labour lobby was s e r i o u s l y i m p a i r e d , and the upshot of the a t t a c k was Murphy's suspension f rom a l l CCL and BCFL a c t i v i t i e s f o r two yea rs . When the amendments to B i l l 39 were i n t roduced by Wismer, they conta ined some p r o v i s i o n s the labour spokesmen had been ask ing f o r . These inc luded a) removal o f the term "employee o r g a n i z a t i o n " and s u b s t i t u t i o n o f " l abour o r g a n i z a t i o n " , c l e a r i n g up the ambigu i ty on the sub jec t o f company 112 un ions , b) mandatory compensation by employers i n cases o f i l l e g a l d i s -113 charge, c) shor ten ing of the minimum t ime between i n i t i a t i o n o f b a r g a i n i n g 114 and a s t r i k e f rom 79 to 57 days, d) removal of p e n a l t i e s f o r i n d i v i d u a l 159. employees , 1 1 " ' e) b i n d i n g o f successor employers by c o n t r a c t s , 1 1 ^ and f ) a requirement t h a t companies w i t h headquarters ou ts ide the p rov ince appo in t a B.C. r e s i d e n t to conclude and s ign a g r e e m e n t s . 1 1 7 As w e l l , the Labour R e l a -t i o n s Board was g iven power t o i ssue "cease and d e s i s t " orders a f t e r h o l d i n g hear ings to determine whether any th ing f o r b i d d e n by the ac t was being done 118 by an employer and/or employees. F i n a l l y , Wismer heeded the warn ing of the c h i e f j u s t i c e of the Supreme Cour t , r e p e a l i n g s e c t i o n 58 (3) and amend-i n g s e c t i o n 58 (1) to remove the LRB's a u t h o r i t y to decide quest ions o f f a c t xn cases be fo re the c o u r t s . Many o f these co r rec ted o v e r s i g h t s i n the o r i g i n a l d r a f t i n g of 120 B i l l 39, w h i l e o thers grew out o f the exper ience of the summer and f a l l of 1947 when they proved unsu i ted t o the task f o r wh ich / the : ac t was des igned. Far outweighing them were f o u r a n t i - l a b o u r amendments. Not on ly was the mandatory superv ised s t r i k e b a l l o t r e t a i n e d , bu t a s e c t i o n was added p r o -v i d i n g t h a t du r i ng a s t r i k e or l o c k - o u t the LRB could order a vo te of em-121 ployees on any "bona f i d e " se t t l ement o f f e r f rom an employer. Th is was 122 a l ong -s tand ing employer demand and g r e a t l y increased the p o s s i b i l i t i e s f o r the o b s t r u c t i o n of m i l i t a n t un ion a c t i o n . Second, the amendments r e -pealed s e c t i o n 47 o f the a c t , which had prov ided t h a t c o l l e c t i v e agreements 123 were not a c t i o n a b l e i n law. This opened the way to f u r t h e r employer 124 harassment through c i v i l l i t i g a t i o n . T h i r d , the amendments enabled the board to cancel the c e r t i f i c a t i o n of any un ion s t r i k i n g i l l e g a l l y . This was one of the most impor tan t i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z i n g fea tu res of the Rand d e c i s i o n 125 i n O n t a r i o . F i n a l l y , f o r the purpose of dea l i ng w i t h the f e d e r a l govern-ment i n the j u r i s d i c t i o n a l l y nebulous c o a l and meat-packing i n d u s t r i e s , the cab ine t was empowered to make r e g u l a t i o n s superseding any of the p r o v i s i o n s of the amended a c t . 