1981 Cape Breton coal strike

Miners' strike in Nova Scotia, Canada 1981 Cape Breton coal strike July 17–October 8, 1981 Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia Wage increases Strike, sabotage, bombing Schism within the union, lower than asked-for wage increase United Mine Workers of America District 26 Cape Breton Development Corporation 4,000 miners The Cape Breton coal strike of 1981 was a strike by coal miners who were members of the United Mine Workers of America (UMW) District 26 against the Cape Breton Development Corporation (DEVCO) of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, Canada. It was the first strike by District 26 since 1947. The high double-digit inflation of the late 1970s and early 1980s affected the buying power for the miners. The strike, which was bitter and violent, began on July 17, 1981. It ended on October 8, 1981, after the fourth contract vote. In the aftermath of the strike, the UMW leadership, both locally and internationally were criticized. The UMW did not issue the pre-paid strike fund, so the miners went 13 weeks without any pay. The local's president and executive were removed by the president of the UMW in 1983. It was a move to stop a challenge from a new Canadian union trying to decertify the UMW. In the end, the UMW prevailed, but the strike left bitter feelings between the local and the international union. Historical context Coal miners in Nova Scotia were first organized by the Provincial Workmen's Association (PWA) in 1881.Coats R.H. Robert H. Coats The Labour Movement in Canada The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 1923 107 1 283–285 10.1177/000271622310700140 144819997 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/000271622310700140 July 25, 2023 subscription The United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) attempted to organize the miners and supplant the PWA in 1909.CBC Staff Indepth: Cape Breton – The Unions http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/capebreton/unions.html July 25, 2023 CBC News Online Canadian Broadcasting Corporation December 8, 2004 https://web.archive.org/web/20050527075304/http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/capebreton/unions.html May 27, 2005 Toronto dead The two unions fought for control, but in 1917 joined forces and formed the Amalgamated Mine Workers of Nova Scotia. The Amalgamated affiliated fully with UMWA within three years. Miners were represented continuously by District 26 of UMWA over the next 80 years. Strikes during this period were exceedingly rare. Nevertheless, major and often violent work stoppages occurred in 1920s. BESCO/DOSCO In 1920, the British Empire Steel Corporation (BESCO) took ownership of all coal mines on Cape Breton Island.British Empire Steel and Coal Company (BESCO) https://memoryns.ca/british-empire-steel-and-coal-company-besco MemoryNS Beaton Institute Archive July 25, 2023 https://web.archive.org/web/20230725233205/https://memoryns.ca/british-empire-steel-and-coal-company-besco July 25, 2023 Sydney, N.S. live UMWA and BESCO had an extremely adversarial relationship. Three strikes in 1921, 1922 and 1925 eventually damaged BESCO.Davis Murdoch How my great-grandfather was killed by mine police https://www.newspapers.com/image/460331232/?clipping_id=128863733&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjQ2MDMzMTIzMiwiaWF0IjoxNjkwMzIyMTg0LCJleHAiOjE2OTA0MDg1ODR9.AUohTw8PARSLEzgHhOaOG5GVIrCoPe8HZ8u9gZw7MaQ July 25, 2023 The Citizen June 13, 1980 Ottawa 48 subscription Newspapers.com CBC Staff INDEPTH: CAPE BRETON – Cape Breton Coal http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/capebreton/index.html July 25, 2023 CBC News