Today is the anniversary of Bloody Saturday, when the state attacked peaceful supporters of the Winnipeg General Strike. Hundreds of people were injured. Two men were killed by officers of the Northwest Mounted Police. Within a few days the Strike Committee called an end to the Strike to end the conflict.
On June 21, 1919 over a thousand veterans and striking workers met at City Hall on Main Street. For five weeks, 30,000 workers, veterans and community allies stood up for union recognition and decent wages.
This week I conducted a Strike Tour for 25 Economics students from the University of Manitoba. They asked for a bus tour of significant places in Winnipeg that epitomize the Strike story. For almost three hours we rode through south and north Winnipeg, ending up at City Hall on Main Street. We stopped at the Ukrainian Labour Temple, the Manitoba Telephone building on Burrows, Victoria Park on Waterfront Drive and at the Bloody Saturday memorial next to the Pantages Playhouse.
The students were eager to learn about the Strike. There were many good questions. A question I have heard every time I conduct a tour - was the Strike a failure as the workers did not get union recognition or decent wages.
Yes history may say the Strike failed, but it was the foundation of decades of successes that created the social support network Canadians now depend on. The workers did not have health and safety protection, pensions, a minimum wage or recognized unions that now are basic parts of Canadian society.
Today is also the anniversary of Terry Fox Run that ended 45 years ago. No one today would ever say Terry failed. His courage and fortitude was a start of a movement carried forward by thousands of people, raising millions of dollars for cancer research.
In the mix of what the Strike and Terry, thousands of athletes, millions of workers and inventors demonstrate for us, is that failure is actually the foundation of success! What these Canadians show us is the importance of courage and persistence in standing up for what others need. It depends on all of us, to remember what others have done for us and how their success is up to us.