1 ^ 160. These amendments locked the unions i n t o a system of i n d u s t r i a l r e l a t i o n s more r i g i d than ever. "They've taken B i l l 39, which was an abor-t i o n i n the f i r s t place and made i t even worse," said the CCL's Alex McAus-127 lane. A maze of regulations had been placed i n .the way of the one t r u l y e f f e c t i v e working-class weapon — the s t r i k e . The ways i n which a s t r i k e might now be i l l e g a l were legio n . Most important, the breach of any part of the complicated c o n c i l i a t i o n procedure might r e s u l t i n the los s by the union of the only status i t now had: the c e r t i f i c a t i o n accorded i t by the state. Any i l l e g a l i t y also l e f t the unions open to c o s t l y c i v i l a ctions. And the objective of l e g i s l a t e d union s e c u r i t y on request, the d r i v i n g force behind the unions' p o l i t i c a l a c t i v i t y since the end offthe war, s t i l l eluded t h e i r grasp. At i t s f a l l convention, the BCFL passed the .usual " p o l i t i c a l a c t i o n " r e s o l u t i o n , endorsing neither the CCF nor the LPP, protesting the govern-ment's "removing established r i g h t s from Trade Unions and placing them i n the hands of Government agencies." The communist leaders denounced the CCL 128 for "beheading" the protests against B i l l 39, and unions were urged to set up "defence committees" and "defence funds" to oppose the act through 129 economic a c t i o n . But the f i g h t against B i l l 39 was e f f e c t i v e l y over. The unions were forced to turn from the p o l i t i c a l f ront and concentrate on com-batting the c i v i l actions and injunctions launched by employers to hamper militance during the 1950s. The LPP leadership was e f f e c t i v e l y removed when Mahoney and h i s CCF friends managed to overthrow the BCFL executive at the 130 1948 convention. While there was s t i l l occasional t a l k of "independent labour p o l i t i c a l a c t i o n " , i n p r a c t i c e t h i s merely meant sections of the BCFL 131 t r i e d to influence the s e l e c t i o n of CCF e l e c t i o n candidates. As for the ICA Act i t s e l f , even with the 1948 amendments i t proved generally u n s a t i s -132 fa c t o r y and was replaced i n 1954 by the S o c i a l Credit government of W. A. C. 161 . y Bennet t . But the s t a t u t e which rep laced i t , the Labour Re la t i ons A c t , d i d not a l t e r the system of c e r t i f i c a t i o n and c o n c i l i a t i o n which B i l l 39 and the 1948 amendments i naugura ted . Meanwhile George Pearson contemplated the demise of the L i b e r a l r e f o r m i s t impulse which had o r i g i n a t e d under Duf f P a t t u l l o i n the depress ion yea rs . He cont inued u n t i l 1950 i n the f i e l d of h e a l t h and w e l f a r e , t r y i n g to admin is te r a h o s p i t a l insurance scheme t h a t was sabotaged a t every t u r n 133 by the t i g h t - f i s t e d Anscomb. To the l e g i s l a t u r e Pearson conceded t h a t 134 he had been a " v e r y d isappo in ted man" when he l e f t the labour department. He had genu ine ly t r i e d t o improve labour r e l a t i o n s i n the p r o v i n c e . "At one t i m e , " he s a i d , " I was conce i ted enough ;to b e l i e v e I had made some p r o g r e s s . " But , a l a s , a t the end I found so many obs tac les i n the way t h a t i t would be imposs ib le to make any apprec iab le progress i n one man's l i f e t i m e . (135) The e f f o r t s o f t h i s lone l i b e r a l re former had succeeded f o r a w h i l e . He had been p a r t i c u l a r l y e f f e c t i v e i n secur ing the c o - o p e r a t i o n o f wo rk ing -c lass leaders du r i ng the depress ion and the war, when a less a s t u t e man might have been unable to prevent widespread labour unres t or v i o l e n c e , perhaps the e l e c t i o n of a CCF government or t h development of e x t r a - p a r l i a m e n t a r y p o l i -t i c a l o p p o s i t i o n . But Pearson's concern f o r the w o r k e r ' s a b i l i t y to "s tand up f o r h i s r i g h t s " d i d n ' t f i t i n w i t h the expansion p lans of post -war c a p i -t a l i s m . So h i s i n f l u e n c e waned as t h a t o f the McDonel ls , the Anscombs and the Wismers waxed. The l i f e work and ph i losophy of one re former proved no match f o r the organized f o r c e s of a dominant c l a s s . 