What factor contributed to the Winnipeg General Strike?

• A. Long hours, unsafe and unhealthy working conditions, and low pay
• B. High wages and short hours
• C. Government suppression without reason
• D. No union organization

Answer: (A)

The situation being tested is how harsh working conditions and pay influenced workers to act collectively. After World War I, Winnipeg workers faced long hours, dangerous and unhealthy workplaces, and wages that didn’t keep up with the cost of living. These grievances created widespread frustration and a sense that demands for fair wages, safer conditions, and shorter hours were overdue. When workers organized and decided to strike in solidarity, it showed how powerful those economic and workplace concerns were as a driving force for major labor action.

The strike wasn’t about high wages or shorter hours as a given; it was driven by the opposite—low pay combined with long, unsafe hours. It also wasn’t simply government oppression motivating action, nor a situation with no union presence. In fact, unions or organized labor support played a central role in mobilizing workers and sustaining the general strike.