Volume 10, numéro 2, mars 1955

FR :

Comment à la fin du siècle dernier a germé dans l'esprit des travailleurs montréalais l'idée d'avoir un parti politique ouvrier ? Après sa fondation, quelle a été l'expérience de ce parti dans sa participation aux luttes électorales, depuis 1904 à 1929, date à laquelle se termine cette étude. L'auteur, ancien président de la C.T.C.C, qui a été personnellement mêlé à certains de ces événements indique aussi quels rapports se développèrent entre le parti ouvrier et les unions ouvrières durant la même période.

EN :

The first labour candidate in politics appeared in 1883 for a seat in the Federal parliament. Independent labour candidate, Mr. Adélard Gravel, painter, was defeated by L. O. David, Liberal.

Five years later, a typographer by the name of Lépine, a Conservative, defeated the former in the St. Louis riding for the Federal. In 1889, the bricklayer, Jos. Béland was elected in the district of Ste-Marie for the Provincial. The Knights of Labor helped with the election of these two workers who were members of that organization.

At this time, a Central Council of Trades and Labour in Montreal was grouping together the delegates of the Knights of Labor and the Labour Unions. The Knights, who were drawn mainly from the liberal professions, followed particularly political aims but the two defeats mentioned above were not long in causing a rupture between the two groups.

The unions organized on their side in 1897, the "Council of Federated Trades" affiliated with the American Federation of Labour. Following the latter policy, the unions kept out of all partisan political action up to 1908.

Thus in 1900, the Council refused to endorse the candidature of its president, Fridolin Roberge, in the district of Ste-Marie against Israel Tarte, who was elected.

However, a small group, led by Mr. J. A. Rodier, a typographer, aspired to found a labour party, independent of the union. The party was founded in 1904, The principal directors of the Council of Federated Trades joined it with the exception of Mr. Joseph Ainey. La Presse, the French newspaper, encouraged the workers to belong to the Labour party.

The constitution of the Labour party followed that of the Independent Labour Party of England "Combat and policy against the interests of the workers and society and improve the present economic system by way of a social and corporative policy consistent with the common interests and the welfare of the whole country", was declared to be the general aim of the new Party. This was certainly a declaration with a strong tendency towards State socialism.

The same year as it was founded, the Labour Party presented two candidates for the Provincial elections: Mr. Alphonse Verville in Hochelaga and Mr. Achille Latreille in St. Louis. Both lost their deposit.

Two well-known socialists then joined the Labour Party, Mr. Albert St. Martin, official Court stenographer and Gustave Francq, typographer.

On October 15, 1904, a delegation from France, after an educational trip to the United States, was received in Montreal, at a public meeting arranged on the spur of the moment, the same evening. Four members of the delegation, out of 10 representatives of different French labour organizations, threw at the audience, composed mainly of union members, socialists and a few free-masons, strange and fiery words in regard to the universal community of interest of international socialism, on the orientation of trade unions toward the form of producers' unions and on the necessity of preparing the workers for the social transformation "sudden and spontaneous" etc. It was to be noted in particular the impudent abuse against the clergy and the religious orders that one among them permitted himself, and the meeting which finally closed by the singing of the "International" of which the printed words had been distributed to all the audience.

This meeting did not fail to increase in certain labour circles of Montreal, for years after, the sentiment of religious distrust and class spirit which already existed there.

In 1908, the Labour Party, presented two candidates: the first, Alphonse Verville, was successful in a complementary Federal election which took place in the Spring. Alphonse Verville was at that time President of the Trades and Labour Congress of Canada, a position he occupied for a year. Mr. Verville saw after this his Federal mandate renewed three consecutive times. The second candidate was Mr. Jos. Ainey in the general elections in the Fall. He was defeated in the district of Ste. Marie. In presenting himself, Mr. Ainey reversed his former position of opposition to direct political action.