Online Canadian Broadcasting Corporation December 8, 2004 https://web.archive.org/web/20050525220429/http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/capebreton/index.html May 25, 2005 Toronto dead The company was not making a profit and was reorganized, emerging in 1928 as the Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation. In the post-war period of the 1950s and 1960s, technological innovation, the difficulty of mining coal (coal in Cape Breton was increasingly mined from veins under the sea floor), and the availability of natural gas (piped from oil fields in Western Canada) led to rapid decreases in the amount of coal mined as well as the number of miners.Tupper Allan Public Enterprise as Social Welfare: The Case of the Cape Breton Development Corporation Canadian Public Policy / Analyse de Politiques Autumn 1978 4 4 530–534 https://doi.org/10.2307/3549976 July 26, 2023 University of Toronto Press Toronto 10.2307/3549976 3549976 0317-0861 subscription The economic viability of the Cape Breton mines declined significantly to the point that they were only operable because of federal government subsidies.Dow Alistair Subsidies: Not Economic but Political https://www.proquest.com/docview/1418607737 July 26, 2023 Toronto Daily Star Toronto Star Limited September 20, 1967 25 1418607737 subscription DEVCO On July 7, 1967, the Cape Breton Development Corporation (DEVCO) – a federal crown corporation – was founded. Its original mandate was to close the mines, but when it took ownership of the Cape Breton mines management discovered they could continue for at least another 15 years with modernization.Watkins Lyndon Cape Breton's Coal Mines Far From Finished, DEVCO President Discovers https://www.proquest.com/docview/1242188252 July 26, 2023 The Globe and Mail The Globe and Mail Limited January 5, 1968 Toronto B5 1242188252 subscription Relations between the District 26 and the various companies that owned the mines post-war were good. These amicable labour relations meant there was over 33 years of labour peace since the previous strike in 1947. Strike Lead-up to the Strike Wages became a major issue as the 1980-81 recession and double-digit inflation eroded a miner's buying power.CP Staff Coal strike could be first since 1947 https://www.newspapers.com/image/560032397 July 28, 2023 Alberni Valley Times The Canadian Press Sterling Newspapers Ltd July 15, 1981 Alberni, British Columbia 20 0839-2706 subscription Newspapers.com The miners were without a contract since December 31, 1980 and were making a base pay of $58 per day (roughly $181 CAD in 2023). Nova Scotia judge Nathan Green wrote a conciliation report in spring 1981 recommending an $8.50 (roughly $26 CAD in 2023) per day raise, each year, over a two-year contract that DEVCO accepted. However, when District 26's president, Ray Holland, brought it to a ratification vote on July 7, the rank and file members rejected it 1,954 to 827. On July 13, Holland informed DEVCO president Steve Rankin that they were in a legal strike situation, and would strike if they didn't get a better offer from the new federal mediator. Strike begins On July 17, 1981, 4,000 miners in the Cape Breton coal fields went on strike against DEVCO. The miners sought a 50 percent wage increase over two years.CP Staff Nova Scotia miners set to vote on new contract https://www.proquest.com/docview/1410996817 July 25, 2023 Toronto Star The Canadian Press Torstar October 5, 1981 A16 1410996817 subscription It was the first strike since nationalization of the mines in 1968. The 13-week strike was a bitter one.Donham Parker Barss Bitter Strike Ends Bitterly MacLean's Toronto October 19, 1981 94 48 48 0024-9262 When