May 20 - Relief Workers Sit Down in Vancouver

On this day in labor history, the year was 1938. 

That was the day unemployed workers began a sit-down strike at the post office in Vancouver, British Columbia. 

They had been organized by the Communist–led Relief Project Workers Union during the Depression. 

In Canada, federally funded works projects were being administered at the provincial level. 

By late 1937 the Prime Minister began to cut funding.

Unable to financially sustain the projects alone, provincial premier Thomas Patullo ended the works projects for British Columbia. 

Masses of unemployed men thrown off their jobs, some driven to homelessness, organized occupations of the Hotel Georgia, the Vancouver Art Gallery and the main post office to protest the cuts.

While hotel owners paid protesters to leave, the occupation at the gallery and the post office lasted for weeks. 

Finally on Father’s Day, June 18th, gallery occupiers were driven out with tear gas.

The post office strikers were met with much more violence. 

Royal Canadian Mounted Police led the assault with tear gas and forcible dragging of sit-downers out of the building.

Once evicted, they were met with the batons of local police. 

Organizers were singled out for especially severe beatings and scores were hospitalized for their injuries. 

One striker, Arthur Redseth had his eye knocked out while his fellow sit-downer had his jaw broken for asking authorities to call an ambulance for his friend. 

Strike leader, Steve Brodie suffered permanent eye damage as well. 

News of the terror spread throughout the city and by mid-afternoon 10-15,000 protesters gathered to express outrage at what became known as Bloody Sunday in Vancouver. 

Premier Patullo denounced the strikers as having received too much sympathy. 

He nonetheless used the debacle as an opportunity to get federal funds reinstated.