The Manitoba Government and General Employees Union

MGEU History

In the wake of the General Strike

In the aftermath of the First World War, organized labour was developing in strength throughout the country. At a time when the minimum wage, health and safety standards, unemployment insurance, and sick leave were nonexistent, workers were increasingly coming together to argue for basic employment rights, such as a 50-hour work week and a living wage. In 1919, frustrated by their lack of progress in gaining even the most basic concessions from employers, over 30,000 Winnipeg workers (from police officers to telephone operators to railway mechanics) went on general strike. It was a time of historic conflict in Canada: strike leaders were arrested; trolley cars on Main Street were overturned; and a striking worker was killed. It was in this climate of social and political change that the Manitoba Civil Servants’ Association was formed, with a goal to, through consultation with the government, "improve the conditions and advance the status of all civil servants." Since employment benefits were non-existent at the time, members came together in a cooperative spirit to create various "benevolent" funds to help widows and orphans of government employees, as well as the ill or injured. The MCSA also functioned as a social club, organizing ongoing family and sporting activities for its members.

Recreation and Association

By the 1930s, the original MCSA had drifted apart. As the hardships of the Depression hit, and wages dropped, civil servants had no organization to represent them. Collective spirit survived primarily through recreational groups, such as a golf and tennis club and dramatic society. In 1935, The Provincial Club was formed to unite these various groups, as well as to deal with, on behalf of the members, employment-related issues. In ’39, pension and superannuation were achieved for all in the civil service. By 1950, the Club became the Manitoba Government Employees’ Association, and members began seeing gains in wages and reduction in hours of work.

Throughout these decades, however, the provincial governments remained adamantly opposed to trade unions. The MGEA was not a union, and its members did not have the right to bargain collectively, or to strike.

After World War

In the mean time, workers in the private sector were making progress towards trade union rights. During the Second World War, the federal government, attempting to diffuse working class discontent and provide a stable pool of labour for the war effort, legalized collective bargaining. A few years later, employees at the Ford plant in Windsor, Ontario struck for "union security" and the dues "check-off" which ensured that all employees in a unionized workplace paid union dues. Arbitrator Justice Ivan Rand constructed an historic compromise: all employees would be required to pay union dues (because all benefited from the collective agreement), but no required to sign a membership card. Hence, the "Rand formula" that applies today to all employees covered by MGEU contracts.

It was only a matter of time before such legislation would have an impact on the public sector. In 1957, MGEA members in Crown Corporations and the Manitoba Liquor Corporation were given collective bargaining rights. And in 1966, the first collective agreement was signed between the civil service and the government. A Bill passed one year earlier gave members of MGEA the right to resolve bargaining issues through mediation if a settlement could not be negotiated, although the cabinet retained the right to overrule the decision of the mediator. There was no dues check-off, and no right to strike.

Into the new millennium

It was in the seventies that the MGEA really came into its own as a union. In ’74, in response to membership discontent, the MGEA held three conventions. As a result, the organization was restructured from top to bottom in order to deal more effectively with contract negotiations. Instead of being organized by department, the membership was now grouped into bargaining units based on occupation, such as clerical, trades, and social sciences. It joined the Canadian Labour Congress later that year and worked with the Manitoba Federation of Labour in opposing wage and price controls.

With the Corrections Component strike of 1977, and the Liquor Commission strike of 1978, the union tested its maturity, as well as its legal rights. For the first time, it was clear to members that government employees in Manitoba had the right to strike.

From the mid-70s, the MGEA grew steadily, expanding to recruit members working in arts organizations, universities and social service agencies. In 1982, the Institutional Employees’ Union merged with the MGEA. Over 2,300 workers in 24 health care facilities across Manitoba voted 95% in favour of the merger.

In 1992, at the MGEA’s fiftieth annual convention, the name of the organization was changed to the Manitoba Government Employees’ Union.

Today, what started out as a benevolent fund and social club for provincial civil servants at the beginning of the century, now gives voice to the interests and concerns of over 30,000 working Manitobans. Thus, in 2000, members decided it was once again time to update the name to reflect our diversity and strength. We entered the new millennium as the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union.