12,000 Men

The fight for decent wages and improved working conditions took on an urgency when the British Empire Steel Corporation, or BESCO, bought every single steel and coal company in Nova Scotia. When the Montreal-based company cut wages by a third, a long and bitter dispute began. The lockouts, picket lines and strikes were finally ended by brute force when provincial police and federal troops were sent in. The mine owners, however, were ultimately forced to recognize the union.