History of canadian labour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

History of canadian labour - Essay Example The first article, â€Å"The honest Workingman and Worker’s Control: The Experience of Toronto Skilled Workers’, 1860-1892†, by Gregory S. Kealey, is an attempt to identify the trends of trade unions during the nineteenth century. The author discusses â€Å"Coopers International Union, Ontario No. 3, which played an important role in the Nine Hour Movement and the establishment of the Toronto Trades Assembly; the extensively studied International Typographical Union No. 91; and the Iron Mot-ders International Union No. 28, employed in Torontos heavily capitalized stove, machinery, and agricultural implements industry† (Kealey). What the author tries to suggest is that the working class was an organized association of trade unions, which had a disciplined way of working, and earnings were fairly decided. The second article, â€Å"Joe Beef of Montreal: Working-Class culture and the Tavern, 1869-1889†, by Peter DeLottinville, is a different account of working class in Montreal. The author chooses to represent the working class through a dominant tavern owned by Charles McKiernan, popularly known as ‘Joe Beef’. The book presents a rather different account of the hardships of working class, which were not mentioned in the previous article. Since the article mentions a period that is almost the same as the earlier article, no mention of trade unions is a surprise. Rather the working class is a beer-drinking, rowdy class that finds the middle class suspicious and though there is mention of organized strikes, but the centre of the subject is Joe Beef’s Canteen, which provided the sole entertainment enjoyed by the working class. The author has more to say about Joe Beef than the working class. However, at the same time he has introduced the conditions of working c lass through a tavern and a man, who the working class people hailed him as their â€Å"champion† (DeLottinville). The third article,