b'University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections, Winnipeg Tribune Photograph Collection, PC 18were on the rise due to inflation and jobs wereoccurredin1919thatquicklyturnedessentiallybecamethelightningrodfor difficult to find. Conditions for workers whoWinnipeg into a powder keg for conflict.worker unrest and the need for change.did have jobs were abysmal. They workedSomehistorianspointtoalabourleaderThefirstdisputethatfuelledthefiresof long hours, seven days a week at low wages,meeting held in March of 1919 in Calgarydiscontent occurred in April 1919 when the and lived in rundown, inadequate housingwhere delegates from the western provincesbusinessownerswouldnotsitdownwith that fostered unhealthy living conditions.approved a number of resolutions aimed atthe Metal and Building Trades to negotiate a Theseconditionsamplifiedthesocialimprovingconditionsforworkers.Thesecollective bargaining agreement. As a result, included a five-day work week, a six-hour inequalitybetweenworkersandtheupperworkdayandtheformationofOneBigthe Metal and Building Trades went on strike class that controlled wealth and ultimatelyUnion(OBU)thatwouldsolidifythein early May. This action was escalated to the employment. This conflict of the social classesinterests of the entire working class. Winnipeg Trades and Labour Council that dates back to the industrial revolution: therepresented all of the trades in the city. The wealthy versus the impoverished. The upperIn the couple of months after the Calgaryentire trade membership was asked if they classdidnotrecognizethevaluetotheirmeeting,relationsbetweenWinnipegsupported a general strike and the answer was businesses when workers earned reasonableworkers and business owners continued toan overwhelming yes. On the morning of wages, lived in proper housing and were abledeteriorate when employers didnt embraceMay 15, the general strike began.to provide a good life for their families.the resolutions approved in Calgary. Workers were particularly upset with business ownersThirty thousand (30,000) workers joined the By1919,workeractionagainstemployerswho had made significant profits during thestrike and left their jobs to join the picket was happening in cities across the country.war but would not improve workers wageslines,includingbothprivatesectorand So why a strike in Winnipeg? As typicallyas the working classes struggled to survivepublic employees such as the police force, happens,aseriesofactionsandreactionsin Winnipegs post-war economy. Winnipegfirefightersandgovernmentworkers.Each Ontario Electrical Contractor17'