Winnipeg Exhibit Explores Fight for Rights on the Job

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A miner's helmet, a nurse's uniform and a railway conductor's cap help tell the story of three important labour struggles that led to positive change for Canadian workers.

Created in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike, a new exhibit, Rights on the Job, at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights for the coming year,  shows how organized workers fought for workplace rights.

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Union members representing uranium miners in Elliot Lake, Ont., found out in 1974 that evidence had been suppressed about high incidences of lung cancer and silicosis among workers. 

They went on a three-week wildcat strike that resulted in a royal commission inquiry and led to changes that became a turning point for workplace health and safety regulations in Canada.

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Another part of the exhibit tells how Indigenous nurses organized in 1975 to form what is known today as the Canadian Indigenous Nurses Association.

It supports nurses in a medical profession that often has little understanding of Indigenous cultural practices and works to break down barriers to health care in Indigenous communities.

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Black men working for Canadian railways as sleeping car porters in the early 1900s faced racism that limited their opportunities. 

They worked long hours, with no job security or chance for promotion, and were expected to act in a servile manner.

In 1942, they joined the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters and negotiated their first collective agreement for improvements in pay, benefits and working conditions, including time to sleep.

Source: Canadian Museum for Human Rights