162. Notes to chapter 7 1 I n d u s t r i a l Canada, May 1947, 102. 2 Western M iner , June 1947, 35. 3 I n d u s t r i a l Canada, J u l y 1947, 204. 4 I b i d . , 209. 5 Vancouver Sun, October 7, 1947, 9. 6 I b i d . , June 3, 1947, 2. 7 I b i d . , September 4 , 1947, 13. 8 See B. K. Sandwel l , "B .C. p r i v a t e c a p i t a l se ts about some community b u i l d i n g " , Saturday N i g h t , May 18, 1946, 18. 9 Vancouver Sun, June 10, 1947, 3. 10 I b i d . , J u l y 26, 1947, 22. 11 BCFL execut ive c o u n c i l m inu tes , A p r i l 27, 1947, MMP, 31-10. 12 Convention c a l l , 1947, MMP, 31-7 . 13 BCFL t a b l e o f f i c e r s m inu tes , A p r i l 3, 1947, MMP, 31-7 . 14 C l i f f o r d Anderson, C o l l e c t i v e b a r g a i n i n g under a compulsory c o n c i l i a t i o n system i n the B.C. coast f o r e s t i n d u s t r y , 1947-1968, MA t h e s i s , U n i v e r s i t y o f B.C. (economics), 1971, 5 1 . 15 Western Lumber Manu fac tu re rs ' A s s o c i a t i o n of Canada, Weekly L e t t e r , May 3, 1947. 16 Thomson to L. P i t k e t h l e y , May 30, 1947, PP, 1946-7, L-21-D. 17 P a c i f i c T r ibune , June 13, 1947, 3. 18 Pearson to Thomson, June 3, 1947, PP, 1946-7, L-21-D; Thomson to H a r t , June 2, 1947, i b i d . ; Har t to Thomson, June 3, 1947, i b i d . 19 " D i r e c t l y c h a r t e r e d " l o c a l s were admited t o the CCL w i t h o u t be ing r e -qu i red to a f f i l i a t e t o a n a t i o n a l or i n t e r n a t i o n a l u n i o n . 20 BCFL l e a f l e t , June 17, 1947, MMP, 31-7 ; BCFL Convention proceedings, 4 (1947) , 30. The laundry w o r k e r s ' un ion had been going through c o n c i l i a t i o n proceedings w i t h the company s ince March 23 i n an at tempt to s i g n a c o n t r a c t . 21 BCFL, Convention proceedings, 4 (1947) , 6 1 . 163. 22 I b i d . , 17-18. The membership o f the committee g e n e r a l l y r e f l e c t e d the a l ignment of p o l i t i c a l fo rces i n the BCFL, w i t h a m a j o r i t y o f members f rom the communist- led unions and a m i n o r i t y f rom those l e d by CCFers of independent u n i o n i s t s . 23 The Sun commented t h a t the proposa l "sounds l i k e the ' u n i t e d f r o n t ' which the Labor -Progress ive Par ty wanted i n 1945. " June 10, 1947, p. 4 . 24 BCFL, Convention proceedings, 4 (1947) , 24-. 25 I b i d . , p. 26. Not s u r p r i s i n g l y , Haro ld Winch r e j e c t e d any suggest ion of an LPP-CCF c o a l i t i o n , p o i n t i n g out t h a t 176,000 B r i t i s h Columbians voted f o r the CCF i n 1945 w h i l e on ly 16,500 voted f o r the LPP. 26 Vancouver Sun, June 9, 1947, p. 9. 27 BCFL, Convention proceed ings, 5 (1948) e x h i b i t C. Th is t o t a l was con-s i d e r a b l y shor t o f the $50,000 g o a l . BCFL pamphlet, August 1947, MMP, 31=7. 28 "We couldn:J.t spare Mrs. Dewhurst , " the management c laimed i n n o c e n t l y . "Last week we asked the un ion to appo in t another de legate i n her p l a c e . But they d i d n ' t . They thought we were t r y i n g t o d i c t a t e to them." About o n e - t h i r d o f the workers d i d no t j o i n the s t r i k e and the laundry cont inued o p e r a t i o n w i t h the ass is tance of s t r i k e b r e a k e r s . Vancouver Sun, June 9, 1947, 1 . 29 Vancouver Sun, June 20, 1947, 1 . See a lso above, c h . 6, n . 59. Deputy labour m i n i s t e r Thomson, i n d e s c r i b i n g the r e t a i n i n g o f a Nanaimo lawyer to draw up the charges, t o l d Kenney: " I impressed him w i t h the n e c e s s i t y of e x e r c i s i n g every care to i n s u r e a success fu l case be ing presented to the cou r t . . . " Thomson to Kenney, June 18, 1947, PP, 1946-7, L-20-D. 30 Vancouver Sun, June 20, 1947, 1 . 