MikeDunnAuthorToday in Labor History February 14, 1949: Canadian asbestos workers began a six-month strike. It also marked the beginning of the Quiet Revolution, a period of intense socio-political change in Quebec. The strike began at midnight on February 14, when miners walked off the job at four asbestos mines. Most of the mines were owned by American or English-Canadian companies, but most of the workers were francophones. The largest company was the American Johns-Manville firm. The workers’ demands included the elimination of asbestos dust inside and outside of the mill and a small raise. Six weeks into the strike, Johns-Manville hired scabs to keep the mines open. 5,000 strikers attacked the scabs, destroying their property and intimidating them through force. Miners and police fought on the picket line. They arrested hundreds of miners. On March 14, someone blew up a part of a railroad track leading into the Johns-Manville property. On May 5, the strikers barricaded a mine and every road into and out of town. They only backed down when the police pledged to open fire on them. The next day, the police beat miners and began mass-arresting them. This intimidated the union leadership to the point that they gave in and agreed to return to work with few gains.
#workingclass #LaborHistory #PoliceBrutality #strike #scab #asbestos #quebec #mining
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