Spigelia Marilandica

The Canadian Congress of Labour (CCL; French: Congrès canadien du travail) was a trade union federation in Canada. Affiliated with the United States–based Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). It was founded in 1940 and merged with Trades and Labour Congress of Canada (TLC) to form the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) in 1956.

Founding

In 1939, the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) supporters were expelled from the TLC, due to the demands of the American Federation of Labor (AFL).^[1] This split had to do with the CIO unionizing industrial trades, and the AFL organizing craft trades.^[1] The expelled unions included the Steel Workers Organizing Committee, now called the United Steelworkers (USW); United Auto Workers of America, now Unifor; and the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA). They negotiated with the All-Canadian Congress of Labour and founded the Canadian Congress of Labour in 1940 to rival the TLC.^[1] At its founding, it had 100,000 members, and grew to 250,000 by 1943.^[1]

The Congress' founding executive included Aaron Mosher (Canadian Brotherhood of Railway Employees), Silby Barrett, Sol Spivak, and Charles Millard (Steelworkers). They were all members of the social democratic Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) political party. They were united in the belief that labour should be involved in politics.^[1]

In 1981 a postage stamp, depicting Mosher flanked by two railway workers, was issued to commemorate the centenary of Mosher's birth.^[2]

Leadership

Presidents

1940: Aaron Mosher

Secretary-Treasurers

1941: Pat Conroy

1951: Donald MacDonald

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

• Caplan, Gerarld (1973). The Dilemma of Canadian Socialism: The CCF in Ontario. Toronto: McClelland and Stewart.
• Horowitz, Gad (1968). Canadian Labour in Politics. University of Toronto Press.