In 1907, the Labour Party and the Trades and Labour Council welcomed to the Monument National, Mr. Keir Hardie, socialist leader of the Labour Party of England. For two hours, Keir Hardie unfolded the plan of combining "tirade unionism" with socialism in the political field.

A few months later at the Provincial elections, the Party presented two candidates in Hochelaga and St. Jacques. These were Messrs. Gustave Francq and Albert St. Martin, who both lost their deposits. Shortly after, the Party's constitution was amended in such a way as to permit union to become affiliated as a unit. Before that the union members had to join the Party individually. For its part, the Trades and Labour Council also changed its constitution to pledge the union delegates to conform to both the Council's constitution and that of the Party and to support the latter's programme. However, in 1913, the engagement regarding the Labour Party was done away with.

In 1910, Mr. Ainey was elected to the Board of Control of Montreal with the particular support of the Citizens' Committee.

In the general elections of 1911, Mr. J.O. Massé, machinist, President of the Trades and Labour Council ignored this rule in presenting himself in Ste. Marie. He was defeated. However, disorder reigned in die Council. The following year, three candidates of the Council and of the Party, Messrs. G. R. Brunet, pressman, Narcisse Arcand and David Giroux were defeated; the first two in the Provincial and the latter in the Municipal.

In 1913, under the tide of "A Dream", Mr. Gustave Franco, in the Labour Day programme, wrote an article in which he saw himself, in the rather distant future, the day after an election which had sent to Parliament quite a considerable number of Labour Party members. Result, he said, which has not been attained without "destroying prejudices, upsetting constitutions, battling our own members..." in order that the light be stronger than he methods of those who wish to maintain the people in ignorance, etc."

After the publication of this article, dissension appeared in the ranks of the Labour Party, the Trades and Labour Council eliminated from its constitution the obligation which bound the delegates of the Council to the Labour Party.

In 1916, the many candidates presented for Aldermen by the Labour Party and by Federation of Municipal Clubs, founded shortly before, were ruthlessly defeated.

The year 1916 marked the start of the breaking-up of the political labour movement in Montreal. However in die month of September, 1917, the Trades And Labour Congress of Canada decided on the formation of a National Labour Party and recommended to the union members to found one in each Province. In fact, a few weeks later, the Labour Party and the Trades Council of Montreal, held a Provincial labour conference. The immediate founding of a Provincial section of the National Labour Party was decided upon. The organizations to belong were labour unions, workers' clubs, cooperative agricultural societies, socialist and fabian organizations".

Under the protection of the new Provincial Party, two candidates were elected in 1919; Messrs. Aurèle Lacombe, tramway employee, and Dollard Laurendeau, wagon-maker. On the other hand, Alfred Mathieu was defeated and the following year, Alphetus Mathieu was also defeated in St. Jacques for the Federal.

In 1921, on the occasion of partial elections in the Province, the Trades and Labour Council acting alone, presented four candidates: Messrs. Cyriac Gauthier, Zoël Tardif, Alfred Mathieu and Jos. Gauthier; only the latter was elected in Ste. Marie.

In the Provincial elections of 1923 again acting alone, the Trades Council presented five candidates who were all defeated: Messrs. Aurèle Lacombe, Dollard Laurendeau, Narcisse Arcand, Jos. Gauthier and Alfred Mathieu.

A few years later the Trades Council definitely separated itself from the Labour Party. Such has been the experience of "International" unionism in Montreal during forty years in the field of parliamentary political action.

FR :

Le profession d'instituteur laïc est belle, noble et importante; tout comme celles des autres travailleurs, elle comporte également ses exigences et suscite ses problèmes, nombreux et complexes. Celui du traitement, dans la province de Québec, revêt une importance particulière. L'auteur s'y arrête et essaye de faire ressortir les facteurs déterminants de salaire minimum en se basant sur les faits, et en envisageant le rôle de l'Etat et des associations professionnelles.

EN :

A study of the salary of the lay-teacher in our Province puts us right into the heart of the school question. I would like, briefly, to emphasize some factors which appear to affect the teacher's salary and to examine on what basis this important problem should be considered in the future.

