View source for Mine Workers' Union of Canada

{{Infobox union
|name         = Mine Workers' Union of Canada (MWUC)
|location_country= Canada
|affiliation  = [[Workers' Unity League]]
|members      =
|full_name    =
|image        =
|founded      = 1925
|headquarters = Canada
|key_people   = President: James Sloan
|website      =
|native_name  =
|dissolved    = August 22, 1935
|merged       =
|footnotes    =
}}
The '''Mine Workers' Union of Canada''' was a [[trade union]] in the mining sector in [[Canada]]. MWUC was affiliated to the [[Workers' Unity League]],<ref name="sloan"/> and lasted for approximately a decade.
==Founding==
MWUC was founded in 1925, as [[Alberta]] rank and file unionists broke away from the [[United Mine Workers of America]] District 18. Several of the founders of the union were cadres of the [[Communist Party of Canada]].<ref name="acc">Worley, Matthew. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=857cMqogQY4C In Search of Revolution: International Communist Parties in the Third Period]''. London: Tauris, 2004. p. 223</ref> By September 1926 MWUC was the largest miners' union in Alberta, with around 4,000 members in fifteen camps.<ref>Caragata, Warren. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=b-sedCcCUAEC Alberta Labour A Heritage Untold]''. Toronto [Ont.]: J. Lorimer, 1979. 92</ref>
MWUC was one of the founders of the [[All-Canadian Congress of Labour]] in 1927.<ref name="acc"/>
==Leadership==
James Sloan was the president of MWUC.<ref name="sloan">Abella, Irving M. On Strike; Six Key Labour Struggles in Canada, 1919-1949. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=tGa5ju-XbyEC Major strikes in Canadian history, 1]''. Toronto: James Lewis & Samuel Publishers, 1974. p. 44</ref> L. Maurice was the vice president of the union.<ref>Abella, Irving M. On Strike; Six Key Labour Struggles in Canada, 1919-1949. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=tGa5ju-XbyEC Major strikes in Canadian history, 1]''. Toronto: James Lewis & Samuel Publishers, 1974. p. 66</ref> John Stokaluk was the national secretary of MWUC.<ref>Endicott, Stephen Lyon. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=1bIZESlFpXAC Bienfait: The Saskatchewan Miners' Struggle of '31]''. Toronto [u.a.]: Univ. of Toronto Press, 2002. p. 96</ref> <!--were these the only officers in these positions for the whole existence of the UMWC?-->
==1931 Bienfait-Estevan struggle==
[[File:RCMP officers during the Estevan Riot.JPG|thumb|RCMP officers during the Estevan Riot]]
{{Main|Estevan Riot}}
In the summer of 1931 MWUC was contacted by miners from [[Bienfait]] and [[Estevan]] in [[Saskatchewan]]. The Bienfait-Estevan miners lived in miserable conditions, but the [[Trades and Labour Congress of Canada]] had paid little attention to them. MWUC sent its organizers to Bienfait-Estevan. MWUC was able to mobilize a large majority of local miners, preparing for a strike. The mine owners rejected negotiations, and the mayor of Estevan prohibited manifestations<!--of what--> by MWUC. When the MWUC took to the streets to protest, they were met with police fire. Three people were killed on September 29, 1931.<ref name="Desmond"/> Twelve miners were arrested in the aftermath. Following these events, MWUC lost its foothold in the area.<ref name="Desmond">Morton, Desmond. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=tYauaHxc51kC Working People: an Illustrated History of the Canadian Labour Movement]''. Montreal [u.a.]: McGill-Queen's Univ. Press, 1998. pp. 143-144</ref>
==Registration==
MWUC was registered<!--as a corporation/association, or as something else?--> with the Canadian authorities on March 19, 1926. The registration was cancelled by the Department of Secretary of State on August 22, 1935.<ref>Abella, Irving M. On Strike; Six Key Labour Struggles in Canada, 1919-1949. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=tGa5ju-XbyEC Major strikes in Canadian history, 1]''. Toronto: James Lewis & Samuel Publishers, 1974. p. 74</ref>
==References==
{{Portal|Organized labour}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Defunct trade unions in Canada]]
[[Category:1925 establishments in Alberta]]
[[Category:1935 disestablishments in Canada]]
[[Category:Mining trade unions]]
[[Category:Trade unions established in 1925]]
[[Category:Workers' Unity League]]
[[Category:United Mine Workers of America]]