A History of the Ottawa Allied Trades and Labour Association, 1897-1922: A Study of Working-Class Resistance and Accommodation by the Craft Worker

Abstract

This thesis is a history of the Ottawa Allied Trades and Labour Association in the years 1897 to 1922. The Association is a predecessor of the city's contemporary labour council, Ottawa and District Labour Council. In the years 1897 to 1922, the council derived its authority from its craft union membership, which was affiliated to the Dominion Trades and Labour Congress and the American Federation of Labor. Recent studies have altered traditional interpretations of the events in Canadian labour history, particularly following World War I. It has been generally accepted that the radicalism of the working-class was confined primarily to the western regions. A reinterpretation postulates that the events of 1919 were nation-wide. This thesis attempts to demonstrate that the Ottawa Allied Trades and Labour Association played a part in the working-class revolt of 1919, and that this radicalism was based upon prior experiences of collective bargaining and mobilization.