THE FACTS

In consulting the most recent statistics, we note the following facts: The number of teachers without diploma is increasing. For instance, the number of non-qualified women has increased from 1,087 to 1,561 in the whole Province, between 1951 and 1954.

We note, furthermore, that women represent 86% of all lay-teachers and that in general their turnover is very high. It has been noted that the lay-man in the teaching profession works during an average of 15.89 years whereas the lay-woman in the field gives only 3.79 years of her life to teaching. The average salary paid to lay-men in 1950-1951 was $2,791.00 whereas that of lay-women was $895.00. It would seem that the lay-man in each category receives a basic salary approximately double that of his feminine colleague.

From the statistics, we may infer that women are attracted to the profession more than men, either because it is more their vocation, that they have more normal schools at their disposition, or finally that the salary offered, even if it is ridiculously low compared to their masculine colleagues, is sufficient while they are waiting for their eventual wedding-day. In any case, women are the principal competitors of men and their willingness to teach at a lower wage has as effect both to limit the number of men in the profession and to exercise a general deflationary effect on all salaries. Furthermore, the heavy turnover among lay-women in the teaching profession prevents the average salary of the whole profession to rise. Finally, we must add the deflationary effect of the salaries paid to non-qualified teachers and also the lack of uniformity between individual and collective agreements. In 1951, out of a total of 23,862 teachers, men and women, which made up the teaching personnel in the schools under the control of the school commissions, 9,149, that is 39.4% of all the teaching personnel, consisted of teachers belonging to religious orders, receiving salaries much lower than their lay-colleagues. No wonder if the profession does not offer much attraction. The profession may present such risks of insecurity, instability and unfavourable working conditions that eventual candidates often turn aside and go to other fields of activity to find what the profession no longer seems to offer them.

UNDERLYING FACTORS

The salary of the teacher cannot be determined according to rules most adequate for industry. In determining salaries, it is necessary to take into account the cultural objectives of our school system, the nature of the school corporation as an employer, as well as the responsibilities of the Provincial Government. It is also necessary to consider the requirements of the profession itself, as well as those of the staff member, without forgetting the interests of the association which helps and protects him.

STRICT OBLIGATIONS OF THE GOVERNMENT

The Government must intervene and make up for the deficiencies of the economic system, which, if left to itself, is not able to provide for a population with enough education to meet the normal responsibilities of a citizen. In fact, education is not an article which can be traded and a school system cannot be organized rationally in accordance with the idea of profit and. productivity; in this day, we have the most important undertaking in the Province, but the one the least able to show a profit at the end of the year.

The Provincial Government has a heavy responsibility in the sphere of education and its strictest obligations will determine both the standards that it must impose all across the Province and the controls it must exercise in order to make it succeed. On the other hand, this right of supervision and control must reconcile with the right and duty of the parents to assume a direct responsibility in the education of the family.

THE SALARY AND A WELL EDUCATED CITIZEN

One of the most important functions of government, with the close cooperation of the family, the Church, and the teaching profession, is to ensure the intellectual and moral progress of the nation. Consequently, the government has the strict obligation to guarantee that the same minimum advantages that are essential to the progress of the Province, are offered to all children, regardless of where they live, and regardless of their parents' means, either taken as individuals receiving a revenue, or collectively as paying taxes to a school commission.

THE SALARY AND THE CORPORATION ABILITY TO PAY

As a rule, the basic minimum salary of the teacher must not depend on the local ability to pay. It must be such that it should ensure continually the recruiting of a competent and qualified staff of teachers, and for all levels in our primary school system, regardless of places and, we mean here, teachers able to truly carry out the tasks required by the function assigned to them.

