Coal miners’ rights and the drive to unionize were focuses of the 1912 strike which are heavily interconnected. Vancouver Island mine companies refused to recognize any of the coal miners’ unions that sought to organize and obtain the right to collective bargaining with the mining companies (Norris 56). Unionizing would give the miners’ more say in the decisions made about their workplace. In 1903, the government would outlaw the Western Federation of Miners by labeling it a “revolutionary socialist” union which would setback the attempts at union organization (Bowen 133). This set back added to the hostile scene in which the United Mine Workers of America would be invited in to assist Vancouver Island mines in organizing. Miners’ rights were difficult to fight for without a recognized union, they were unable to solve any grievances since the employer was not required to listen or handle any problems the miners may have. The miners wished to have more “control over the organization of the workplace, including the hiring and firing of employees,” and the the recognition of a union would allow for the employees to exercise more control (Hinde, “When Coal Was King” 148). Workers were unwilling to subscribe to the prior method of master-servant relations, as employers could exercise their power over employees without repercussions for unfair treatment (Isitt 40). The ability of companies to fire workers with no justified reason as they held “the right to hire and discharge unquestioned” would lead to Mottishaw being dismissed (Hinde, “When Coal Was King” 150). Mottishaw was a union man and was labelled as an “agitator” which led to his discriminatory firing, demonstrating the lack of control workers had in the workplace. The company Canadian Collieries would respond to attempts to negotiate by announcing: “We don’t want to hear you at all” (Hinde, “When Coal Was King” 151). The refusal to communicate gave miners no other options but to strike, which led to solidarity strikes from other mines that were experiencing similar issues. When asked about the strike, miners involved argued that “prior to the stoppage of work at the Cumberland and Ladysmith mines… considerable friction had been engendered by the treatment that they received” (“Cumberland miners still locked out” 16). This called into question the miners’ rights that had been undermined by the companies. The firing of Mottishaw would expose the agitation that permeated the mining industry due to the power employers held over their workers, and would lead to the beginning of the Vancouver Island Miners’ Strike— a strike which had been brewing in the background for years because of these very issues. Going on strike was a cry for miners’ rights to be heard by the mining companies, and for the recognition of a union so that miners’ rights could continue to be acknowledged in future years.
Small boy holding united mine workers journal, photograph, 1912, C110-128, Ginger Goodwin Labour and Miners Memorial Day Album, Cumberland Museum and Archives, Canada, https://www.flickr.com/photos/cumberlandmuseum/6814898050/in/album-72157629432817125.