the Cabinet of Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau met in Sydney, Nova Scotia, in mid-September 1981, striking miners forced their way onto the airport tarmac and cornered Mark MacGuigan and local Member of Parliament Russell MacLellan to demand an end to the strike.Ferguson John Striking miners shout angrily at cabinet ministers https://www.newspapers.com/image/730332839/ July 25, 2023 The Wig-Standard The Canadian Press September 9, 1981 Kingston, Ontario 13 subscription Newspapers.com The 125 or so strikers were expecting Prime Minister Trudeau but his plane arrived a few hours later. Three federal mediators attempted to negotiate an end to the strike, and three times the miners rejected tentative contracts (the last one proposing a 50 percent wage hike over three years).Plaskin, "Nova Scotia Premier to Meet With Striking Miners," United Press International, September 16, 1981. Vandalism against company property began in August, and quickly escalated. In mid-September, a bomb was detonated at a DEVCO mine, and DEVCO coal rail cars derailed at the company's Lingan mine in New Waterford."Regional News," United Press International, September 19, 1981. A fourth federal mediator arrived just days after the bombings. The strike finally ended on October 8, 1981, when a tentative agreement which raised wages 50 percent over two years was ratified.CP Staff Miners to vote on tentative pact https://www.newspapers.com/image/510424776/?terms=Cape%20Breton%20Coal%20Strike%20Ends&match=1 July 26, 2023 Star-Phoenix The Canadian Press October 5, 1981 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan 11 subscription Newspapers.com Missing UMW Strike Fund 160,000 UMW members were on a 72-day strike in the United States during the spring of 1981.Globe Staff Coal miners begin work return https://www.proquest.com/docview/1143190655 July 25, 2023 The Globe and Mail Canadian Newspaper Company Limited June 9, 1981 B21 1143190655 subscription This major strike only ended on June 6, 1981.Franklin Ben A. Miners' President Receives Praise on Trip Promoting New Coal Pact https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/02/us/miners-president-receives-praise-on-trip-promoting-new-coal-pact.html?unlocked_article_code=KySGNuOdqkMeZKiEpmYl8JwJxceaZ7Wl40ynYYGwgC5Es3uZUD6iHGg_IEAYnkksr-wbkgUkC4JqIvRoB4LfP0uAMuw-Cz5UgQkhKMXyLRsVsgYkp8IubzhWYBb0lsHDwEBo3rToSma7iOTFONG5CWq9O1ct4SfSpxTFT-JNUY_BcKAQ5ilyz8u_lJqoThbJR-Ja5T8j9fmqlaetkDDqY9UkYvOue8AmCV07CHW9QOBws9Torp_BFpkJBELHVgqOH88d2S9pepN8gFouW3BA3__EfxuFudEepl7EFnxf3eom-go0zUSsuzX0AZhcPnlpKlekYzxW_1o7-DZUoUOzHxrl6fqmQmSve0kfuGi3IeZlLEmjijUXuI5R9gV0Db-X8HykRqA&smid=url-share August 21, 2023 The New York Times June 2, 1981 B7 https://web.archive.org/web/20230821154333/https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/02/us/miners-president-receives-praise-on-trip-promoting-new-coal-pact.html?unlocked_article_code=KySGNuOdqkMeZKiEpmYl8JwJxceaZ7Wl40ynYYGwgC5Es3uZUD6iHGg_IEAYnkksr-wbkgUkC4JqIvRoB4LfP0uAMuw-Cz5UgQkhKMXyLRsVsgYkp8IubzhWYBb0lsHDwEBo3rToSma7iOTFONG5CWq9O1ct4SfSpxTFT-JNUY_BcKAQ5ilyz8u_lJqoThbJR-Ja5T8j9fmqlaetkDDqY9UkYvOue8AmCV07CHW9QOBws9Torp_BFpkJBELHVgqOH88d2S9pepN8gFouW3BA3__EfxuFudEepl7EFnxf3eom-go0zUSsuzX0AZhcPnlpKlekYzxW_1o7-DZUoUOzHxrl6fqmQmSve0kfuGi3IeZlLEmjijUXuI5R9gV0Db-X8HykRqA&smid=url-share August 21, 2023 live There was no money left in the international union's strike fund.Story Alan David and Goliath in N.S. mine fight https://www.newspapers.com/image/735103257/?match=1 July 25, 2023 The Winnipeg Sun Sun Media January 30, 1983 12 subscription Newspapers.com The Cape Breton miners were deeply angered when the UMW was unable to support their District 26 strike after