THE REQUIRED MINIMUM

We believe that the Province should, jointly with the Professional Associations arid the Parents' Associations, propose to the School Commissions a scale of minimum salaries for the whole Province and for different categories of teachers. The Province should make certain grants, conditional to the carrying out of such conditions imposed. For the surplus, the teachers' associations could negotiate oil an appropriate basis, taking into account local conditions.

This basic minimum, on the basis of real income, should, in itself, be attractive enough to ensure a normal recruitment, if not a small surplus of competent candidates. The salary should be equal for all, men and women in the same personnel category. The hiring of a teacher, either man or woman, should depend primarily on the pedagogic requirements, such as should be enforced by a policy as uniform and rational as possible all over the Province.

PROFESSIONAL INTERESTS

It is necessary to protect the career, both against attacks from within as well as from without. First of all, protect the professional interests by facilitating teachers' associations. It is necessary to ensure each one a salary worthy of his situation as man, as a family member, as a citizen. Thus, we will have teachers who will be as anxious to give themselves a thorough training, as to teach according to the best traditions of the profession.

THE SALARY AND THE COMMON WELFARE

The minimum salary of the teacher must meet the requirements of the general welfare, the same all over the Province, without economic or geographic discrimination. Let us ensure at least, a basic minimum of real income, one that would be the average of what industry would normally pay to an employee of whom an equivalent education was required. And let us be even more generous... There would be another step to take and this would be a heavy responsibility for the professional association: that of maintaining a high standard of recruitment and to see that the maximum salaries negotiated on the local level, really reflect the merit of the teaching staff. Greater benefits to the school system and the profession would also derive from a greater staff mobility, not only within each school commission, but also through promotions across our total school system.

EN :

A cross national analysis of managerial organization and supervisory personal in order to highlight some of the similarities and contrasts in two industrial societies, U.S.A. and Germany. The following pilot study is limited to operating management and supervision of two steel works.

FR :

INTRODUCTION

La présente étude, dans l'intention des auteurs, n'est que la première d'une série amorcée dans le but de comparer les méthodes d'administration des entreprises dans des pays différents afin d'en faire ressortir les similitudes et les dissimilitudes.

L'intérêt principal de ce premier travail consiste dans la détermination d'un cadre d'analyse qui s'avérera utile dans les investigations ultérieures.

Les deux entreprises étudiées appartiennent à l'industrie de l'acier. L'une est allemande; l'autre, américaine. Leur personnel est de même importance numérique et toutes deux sont parfaitement intégrées.

POINTS DE COMPARAISON

Les auteurs ont limité leurs comparaisons aux points suivants:

1. à l'importance numérique du personnel affecté soit à la gérance, soit à la surveillance (managerial and supervisory personnel);

2. à la nature de l'éducation reçue pax ce personnel;

3. aux tendances actuelles quant à l'organisation de l'administration et à la faculté d'accès aux fonctions administratives.

RÉULTATS DE LA COMPARAISON

L'analyse a révélé que:

1. Le niveau d'éducation des officiers administratifs supérieurs et intermédiaires (top and middle management) était plus élevé dans l'entreprise allemande que dans l'entreprise américaine. En effet, dix-sept des vingt allemands appartenant au niveau supérieur d'administration ont un diplôme universitaire, alors que seulement deux des douze administrateurs américains possèdent des qualifications de même nature. Le contraste est encore plus évident au niveau intermédiaire d'administration où 119 allemands sur 183 ont des qualifications universitaires, alors que seulement 39 des 537 américains peuvent revendiquer le même honneur.

2. Par contre le niveau éducationnel des surveillants (supervision staff) est supérieur dans l'entreprise américaine.

3. De plus les officiers de l'exécutif américain ont à leur disposition beaucoup plus d'assistants techniques que leurs confrères allemands (430 contre 43) de telle sorte que le rôle d'un membre de l'exécutif américain consiste surtout à coordonner le travail de ses aviseurs alors que son confrère allemand, aux connaissances techniques plus vastes, accordera plus de temps à la surveillance technique des opérations.

