What is a Labour Landmark?
The term labour landmark originated with the folklorist and historian Archie Green, who explained that labour landmarks consist of “statues, plaques, mosaics, burial scenes, and industrial sites.” [1] They are instrumental in enshrining workers’ “public memories,” which are the separate experiences of groups within society, within the larger “collective memory” of the community. The goal of these representations is to create a more inclusive community conceptualization of the labour past, one that does not exclude certain groups in deference to traditional narratives. Many of these commemorations represent industrial disasters, labour leaders, and strikes.
The majority of labour landmarks in industrial Cape Breton are dedicated to the coal and steel industries, with 15 monuments dedicated to coal, three to steel, one to the fishing industry, and two others. The primacy of the coal and steel industries in the commemorative landscape of Cape Breton is a result of the importance of those enterprises in the region’s history. During the 20th century, the coal mines and steel plant were the primary employers on the island. Organizations such as the United Mineworkers of America and the United Steelworkers of America have been instrumental in erecting many of these monuments, especially in the period after 1980.
The dominance of the coal and steel monuments in the commemorative landscape reflects the organizational ability of workers and their unions. While the UMWA and USWA had already developed an organizational structure that was suited to undertaking these types of projects, non-organized workers might have given less priority to the erection of a monument. Certainly, each of the existing monuments indicates a developed working-class consciousness, an awareness of the industrial past, and a desire to mark the experiences of Cape Breton’s workers. This is also true of the three labour landmarks that are not explicitly dedicated to the coal and steel industries: a monument dedicated to all workers in Sydney, a memorial in Sydney Mines to the local man who won the Boston Marathon in 1926, and a monument to fishermen in Port Morien. Each of these labour landmarks ensures that the communities of industrial Cape Breton, now going through a process of deindustrialization, will retain an awareness of local working-class consciousness and labour history.
Footnotes
[1] Archie Green, “Labor Landmarks Past and Present,” Labor’s Heritage vol. 6, no. 4 (Spring, 1995).
The majority of labour landmarks in industrial Cape Breton are dedicated to the coal and steel industries, with 15 monuments dedicated to coal, three to steel, one to the fishing industry, and two others. The primacy of the coal and steel industries in the commemorative landscape of Cape Breton is a result of the importance of those enterprises in the region’s history. During the 20th century, the coal mines and steel plant were the primary employers on the island. Organizations such as the United Mineworkers of America and the United Steelworkers of America have been instrumental in erecting many of these monuments, especially in the period after 1980.
The dominance of the coal and steel monuments in the commemorative landscape reflects the organizational ability of workers and their unions. While the UMWA and USWA had already developed an organizational structure that was suited to undertaking these types of projects, non-organized workers might have given less priority to the erection of a monument. Certainly, each of the existing monuments indicates a developed working-class consciousness, an awareness of the industrial past, and a desire to mark the experiences of Cape Breton’s workers. This is also true of the three labour landmarks that are not explicitly dedicated to the coal and steel industries: a monument dedicated to all workers in Sydney, a memorial in Sydney Mines to the local man who won the Boston Marathon in 1926, and a monument to fishermen in Port Morien. Each of these labour landmarks ensures that the communities of industrial Cape Breton, now going through a process of deindustrialization, will retain an awareness of local working-class consciousness and labour history.
Footnotes
[1] Archie Green, “Labor Landmarks Past and Present,” Labor’s Heritage vol. 6, no. 4 (Spring, 1995).