Question

Essay on Toronto printers strike of 1872

Answer 1

The 1872 Nine Hour Campaign was a wide-ranging attempt to establish a shorter day of work by organized strike action. The Toronto Typographical Union printers went in strike in late March for a nine-hour day. They paraded to Queen's Park on April 15, with union supporters. A crowd of 10,000 strong gathered in support of them close here. Employers, led by the "Globe" Liberal George Brown, had been charged with criminal conspiracy by strike leaders. Prime Minister John A. Macdonald, wanting the protection of workers, passed the Trade Union Act, which defined the legitimacy of labor unions.

While some limits on union participation persisted, the strike won the TTU a nine-hour day and dramatically altered the relationships between employees, employers and the government.

Everything appeared to sway the principal adversary of the protesters, George Brown, the Globe editor. He launched immediate legal action which the next day resulted in the arrest of the criminal conspiracy strike committee. It was a shocking revelation that union activity was illegal, under Canadian law.

While the Toronto strike failed in the short term, the broader movement, the Nine-Hour Movement, would eventually lead as a norm to the nine-hour day, leading to regular workers' gatherings that developed into Labor Day. The Toronto printers were pioneers of the shorter workweek; until the turn of the century, the movement did not hit New York or Chicago.