The Vancouver Island Coal Strike, Podcast Ep. 4
Miners had long struggled to unionize against coal barons, facing loss after loss. In 1911, the United Mine Workers of America were invited to make a final attempt to challenge the mine owners. What followed was explosive. This episode of our On the Line podcast includes vintage interviews with veterans of the strike allowing their stories to be heard in their own words, including those of women involved.
Publication date: January 5, 2021
Podcast length: 23:56
Hosted by: Rod Mickleburgh
Research and writing by: Patricia Wejr and Rod Mickleburgh
Production by: John Mabbott
The strike began over safety concerns; the mines were dangerous and had frequent deadly explosions caused by gas buildup. In 1912, after hundreds of miner deaths, the government allowed worker-appointed inspectors to report dangers. However, when Oscar Mottishaw reported gas in the Number Two Mine at Extension, he was fired. Miners protested this by taking a one-day holiday on September 16, 1912. The mine owners responded by locking them out the next day, leading to 1,600 miners in Extension, Ladysmith, and Cumberland being off the job. This escalated into a brutal fight for union recognition. Strikers were evicted from company homes, forcing them to live in tents.
The mine owners brought in strikebreakers, including vulnerable Chinese and Japanese miners threatened with deportation, and others from beyond Canada’s borders, guarded by security forces. Tensions escalated, with soldiers from the 72nd Battalion brought in to maintain order. Miners greeted the soldiers with derision and song, as heard in “Bowser’s Seventy-Twa”. Machine guns were deployed in towns.
Frustration led to violence on August 13, 1913, with rioting in Ladysmith and Extension, where homes of strikebreakers and supervisors were plundered and torched. Women played a significant role through the union’s Women’s Auxiliary, organizing meetings, raising funds, and heckling strikebreakers. A notable story involves Minnie Axelson, who used an axe to intimidate a policeman into releasing her jailed husband.
Despite the challenges, the United Mine Workers brought in Mother Jones to bolster spirits. The onset of World War I hindered labor movement support, and the union ran out of funds. In July 1914, the United Mine Workers painfully decided to cut off strike pay, and a month later, the miners voted to end their 23-month struggle. Due to blacklists, few strikers were rehired. The Vancouver Island coal miners finally organized the mines and won a union contract 20 years later.