31 A c o n t r i b u t i n g f a c t o r to the de lay was the n e c e s s i t y o f r e f e r r i n g seve ra l quest ions o f i n t e r p r e t a t i o n (such as : was the un ion a c t u a l l y a u n i o n ; had c o l l e c t i v e ba rga in ing a c t u a l l y taken p lace) to Kenney f o r a d e c i s i o n under s e c t i o n 58 (3) of the ICA A c t . Th is s e c t i o n gave power t o the Labour Re la t i ons Board to decide t h i s k i n d of q u e s t i o n , bu t under s e c t i o n 73 Kenney he ld the power s ince a board had no t y e t been appo in ted . See above, ch . 6. 32 The Crown wi thdrew charges aga ins t f i v e o f the s t r i k e r s on d i s c o v e r i n g they were j u v e n i l e s . 33 Vancouver Sun, August 2, 1947, 1 . The u n i o n ' s lawyer sought a r u l i n g f rom the h igher cour ts as to whether the u n i o n , which he c la imed had no l e g a l p e r s o n a l i t y , cou ld be charged. Chief J u s t i c e Sloan r u l e d t h a t i t cou ld be and h i s r u l i n g was upheld when the Supreme Court of Canada re fused to hear an appea l . The government never d i d prosecute the u n i o n , however, because by the t ime the Supreme Court r u l i n g was handed down i n February 1948, the i n t e n t i o n to amend the ICA Act had..already been announced. An appeal aga ins t the c o n v i c t i o n of the s t r i k e r s and un ion 164. o f f i c i a l s was i n i t i a t e d but l a t e r dropped. Vancouver P rov ince , November 15, 1947, 3; Vancouver Sun, February 4 , 1948, 1 . 34 Vancouver Sun, August 2, 1947, 1 . 35 B.C. D i s t r i c t Union News, August 28, 1947, 1 . 36 Coal miners and sawmi l l workers i n the Nanaimo r e g i o n h e l d one-day s t r i k e s i n sympathy w i t h the laundry workers . Labour Gazet te , A p r i l 1948. 37 Vancouver Sun, June 1 1 , 1947, 3. 38 I b i d . , September 5, 1947, 4 . 39 I b i d . , J u l y 24, 1947, 24. Showler 's l a c k of i n f l u e n c e among h i s f o l -lowers became ev ident when i n the annual TLC e l e c t i o n s he was defeated as p r o v i n c i a l v i c e - p r e s i d e n t and rep laced w i t h a member of the l e f t - w i n g Un i ted Fishermen and A l l i e d Workers ' Un ion . I b i d . , September 30, 1947. 40 I b i d . , June 23, 1947, 1 . Any s t r i k e p lans were snu f fed out when on ly 68 per cent of the IWA members vo ted i n favour of a s t r i k e , and the l a r g e New Westminster l o c a l , which by t h i s t ime had f a l l e n i n t o a n t i -communist hands, r e j e c t e d any p o s s i b i l i t y of a s t r i k e . Th is l a c k of m i l i t a n c e was understandable i n the wake of the 1946 c o n f l i c t . See C. H. Anderson, op_. c i t . , 51 -2 . R e c a l l i n g the f o r e s t o p e r a t o r s ' g lee upon the p roc lamat ion of the ICA Act when n e g o t i a t i o n s were under way i n May (see above, p. 5 ) , we may add the f o l l o w i n g passage f rom the Western Lumber Manu fac tu re rs ' A s s o c i a t i o n of' Canada's June 21 Weekly L e t t e r ; "The r e s u l t o f the Union B a l l o t i s not d e f i n i t e l y known, but the a c t i o n of the Government i n s t a r t i n g proceedings aga ins t the s t r i k e r s i n the Nanaimo Laundry d i s p u t e i s , no doubt , having some i n f l u e n c e on Union p o l i c y . " 41 The o f f e r i nc luded an a d d i t i o n a l f i v e cents f o r an i n s i g n i f i c a n t number o f e x c e p t i o n a l l y l ow-pa id workers . Vancouver Sun, August 20, 1947, 1 . 42 Ruddock to Har t , August 19, 1947, PP, 1946-7, L-20-D; Thomson to Hart August 22, 1947, i b i d . , L-21-D. 43 Vancouver Prov ince , September 23, 1947, p. 2; A. W. R. C a r r o t h e r s , The labour i n j u n c t i o n i n B r i t i s h Columbia, Toron to : CCH Canadian, 1956, 111-12. 