Peace Forum event 2019 - 100th anniversary of the Winnipeg General Strike

2019 is the 100th anniversary of what has been called ‘the Red Year.’ The
aftermath of WW1 produced a shattering of one world, and hinted at the
birth of another “from the ashes of the old” to quote a line in Solidarity
Forever. From Berlin to Budapest to Seattle workers fought to both win
their goals and to create a different society. Canada was part of that
struggle.

Probably the high point that year for Canadian workers was the Winnipeg
General Strike. From the 15th of May until the 25th of June Winnipeg
workers and their allies fought for both trade union demands and a new
world. The forces arrayed on both sides were indicators of the changes in
the world and in Canadian society - from the impact of the war to the
echoes of the Russian Revolution, the role of immigrants in Canadian
society and the function of trade unions.

While the strike was defeated it resonates to this day among social
activists and trade unionists. The issues that confronted workers in
Winnipeg remain, as do questions of strategy.

The World Peace Forum Society will commemorate the strike by presenting
some history and look at the issues raised and their implications today
for peace and social justice activists within and without the trade union
movement.

Program: The World Peace Forum Society presents

We’ll watch a segment of the documentary ‘The Notorious Mrs. Armstrong’, about Helen Armstrong, one of the women who led the resistance.

Ingo Schmidt, chair of the Athabasca University Labour Studies program, will discuss the concept and theory of the general strike.

Gary Cristall, long time activist and grandson of a Brandon 1919 solidarity strike activist, will look at the 1983 movement towards a general strike in B.C.