December 5, 1955
December 8, 1886, the AFL was one of the earliest federations of labour unions
in the U.S.[1]
Founded as an alliance of craft unions, for roughly half a century the AFL was
the only unifying agency of the labour movement in America[2].
whether union organization should be based on craft or industry became a
divisive issue. An industry-based resolution was presented which emphasized the
importance of industrial organization. The resolution was rejected, prompting
eight unions to defect. From these eight unions the CIO was born[3].
conservatism in national labour policies which did not favour organized labour.
In 1947, to make matters worse, Republican majorities in both houses of
Congress voted to enact the Taft-Hartley
Act. The Act amended the generally union friendly Wagner Act. One reason for the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act was to disempower unions, which had been growing
rapidly in both membership and strength[4]. The CIO joined with the
AFL in opposition to the Act. The AFL and the CIO put aside their differences
and, in 1955, both organizations were dissolved. They merged together to form
the AFL-CIO, which remains intact today[5].
testaments that unions are stronger when they stand together. As large and
numerous as the differences between the AFL and the CIO may have seemed, the
organizations realized they were bound by a commonality of interests and
embraced solidarity. Anyone would be hard pressed to argue that either
organization would have been better off standing alone. Had they stood alone,
it’s anyone’s guess whether either would still be standing today.
December 5, 2007
Fifty-two years
later on December 5, 2007 there was another historic event in labour history
when the National Union of Mineworkers of South Africa held a one-day strike over
concerns for working and safety conditions. Workers were concerned about the
safety conditions of the mine for a long time, with union officials stating
that the companies who owned the mines had shown a lack of concern for safety
conditions dating back to the Apartheid era. This was the first industry-wide
miners’ strike in the history of post-Apartheid South Africa[6].
The mines of
South Africa account for 7% of the nation’s GDP. With economic importance of
such a large scale, the lack of decent working conditions being provided for
the miners is but another example in a long history of the exploitation of
miners.[7]
Such exploitation is not limited to South Africa and has been a global trend.
Canada has not been immune to these practices.
Westray Mine tragedy shocked the nation. Westray was mining coal when methane
gas escaped from a seam and exploded. Twenty-six miners were killed. Two months
before the mine opened, Liberal MLA Boudreau warned that the Westray mine set
to open was one of the most dangerous mines in the world. Not only did Westray
open the mine despite the dangers, it did so without bothering to adequately
train its miners.
eagerness to get saleable coal, workers without sufficient coal mining
experience were put to work in the mines. The workers were not trained in safe
work methods and basic safety measures were either ignored or performed
inadequately.
The regulatory framework in Nova
Scotia requires that nearly all workers in underground coal mining hold a
certificate of competency. Section 11 of the Coal Mines Regulation Act (1989) sets the amount of education and work
experience necessary for the certificates. The company is responsible for
training miners. In a post-explosion investigation, the Department of Labour
concluded that the mine “had no program that was appropriate to the needs
of that mine.”
profits, Westray ignored or encouraged many unscrupulous practices, including
having miners work 12-hour shifts and using non-flameproof equipment in ways
that violated conditions set by the Department of Labour.[8]
Given the tragedy that occurred, perhaps the most egregious company practice
was to disconnect methane detectors because of frequent alarms[9].
In reporting on the explosion Justice Peter Richard said: “The Westray story is
a complex mosaic of actions, omissions, mistakes, incompetence, apathy, cynicism,
stupidity and neglect.”
to forge ahead, get the coal and sell it quickly, and the company had no qualms
about exploiting its miners to meet these ends. The company’s mandate took
precedence over safety. As a result of Westray’s greed, 26 miners are no longer
of this world. The exploitation of miners is a tale as old as mining. One
day we hope to see a final chapter to that tale.