THE GROWTH OF 'WHITE COLLAR' WORK, 1940-1975
While the process of industrialization continued after 1940, there was increasing emphasis in the economy on service industries such as health care, and on the growth of government services. The struggle between managers and workers led to the expansion of industrial unions and eventually to the emergence of public service unions. Labour made substantial gains early in the period in the legal recognition of unions, but efforts to automate and reduce the workforce led to further conflict.
The influence of the union movement increased dramatically during and after the Second World War. The number and influence of industrial unions grew during the 1940s. Coming to prominence were the International Woodworkers of America on the West Coast;
Bench fleshing, 1953
© Library and Archives Canada [LAC] , C-39187 / Frederick Taylor |
the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers in the mining areas of Northern Ontario; the United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers; the United Steelworkers of America; and the auto workers who forced Ford to recognize the United Automobile Workers of America as their union after a strike in Windsor in 1945. These unions worked to bring about landmark judicial decisions and changes in labour legislation after the Second World War that recognized the right of workers to organize and facilitated the efforts of unions to bargain for their members. These improvements smoothed the waters between managers and workers and encouraged greater unity within the labour movement. The process climaxed in 1955-56 with the merger of two traditional rivals, the
Trades and Labour Congress of Canada (TLC) and the
Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) to form the
Canadian Labour Congress.
Meanwhile, the number of workers in the 'white collar' category was increasing. This category usually includes workers not involved in manual labour and providing services rather than creating products. It had its origins in the early years of the 20th century, when corporations sought to increase efficiency by establishing detailed record-keeping and other functions. The result was the emergence of the modern office staffed by clerical workers, most of them women. These employees usually struggled with low wage levels and limited advancement possibilities and were vulnerable to the inroads of automation. Attempts to organize them were largely unsuccessful before the establishment of public service unions after the Second World War.
Public service unions began to emerge in the late 1950s, as the size of government increased and workers raised concerns about wages, job security and other issues. Post office employees organized the first effective public unions, the Letter Carriers' Union of Canada and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers.
Sardine canning at Black's Hardbour; Shipping and Packing Department; World's largest sardine cannery
© Library and Archives Canada [LAC] , PA-41684 |
In the 1960s, postal workers made efforts to block the introduction of automation threatening their jobs. Meanwhile, provincial and federal workers were in the midst of organizing. In 1963, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) was formed. Serving mainly provincial workers, many of them hospital employees, it became the largest union in Canada by 1975. On the federal level, the Public Service Staff Relations Act and two accompanying bills passed in 1967 gave federal employees the right to strike in order to resolve grievances over job security and automation. This resulted in the formation of the Public Service Alliance of Canada from former less militant 'staff associations'. Public service unions have been among the largest and most militant labour organizations ever since.