paying the American union millions of dollars in dues since their last strike. A delegation from District 26 went to the UMW's headquarters in Washington, D.C. during the strike and were told "it was their responsibility to provide a strike fund." To support the strike effort, the local union organized a United Mine Workers Wives Association to raise funds and provide food, financial support, and other charity for strikers' families. Aftermath Seething over the international union's inability to fund the strike, dissident miners attempted to organize their own union with the help and support of the Confederation of Canadian Unions (CCU). The attempt to decertify the United Mine Workers and replace it with a new union was part of a larger movement among Canadian labour unions to split away from their parent "international" unions in the United States. Widespread discontent existed over the amount of dues sent to international union headquarters in America (many Canadian unions called them "profits") and the relatively minor attention given to the problems of Canadian workers in return.Martins Douglas A Canadian Split on Unions https://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/12/business/a-canadian-split-on-unions.html?unlocked_article_code=vTBQlzCORmTrZj6yGopEzyGYyGMYKYpT0hORfnkUWUVybzN8OZ6ygLhnvnixdVRKDikftDX5sylFrLv0KpVNUd24Nbcc3Tqc_I-ZFWuhhnoS4a96YWmKO6wD83N3Ympgom6C-AC-1gaejbKS9t6PVGVhnkxMWIAULSe117ALnY1KU2Pt0GHARrbWaWRZSx09lrRmrjw4bOyu12vidOyblBf2K70LfgFdu1OWqkcBngeM84RG2u35VTUDmu1nukkiIhQQVD1fbAu-o3h-meeLFjhL-VS9FEGtmG7BImaCvV0PglKhsFoDdV2nFT22NZkEoXTuQahtEwS_DGWqqUzYkNnub6WQ&smid=url-share July 25, 2023 New York Times March 12, 1984 https://web.archive.org/web/20230725214419/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/12/business/a-canadian-split-on-unions.html?unlocked_article_code=vTBQlzCORmTrZj6yGopEzyGYyGMYKYpT0hORfnkUWUVybzN8OZ6ygLhnvnixdVRKDikftDX5sylFrLv0KpVNUd24Nbcc3Tqc_I-ZFWuhhnoS4a96YWmKO6wD83N3Ympgom6C-AC-1gaejbKS9t6PVGVhnkxMWIAULSe117ALnY1KU2Pt0GHARrbWaWRZSx09lrRmrjw4bOyu12vidOyblBf2K70LfgFdu1OWqkcBngeM84RG2u35VTUDmu1nukkiIhQQVD1fbAu-o3h-meeLFjhL-VS9FEGtmG7BImaCvV0PglKhsFoDdV2nFT22NZkEoXTuQahtEwS_DGWqqUzYkNnub6WQ&smid=url-share July 25, 2023 D12 The CCU founded the Canadian Mineworkers Union, and began an organizing campaign in 1982.Donham Parker Barss Labor battles on hold as 'rebel' leader settles in https://www.proquest.com/docview/386546995 July 25, 2023 The Globe and Mail January 28, 1984 Toronto 8 386546995 subscription In a federally-supervised union election in March 1983, the miners voted 1,750 to 1,393 against affiliating with the CMU. CMU forced a second election in March 1984 when it signed up a majority of DEVCO's 3,400 workers. The UMWA's new president, Richard Trumka, flew in from Washington about a week before the second vote. His visit boosted the UMWA and the miners rejected disaffiliation a second time by a vote of 1,795 to 1,242. CMU's support declined quickly thereafter, as miners became disenchanted with the constant campaigning for votes. UMWA was never challenged again, and continued to represent miners on Cape Breton Island for the next 17 years. However, the economic viability of the Cape Breton coal mines continued to decline.DePalma Anthony Canada Shuts Atlantic Coal Mines for Efficiency https://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/28/world/canada-shuts-atlantic-coal-mines-for-efficiency.html?unlocked_article_code=CYqMve8bLRBuxwGOPR-ku-HYYitA31iJ2Zb1YxhGNx0zdlHXg2SJWq_Vw7SGSmgT4ECUEFZ-i3VnnkrAn3wj-M2AeNtf2yShoja4S7FwlkGoutOZQfupDzad36X60XznfsMTyl8txrKkO7199BxgQqgqxoT-1JbB8AelxXXq5daZl08hH1q4L8qjKM43dbYvLin9LtU0C7s71MeSUU9oX0_ydqTCzRwkp0QEqnRvDiK12uIybl-ZrYF7ep6WIjVR81QoMtwq3ygEQJcAvM1ST5PWWR6f8WaOVomviKea1xn8TPgOnJxZ5gba_aE9Iem1Q79w5r6vRf4wcIfh3ZhlQ60UAg-3hcWp6YKCGjPE3GpE7WxOVZ5V&smid=url-share