44 Kenney had been a c t i n g labour m i n i s t e r b u t was ou t o f t he p rov ince a t the t i m e . 45 Thomson t o H a r t , August 26, 1947, PP, 1946-7, L-21-D; Thomson t o H a r t , September 2, 1947, i b i d . , Richards t o Thomson, September 2, 1947, i b i d . 46 Vancouver Sun, September 2, 1947, 1 . 47 Thomson to H a r t , August 26, 1947, PP, 1946-7, L-21-D. 48 Vancouver News-Herald, September 2, 1947, 13. 165. \ 49 • Loc. c i t . 50 I b i d . , September 17, 1947, 1 . ; September 18, 1947, 1 . 51 Paddy Sherman, Bennet t , Toron to : McCle l land and Stewar t , 1966, 57; J u d i t h Ward, F e d e r a l - p r o v i n c i a l r e l a t i o n s w i t h i n the L i b e r a l p a r t y of B r i t i s h Columbia, MA t h e s i s , U n i v e r s i t y of B.C. ( p o l i t i c a l s c i e n c e ) , 1966, 67; S. W. Jackman, P o r t r a i t s of the p remie rs , Sidney: Gray 's . P u b l i s h i n g 1969, 239. Th is l a s t account says Mackenzie King hoped Hart might accept an appointment as ambassador to I r e l a n d . 52 Vancouver Sun, October 2, 1947, 1 . 53 I b i d . , October 3, 1947, 1 . 54 Loc. c i t . 55 Diamond to H a r t , October 3, 1947, PP_, 1946-7, C - l l - G . Har t r e p l i e d t h a t the government in tended to enforce the act regard less o f any p a r t y pronouncements. 56 Eckman to H a r t , September 17, 1947, PP, 1946-7, L-21-D. 57 I b i d . . . To t h i s the Western Miner added: " . . . theopresent ext remely v o c a l o b j e c t o r s to B i l l 39 demonstrate beyond ques t ion t h a t they sub-s c r i b e to a d o c t r i n e o f s t r i k e s f o r the sake o f d i s r u p t i o n . . . A l l t h a t remains i s f o r the government to enforce the Act i n every i n s t a n c e . Unless and u n t i l t h a t i s done, d i s r u p t i v e elements w i l l se ize on any p r e t e x t to s t r i k e i n f u r t h e r a n c e of p o l i t i c a l a i m s . " October 1947, 38. 58 See above, n . 31 and ch . 6. 59 Vancouver Prov ince , September 23, 1947, 2; Vancouver Sun, September 30 1947, 2. 60 Sect ion 58 (3) read : "Where a ques t i on set out i n t h i s s e c t i o n a r i s e s i n any l e g a l .proceedings under t h i s A c t , i f the ques t ion has not been decided by the (Labour R e l a t i o n s ) Board, the J u s t i c e or J u s t i c e s o f the Peace, M a g i s t r a t e , Judge or Court be fo re whom i t a r i s e s s h a l l r e f e r the ques t ion to the Board and s tay f u r t h e r proceedings u n t i l the Board 's d e c i s i o n i s r e c e i v e d . " The c h i e f j u s t i c e r u l e d d t h a t the use of the words " j udge" and " c o u r t " i n t h i s s e c t i o n were u l t r a v i r e s the p r o v i n c i a l l e g i s l a t u r e , because he cou ld no t conceive of any k i n d of a c t i o n i n which anyone o ther than a j u s t i c e of the peace or m a g i s t r a t e would have occasion to r e f e r a ques-t i o n to the board , s ince the c r i m i n a l cases would i n v a r i a b l y be d e a l t w i t h i n i t i a l l y i n m a g i s t r a t e ' s c o u r t . Th is be ing so, the words " j u d g e " and " c o u r t " might pu rpo r t to g ive the board j u d i c i a l f u n c t i o n s and i n -so fa r as they d i d , they would be beyond the competence of the l e g i s l a -t u r e . Vancouver P rov ince , October 1 1 , 1947, 1 . 61 Vancouver Sun, October 7, 1947, 2 . 6 2 , I b i d . , October 14, 1947, 3. 166. 63 He remained i n the cab inet as h e a l t h m i n i s t e r and p r o v i n c i a l s e c r e t a r y . 