Chandler's Mill

Reviewed by Nancy Ross, Instructor

Chandler's Mill is part of the History Reenactment series of videos. It dramatizes the circumstances that led workers at a New Brunswick wool mill to protest their treatment to a Royal Commission in 1889. The difficulties experienced by all the workers at the mill, and their lack of power to change this exploitation leads them to organize to fight for decent working conditions and union protection.

The drama realistically highlights the terrible conditions that most workers faced in that era. The issue of child labour is emphasized when thirteen-year old Hetty falls asleep on her day off after working sixteen-hour shifts, and is severely docked in her pay for one minor error, pay that was already unfairly lower than older workers. The story also deals with the natural fears that the workers had of speaking out about these injustices. The attitude of the mill owner toward anyone who wanted to improve things is as "rabble-rousers." Interestingly, the owner also sees the government's Royal Commission on Labour as "do-gooders."

I liked this video because it puts the union struggle into an historical context that students can understand. Without being overly political, it shows how modern working conditions were improved through the efforts of ordinary working people and their unions. The video inspired a good deal of discussion and raised many questions. It challenged some assumptions about unions because it demonstrated that working conditions that we consider to be our right were not always accepted as such.

The language and action in the video was easy to understand although some students, who are more used to fast-paced television, found parts of the video slow. Comments from students include, "It's important to stick together in hard times," and "It still happens in my native country, only worse than this."