July 24, 2023 New York Times August 28, 2001 A4 https://web.archive.org/web/20230725012628/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/28/world/canada-shuts-atlantic-coal-mines-for-efficiency.html?unlocked_article_code=CYqMve8bLRBuxwGOPR-ku-HYYitA31iJ2Zb1YxhGNx0zdlHXg2SJWq_Vw7SGSmgT4ECUEFZ-i3VnnkrAn3wj-M2AeNtf2yShoja4S7FwlkGoutOZQfupDzad36X60XznfsMTyl8txrKkO7199BxgQqgqxoT-1JbB8AelxXXq5daZl08hH1q4L8qjKM43dbYvLin9LtU0C7s71MeSUU9oX0_ydqTCzRwkp0QEqnRvDiK12uIybl-ZrYF7ep6WIjVR81QoMtwq3ygEQJcAvM1ST5PWWR6f8WaOVomviKea1xn8TPgOnJxZ5gba_aE9Iem1Q79w5r6vRf4wcIfh3ZhlQ60UAg-3hcWp6YKCGjPE3GpE7WxOVZ5V&smid=url-share July 25, 2023 live On September 13, 1999, DEVCO's Lingan Phalen mine was abruptly closed a year earlier than expected because of safety concerns, making 430 miners jobless.AP Staff Cape Breton colliery, closes lays off 430 miners https://www.proquest.com/docview/1348927609 July 25, 2023 Toronto Star The Associated Press Torstar September 14, 1999 A6 1348927609 subscription DEVCO closed all mines in 2001, and UMWA Local 26 disbanded.CBC Staff Cape Breton's Last Underground Coal Mine Closing https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/cape-breton-s-last-underground-coal-mine-closing-1.296787 July 24, 2023 CBC News Canadian Broadcasting Corporation November 22, 2001 https://web.archive.org/web/20201024100017/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/cape-breton-s-last-underground-coal-mine-closing-1.296787 October 24, 2020 Toronto live Citations See also Canadian Mineworkers Union List of incidents of civil unrest in Canada William Davis Miners' Memorial Day References Earle, Michael and Gamberg, Herbert. "The United Mine Workers and the Coming of the CCF to Cape Breton." Workers and the State in Twentieth Century Nova Scotia. Michael Earle, ed. Fredericton, Nova Scotia: Acadiensis Press, 1989. 0-919107-21-4 Forbes, Ernest R. The Maritime Rights Movement, 1919–1927. Paperback ed. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1979. 0-7735-0330-7 Frank, David. "Industrial Democracy and Industrial Legality: The UMWA in Nova Scotia, 1908–1927." In The United Mine Workers of America: A Model of Industrial Solidarity? John H.M. Laslett, ed. State College, Penn.: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1996. 0-271-01537-3 Macgillivray, Don. "Military Aid to the Civil Power: The Cape Breton Experience in the 1920s." In Cape Breton Historical Essays. Don Macgillivray and Brian Tennyson, eds. Sydney, Nova Scotia: College of Cape Breton, 1980. 0-09-233604-3 Mackay, Ian and Morton, Suzanne. "The Maritimes: Expanding the Circle of Resistance." In The Workers' Revolt in Canada, 1917–1925. Craig Heron, ed. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998. 0-8020-8082-0 MacKinnon, Harvey. "Cape Breton Coal Unrest." New Maritimes. February 1983. Meller, John. The Company Store: James Bryson McLachlan and the Cape Breton Coal Miners, 1900–1925. Toronto: Doubleday Canada Limited, 1983. 0-385-12812-6 Remple, Chris. "Cape Breton Miners Tell Story of Their Fight." The Militant. March 27, 2000. External links Cape Breton Miners' Museum Cape Breton Development Corporation Category:Labour disputes in Nova Scotia Category:Labor disputes led by the United Mine Workers of America Category:Miners' labour disputes in Canada Category:1981 labor disputes and strikes Category:1981 in Nova Scotia Category:Mining in Nova Scotia Category:July 1981 in Canada Category:August 1981 in Canada Category:September 1981 in Canada Category:October 1981 in Canada Category:Riots and civil disorder in Canada