4. Enfin, les américains font un usage plus grand des surveillants généraux (first line supervisors) 319 contre 1,044.

Les auteurs proposent quatre facteurs qui expliqueraient ces dissimilitudes administratives.

Deux sont directement rattachés à l'entreprise soit, la disparité relative dans l'âge et l'état de la technique de chacune des entreprises. Une entreprise jeune tire des rangs nombre de ses administrateurs, de telle sorte que ces derniers possèdent rarement un degré universitaire. C’est le cas de l'entreprise américaine. Par contre, une entreprise qui a déjà quelques décades d'existence a des chances d'être mieux structurée de telle sorte qu’on peut exiger de ses administrateurs un niveau d'éducation plus élevé. C'est le cas des allemands.

L'avancement technologique plus accentué chez les américains explique à la fois pourquoi leurs administrateurs ont à leur service un plus grand nombre d'assistants techniques seniors et s'occupent plus que leurs confrères allemands de coordonner les activités de ces derniers.

Deux autres facteurs relèvent des structures sociales des pays où sont situées les entreprises considérées et se traduisent par une disparité dans la facilité d'accès à l'éducation et l'imperméabilité des classes sociales. Leur influence sur le niveau éducationnel des administrateurs est assez évidente.

FR :

Après plusieurs années d'existence et d'expérience, l'Association des Marchands Détaillants ressent un eminent besoin de reviser ses statuts, de vérifier sa structure et de refaire ses cadres pour répondre efficacement aux exigences nouvelles de ses responsabilités sociales. Cette prise de conscience de la part de l'Association, l'auteur la décrit et de plus, il donne au lecteur une idée de son orientation nouvelle.

EN :

WHAT IT WAS

Founded in 1896, the Retail Merchants' Association, proposed itself as defender of the interests of the retail trade in the Province of Quebec. Up to now, it has grouped, under various names, thirty-two different categories of retailers; its jurisdiction has extended to sixty-seven urban centres. In brief, it has been a multi-professional association.

A multi-professional association renders services which must necessarily be diversified, of a usually individual character, without satisfying all its members. To develop, by changing itself, became a decision of extreme gravity. This decision was taken after careful consideration of the consequences involved.

WHAT IT WANTS TO BE

On October 15, 1953, the administrators of the Association endorsed the proposition of becoming an authentic employers' federation, of studying the ideal structure for making the system more effective and took on themselves the responsibility of making such a change to fulfil finally, in the social world, the responsibilities which are normally those of the employer.

The Retail Merchants' Association must and can make such a gesture. It may try but cannot predict the effectiveness of its position taken.

WHAT IS BEING DONE

An employers' federation requires a hierarchy consisting of wide-awake and active participants. The Retail Merchants' Association therefore decided to train the personnel that it intended to recruit. To that effect, it has taken on the responsibility of organizing a seminar, of which the aim is simply to train technicians in professional organization. This seminar is to be held at the University of Montreal from April 4th. Already, without the slightest publicity, forty candidates have made application and some two hundred are expected.

This seminar will be, in our every-day life, of primary importance: the candidates who will take part must follow an intensive and concentrated course in all might be required of a professional organizer of any kind; these courses will be under the supervision of two universities, the final examinations being under the care of Laval University. The diploma granted will carry the University's seal.

What will be the consequences of such an initiative? Only the experts in professional organization may foresee them. It does remain, however, that this initiative of the Retail Merchants' Association deserves to be known: it indicates a deep sense of responsibility, a sense of altruism and a constructive view of the future.

WHAT IT WILL BE

The Retail Merchants' Association will become the first authentic employers' association. It will have an organization which will have provided for all eventualities, which will be perfectly constituted, which will live by the life of its members and of which the action will be directed by fellow-workers who will have had expert training. It would be rash to anticipate the eventual importance, but we must realize the urgency for action on the part of employers, on their determining responsibilities. At least, in French Canada, a group has decided, at a relatively high cost, to contribute in a definite way to the solution of that which appears to be its duty.