Gregory S. Kealey in his article "The Honest Workingman" and Workers' Control: The Experience of Toronto Skilled Workers, 1860 - 1892" talks about the amount of power available to workers in Canada during the development of the industrial revolution. The workers possessed a remarkable amount of power and through monopoly on skills could easily dictate the terms to the employers as well as have considerable influence in community affairs and even politics. The author investigates in-depth the practice of three Toronto unions within the second half of the 19th century in order to illustrate the power of the working class in the chosen time frame. The three analyzed unions are Ontario No. 3, Union No. 91, and Union No. 28. The author notes that…show more content… Some workers in particular spheres realized their imminent lack of relevance in the production and saw to it that this moment comes in the 20th century rather than sooner. They managed to make the knowledge of their sphere exclusive to a very limited group of people. Unions were made into unstoppable juggernauts which never failed to pressure the employers into providing better conditions for the workers on all fronts. A union was an effective way to protect various rights of the worker bothering the latter in case of strikes only when drastic measures had to be taken in order to make the employers heed the plight of the workers and satisfy their demands. Unions were effective in the era clearly because the industrialization was still on its way up, therefore some knowledge could still be hidden from the corporations and used to protect the interests of workers making them personas of interest. For better or for worse, the corporations have won and have managed to place themselves higher than the interests of the workers. Technologies have developed so swiftly and efficiently that most workers indeed became obsolete despite their efforts to remain needed and desired at the labour market. Right now the unions do not have nearly as much power as they used to, which is negative for the workers, first and foremost. The employers can finally reap the profits and not worry about the workforce too much, because with the current employment crisis in the country, the number of those wishing to get any position would be high enough to occupy any position quickly. Back then, in the 19th century, the actions done by the workers were correct and timely. Alas, it was simply not enough to stop the march of technologies towards as much