64 The;prev ious week the chairman of a c o n c i l i a t i o n board had warned t h a t u n i o n i s t s were becoming " d i s h e a r t e n e d " by the slowness o f proceedings under B i l l 39. The i m p l i c a t i o n was t h a t u n i o n i s t s c o u l d n ' t be blamed f o r s t r i k i n g i l l e g a l l y when the process set out i n the ac t took so l o n g . Th is warning f o l l o w e d an at tempt by Walter Owen, n e g o t i a t i n g f o r an employers ' a s s o c i a t i o n i n a bakery worke rs ' d i s p u t e , to s t a l l the p r o -ceedings by hav ing the case o f each employer heard s e p a r a t e l y . Van- couver News-Herald, October 10, 1947, 3. 65 Vancouver Sun, October 16, 1947, 1 . 66 None was s o r r i e r to see Pearson go than Harvey Murphy, who cou ld not f a i l to remember the m i n i s t e r ' s ass is tance i n the e a r l y days of Mine-M i l l o r g a n i z i n g . A eulogy i n Murphy's newspaper never the less noted t h a t Pearson " d i d n ' t s tep o u t s i d e o f h i s p o s i t i o n as m i n i s t e r o f l abor to g ive labor any b reaks . A l l Mr. Pearson d id was to ac t f a i r l y and i n t e r p r e t the law, bu t the employers d o n ' t l i k e t h a t . Did they ever?" B.C. D i s t r i c t Union News, October 27, 1947, s. 67 Vancouver Sun, October 16, 1947, 1 . 68 Loc. c i t . 69 The s t r i k e had ended a t f o u r o f the f i v e s t e e l p l a n t s the day be fo re the October 24 h e a r i n g , the s t r i k e r s s e t t l i n g f o r the 10-cent inc rease o f f e r e d e a r l i e r by the companies. Wismer re fused a USWA request t h a t the charges be dropped i n l i g h t of t h i s development. The f i f t h p l a n t s e t t l e d f o r the same increase i n January 1948. Vancouver Sun, October 23, 1947, 1 ; Vancouver News-Herald, January 29, 1948, 1 . 70 Vancouver P rov ince , October 24, 1947, 1 . The d e t e r m i n a t i o n o f quest ions of f a c t , of course, might have a s i g n i f i c a n t bear ing on the outcome of the case. Wismer e i t h e r d i d not see or chose not t o recogn ize the con-f l i c t of i n t e r e s t , terming the S tee l charges "absurb . . . too s i l l y f o r comment." L o c . c i t . 71 Vancouver Sun, November 5, 1947, 1 ; November 7, 1947, 34; November 8, 1947, 34. 72 I b i d . , November 5, 1947, 1 . 73 The former was p a r t of a n a t i o n - w i d e s t r i k e by the Un i ted Packinghouse Workers of Amer ica. The B.C. government was h e s i t a n t to move even be fo re the S tee l charges were thrown o u t , because i t was unc lear whether the i n d u s t r y was i n the f e d e r a l or the p r o v i n c i a l j u r i s d i c t i o n . 74 See, e . g . , Thomson t o H a r t , August 27, 1947, PP_, 1946-7, L-21-D; 0 . Pearson to Kenney, October 3, 1947, i b i d . ; Da l ton to Kenney, October 2, 1947, i b i d . ; J . C. Rankin to Kenney, October 4 , 1947, i b i d . , H. R. Plommer to Wismer, January 16, 1948, i b i d . , J . L. Lawrence to Pearson and Wismer, October 6, 1947, i b i d . , L-20-D. 167. 75 B.C. Department of Labour, Report, 1948, 133; i b i d . , 1947, 125. 76 Text of radio broadcast, October 2, 1947, MMP, 54-10. Credit was due the BCFL protests, Murphy claimed, f o r the p o l i c y statement of the L i b e r a l executive. B.C. D i s t r i c t Union News, October 10, 1947, 4. 77 The union leaders also pressed f o r union s e c u r i t y on request, strength-ening of the u n f a i r labour practices sections of the ICA Act and elimination of the ambiguity on the subject of company unions. I b i d . , October 27, 1947, 2. 78 Vancouver Sun, October 22, 1947, 32. 79 B.C. D i s t r i c t Union News, November 21, 1947, 4. 80 Ibid., December 22, 1947, 2. 81 Sherman, op_. c i t . , 57. 82 Martin Robin, P i l l a r s of p r o f i t : the company province 1934-1972, Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 94. 83 Ward, op_. c i t . , 69. 84 Robin, op_. c i t . , 95. 