Parade summons spirit of 1919

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This article was published 26/05/2019 (2346 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A century after workers filled Winnipeg streets, calling for better wages and improved labour rights, the spirit of the 1919 general strike flowed through the city’s veins once again.

Thousands of union members and supporters marched through downtown on Saturday, from the Exchange District down to Broadway, as the Solidarity Forever Parade spread

It was a celebratory mood, as participants waved banners and chanted pro-labour slogans. Some marched in early 20th century style, including a horse-drawn cart and a delegation of nurses dressed in old-fashioned white smocks.

Others carried replica signs made famous in black-and-white photos of the strike, emblazoned with slogans such as “Prison Bars Cannot Confine Ideas” and “We Asked for Bread and Received a Stone.”

The parade’s presenting sponsor, UFCW Local 832, even created a tilting float modelled after — and in homage to — the iconic image of workers surrounding and overturning a street car.

After the parade, participants convened at Memorial Park for a free concert.

The 1919 strike formally kicked off on May 15 of that year, when 500 Winnipeg telephone operators didn’t show up for their morning shift. At its peak, as many as 35,000 workers had joined the strike, bringing the city to a near-standstill.

Authorities used force and arrests to try and quell the strike, erupting in the Bloody Saturday clash of June 21, 1919, in which strikers Mike Sokolowski and Mike Schezerbanowicz were shot by state forces. Both died of their wounds.

The strike was finally halted on June 26.

There are more upcoming events to commemorate the strike’s centennial, including a free Old Market Square concert on June 8 featuring Ani DiFranco and Bruce Cockburn, as well as tours and performances of Strike! The Musical.

For a full schedule of commemorative events, visit Mayworks.org/calendar.