Skip to main content Skip to search Skip to search

History General

Bienfait

The Saskatchewan Miners' Struggle of '31

by (author) Stephen Endicott

Publisher
University of Toronto Press
Initial publish date
Sep 2002
Category
General, Labor
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780802084521
    Publish Date
    Sep 2002
    List Price
    $47.95
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780802035936
    Publish Date
    Sep 2002
    List Price
    $90.00
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781442670235
    Publish Date
    Sep 2002
    List Price
    $97.00

Classroom Resources

Where to buy it

Description

Against all odds, the miners of Bienfait, Saskatchewan attempted, in 1931, to change their miserable situation by organizing a union. Stephen Endicott focuses on the miners' tumultuous thirty-day strike to explore the social consequences of capitalist restructuring during the Great Depression. The miners' bid to gain union recognition with the aid of the Workers' Unity League of Canada failed, and Endicott's in?depth examination of the key factors and players attempts to explain why it did so, and why a similar union drive a decade later eventually succeeded.

Based on a large number of both oral and written primary resources, Bienfait offers a new interpretation of the role of the corporations, the government, the courts and the police and in the process demonstrates how a militant union leadership helped the workers gain the strength and unity of purpose to challenge the powers of wealth and deep-seated prejudice. Endicott opens a new chapter in the history of Canadian labour relations which reveals much about Canadians and Canadian society during the Depression.

About the author

Stephen L. Endicott is a professor emeritus in the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies at York University.

Stephen Endicott's profile page