85 Contrary to the ass e r t i o n that Johnson was "dredged up" " a f t e r exten-sive searching" (Robin, op_. c i t . , 94), the Sun l i s t e d Wismer, Kenney and Johnson as the three l i k e l y candidates f o r the leadership on the day Hart resigned. Two days l a t e r , anonymous "leading supporter of 'Boss' Johnson conceded p r i v a t e l y that Gordon Wismer i s on top of the p i l e at the moment." Kenney soon announced he would not run for the leadership. Vancouver Sun, October 1, 1947, 2; October 3, 1947, 1. 86 Sherman, op. c i t . , 58. Hart's appointment of Wismer to the labour.port-f o l i o scarcely two weeks a f t e r announcing h i s own resignation and l e s s than two months before the handicap the attorney-general i n h i s lead-ership b i d . 87 BCLA Convention proceedings, December 9-10, 1947, 80-1, BCLAP, box 1. 88 Robin, £p_. c i t . , 95. 89 BCLA Convention proceedings, 79. The seconder was Tip O'Neil of Kamloops. 90 Ibid., 92-3. 91 Ibid., 93. 92 Robin, op. c i t . , 96. 93 Quoted i n Robin, ap_. c i t . , 96. 94 Ibid., 96-7. " I t was often observed that Wismer's powers i n party matters were greater than those of Johnson," Ward, op_. c i t . , 70. 168. 95 Vancouver News-Herald, January 2 1 , 1948, 1 . 96 I b i d . , January 23, 1948, 1 . See above, 20. 97 Vancouver Sun, February 10, 1948, 3. 98 See above, 22-4 . 99 I r v i n g A b e l l a , N a t i o n a l i s m , communism and Canadian l a b o u r , Toronto : U n i v e r s i t y o f Toronto Press , 1973. 117-18. 100 I b i d . , 117. 101 I b i d . , 118. 102 See above, 20. 103 B.C. D i s t r i c t Union News, November 2 1 , 1947, 4 - 5 . 104 BCFL, Convention proceedings, 5 (1948) : 100-101. The chairman of the board was the p r o v i n c i a l l e g i s l a t i v e counse l , J . P i t c a i r n Hogg. The TLC r e p r e s e n t a t i v e was George Wi l k inson o f V i c t o r i a and the em-p loye r r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s Co l . Macgregor Macintosh and F. W. Smelts. The board was appointed January 13, 1948. Labour Re la t ions Board, Repor t , 1948, 7. 105 I n : a h a l f - h e a r t e d at tempt t o m o l l i f y the CCFers, the BCFL execu t i ve endorsed CCF candidates i n two p r o v i n c i a l b y - e l e c t i o n s and sent them token c o n t r i b u t i o n s of $100 each. BCFL execut ive c o u n c i l m inu tes , February 7, 1948, MMP, 31-10. 106 B.C. D i s t r i c t Union News, March 12, 1948, 4 . 107 Richards to Johnson, January 2, 1948, PP, 1948-9, L-3-G. 108 Vancouver Sun, A p r i l 14, 1948, 1 . At the same t ime an i ssue o f the Western Miner c a l l e d on mine opera to rs to re fuse to ba rga in w i t h communist un ion l e a d e r s . This a c t i o n was j u s t i f i e d on the ground t h a t i t "would compel the government to move aga ins t i n d u s t r i a l dominat ion by a f o r e i g n power." (Western Miner , A p r i l 1948, 182) This was c l e a r l y an e x h o r t a -t i o n to disobey the law, s ince i t was compulsory to ba rga in w i t h c e r t i f i e d un ion l e a d e r s , communist or n o t . I t should be con t ras ted to the maga-z i n e ' s e d i t o r i a l of October 1947 (see above, n . 5 7 ) , which admonished unions and t h e i r leaders t o obey the law regard less o f t h e i r d i s a g r e e -ments w i t h i t . E v i d e n t l y , f o r some employers and t h e i r spokesmen, the p r i n c i p l e o f adherence to the law which they so l o u d l y urged on o thers had o n l y l i m i t e d a p p l i c a t i o n when they themselves wished to f o r c e a change i n government p o l i c y . 109 See A b e l l a , op_. c i t . , 96-100. 110 I b i d . , 1 2 1 ; Mahoney charges aga ins t Murphy, MMP, 31-10. 169, 111 Mahoney and Alex McAuslane, i n thexname of the CCL, a c t u a l l y issued a j o i n t statement on the amendments w i t h- Library Home /
