|
Relief Camp Workers' Union
Relief Camp Workers' Union was a Canadian Great Depression era relief union in which the workers employed in the Canadian government relief camps organized themselves into in the early 1930s. The RCWU was established by the Workers' Unity League and was associated with the Communist Party of Canada. The creation of the union was a direct response to the conditions of the camps and the lack of financial compensation for the work the men provided. The union is best known for helping to organize the On-to-Ottawa Trek during the Great Depression. Historical context and the origins of relief camps in Canada Initial approaches to relief During the Great Depression in Canada ( 1929 to 1939), a time of economic hardship spanning a decade, many people faced food scarcity, reduction of wages or precarious work, and overall reduction in their quality of life. The Depression operated worldwide - however, the degree to which it affected different countries differed drastically. By 1933 t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Workers' Unity League
The Workers' Unity League (WUL) was established in January 1930 as a militant industrial union labour central closely related to the Communist Party of Canada on the instructions of the Communist International. This was reflective of the shift in the Communist International's political line that ushered in its " Third Period". Rather than " boring from within"—the policy of the "Second Period" that encouraged Communists to join mainstream labour unions and progressive organizations in order to move them to the revolutionary left—this new line emphasized creating independent communist organizations. The WUL paralleled similar alternative trade union structures elsewhere: the Trade Union Unity League in the US, and the National Minority Movement in the UK. Some of the unions affiliated with the WUL include the Mine Workers' Union of Canada, Lumber Workers Industrial Union of Canada and the Relief Camp Workers' Union. Unlike both the Trades and Labor Congress of Canada (TLC ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