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The passage of Bill 39 : reform and repression in British Columbia’s labour policy Knox, Paul Graham 1974
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| Title | The passage of Bill 39 : reform and repression in British Columbia’s labour policy |
| Creator |
Knox, Paul Graham |
| Publisher | University of British Columbia |
| Date Issued | 1974 |
| Description | The British Columbia legislature passed in 1947 a new Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act. The act installed at the provincial level the modern system of labour relations, including certification of labour unions, a labour relations board and the government-supervised strike vote. The act was passed by a coalition government of Liberals and Conservatives, in response to a wave of strikes the preceding year which crippled, among others, the province's forest and mining industries. The legislation incorporated many restrictions on union activity sought by business spokesmen and gave a legal basis to the institutional status sought by union leaders. This study examines the passage of Bill 39 in relation to three themes: the importance of class structure in the politics of British Columbia, the role of the state in capitalist society, and the development of the west coast labour movement. The class and economic structure of the province during the 1940s is outlined and some links are shown between heavy dependence on resource extraction and low-level processing and the high incidence of labour unrest. The class bases of the political parties are isolated and their relationship to the industrial structure discussed. This material forms the background for a history of the wartime and post-war struggles between labour and employers in B.C. The strikes of 1946 are shown to have prompted employers to press the government for restrictive labour legislation. Considerable attention is also paid to the articulation of working-class demands for security and to the relationship between labour leaders and the Coalition labour minister, George Pearson. The discussion of the passage of Bill 39 and its aftermath shows how the influence of rural Tory elements in the Coalition led to the demise of the reformist tradition of the depression premier, Duff Pattullo. The influence of the labour situation on the election of a successor to Premier John Hart is discussed, and some insight into the workings of the coalition government is gained through an examination of the government's reaction to anti-Bill 39 strikes and protests. The concluding chapter draws on examples from the preceding historical material, to show that the state in a capitalist society must contain class conflict, through variously reformist or repressive methods, without challenging the system of wage-labour and profit. The role of political parties, the cabinet, the legislative assembly, the government bureaucracy and the judiciary in this process is analyzed. Finally, the response of the labour movement to state action is discussed, and it is suggested that radical political parties have yet to resolve in practice the apparent contradiction between working-class desires for security and the need for revolutionary social and economic change which they perceived. |
| Genre |
Thesis/Dissertation |
| Type |
Text |
| Language | eng |
| Date Available | 2010-01-21 |
| Provider | Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
| DOI | 10.14288/1.0099887 |
| URI | http://hdl.handle.net/2429/18887 |
| Degree |
Master of Arts - MA |
| Program |
Political Science |
| Affiliation |
Arts, Faculty of Political Science, Department of |
| Degree Grantor | University of British Columbia |
| Campus |
UBCV |
| Scholarly Level | Graduate |
| AggregatedSourceRepository | DSpace |
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