Helen Armstrong

Labor and human rights activist

• Born: June 17, 1875
• Birthplace: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Died: April 18, 1947
• Place of death: Los Angeles, California

Significance: Helen “Ma” Armstrong was a twentieth-century Canadian human and labor rights advocate who was an instrumental part of the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike. She fought for equal rights and better pay and working conditions for women. In addition, she was a lifelong advocate for disadvantaged or oppressed minorities, including the families of soldiers killed in action, single mothers, and those arrested for objecting to World War I.

Background

Armstrong was born Helen Jury on July 17, 1875, in Toronto in Ontario, Canada. She was one of ten children born to Alfred F. Jury and Emma Hart. Her father was a tailor who was himself very active in labor-related causes. He co-founded a Canadian branch of the Knights of Labour and his tailor shop, where Armstrong worked growing up, was often where groups met to discuss labor issues.

It was while working in her father’s shop that Armstrong first met George Armstrong. He was a carpenter and, like Armstrong’s father, a labor activist lobbying in favor of better working conditions and pay. The couple married in Montana in the United States on September 8, 1897, where George was working in mine construction. While there, Armstrong organized brothel and saloon workers into a sort of nursing unit to help sick and injured miners. They returned to Canada and moved to Winnipeg in 1904. They had four children; the first three—daughters Helen, Mary, and Mabel—were born in the United States between 1899 and 1903. A fourth child, a son Francis “Frank” Alfred, was born in Winnipeg in 1907.

Life’s Work

After settling in Winnipeg, Armstrong and her husband continued as labor activists. During World War I (1914–1918), she was concurrently involved in both labor organizing efforts and political issues related to the war. She strongly opposed the conscription of troops to fight in war as well as the treatment received by those who resisted conscription. Instead of forcing men into service, Armstrong supported incentivizing enlistments through higher pay and benefits for soldiers. Her beliefs were so strong that in the summer of 1917, she physically stood her ground to protect the speakers at an anti-conscription meeting, enduring a physical attack by hundreds of angry soldiers who swarmed the stage to stop the speakers. Later that year, Armstrong was arrested for distributing anti-conscription pamphlets. When conscription became law and people were jailed for resisting, Armstrong brought them food, clothing, and other items in prison. She also supported her husband’s carpentry union during a 1917 strike by bringing food to the families of picketers and even walking the picket line beside them.

At the same time as she was fighting conscription, Armstrong was organizing women workers for better rights and working conditions. She was instrumental in the reestablishment of the Winnipeg branch of the Women’s Labor League (WLL) early in 1917 and became its president, leading its efforts to support labor rights for all. She pointed out that working women were often breadwinners and not merely earning supplemental household funds, and therefore deserved a living wage. In her first year as WLL president, Armstrong organized the Retail Clerks’ Union and led the strike efforts of the female retail staff at the Woolworth in Winnipeg. Between 1918 and 1919, she organized women workers in hotels and employees of biscuit and knitting factories and laundries.

In 1919, she became a pivotal figure in the Winnipeg General Strike. The largest strike in Canadian history began on May 15 and lasted until June 25. Workers from retail stores, factories, and transit all went on strike at the same time, along with some members of the police, fire, and postal workers unions. In all, about thirty thousand people stopped working during the six-week strike. The strikers sought better wages and working conditions; the government claimed they were seeking to institute communism and the Canadian Mounted Police were sent in to break up the strike.

The Armstrongs were among the fifty-three members of the strike committee; Armstrong was one of only two women in the group. On the first day of the strike, she was arrested for disorderly conduct. She would eventually be arrested more than any other member of the strike committee on a variety of other charges, including inciting strikers, counseling to commit an indictable offense, and unlawful assembly. In addition to speaking out vocally, she also wrote editorials and encouraged acts of rebellion against those trying to break the strike. Her aggressive support was viewed negatively by strike opponents and some in the media, earning her the nickname of the Wild Woman of the West.

Those involved in the strike saw her in a very different light. They saw the many ways she supported the strikers and workers in general. For example, a soup kitchen started by Armstrong provided three free meals a day to the female strikers who were at more risk in the strike, while men were encouraged to pay what they could afford. It was actions like this that earned her the nickname “Ma Armstrong,” as she was seen as a kind and supportive presence.

When the strike came to an end, both Armstrongs—along with other members of the strike leadership—were in jail. After their release, Armstrong continued to be active in political and labor issues. She ran unsuccessfully for Winnipeg City Council twice in the early 1920s before moving to Chicago for a time. The move was prompted by the difficulty her husband had in finding work because of their involvement in the strike efforts. They returned to Winnipeg in 1929, and Armstrong lobbied on behalf of single and widowed mothers. The Armstrongs moved a few more times, eventually landing in California near one of their daughters. Armstrong died in Los Angeles on April 18, 1947, and was buried there.

Impact

Armstrong’s lifetime of work as a relentless champion of rights for workers, especially women, improved the lives of many in her Winnipeg community. She provided support not only by campaigning, lobbying, and picketing, but also by feeding people and meeting their needs, often from her own family’s resources. Her efforts have been immortalized in the 2001 documentary, The Notorious Mrs. Armstrong.

Bibliography

Andrew, Hayley. “Helen (Ma) Armstrong.” Canadian Encyclopedia, 4 Oct. 2019, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/helen-ma-armstrong. Accessed 28 June 2023.

Bernhardt, Darren. “The Wild Woman of the Winnipeg Strike.” CBC News, 30 May 2019, newsinteractives.cbc.ca/longform/helen-armstrong-wild-woman-of-the-west/. Accessed 28 June 2023.

“Helen “Ma” Armstrong.” Nellie McClung Foundation, www.nelliemcclungfoundation.com/150-trailblazers/helen-%22ma%22-armstrong. Accessed 28 June 2023.

Glover, Fred. “Winnipeg General Strike of 1919.” Canadian Encyclopedia, 7 July 2021, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/winnipeg-general-strike-of-1919-plain-language-summary. Accessed 28 June 2023.

Kelly, Paula. “Looking for Mrs. Armstrong.” Canada History, 9 Jan. 2016, www.canadashistory.ca/explore/women/looking-for-mrs-armstrong. Accessed 28 June 2023.

“Memorable Manitobans: Helen Jury “Ma” Armstrong (1875–1947).” Manitoba Historical Society, www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/people/armstrong‗hj.shtml. Accessed 28 June 2023.

Sampert, Shannon. “A Champion of Workers’ Rights ‘Wild Woman of the West’ Took Up Call of Winnipeg General Strike.” Winnipeg Free Press, 2 Dec. 2019, www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/2019/12/02/a-champion-of-workers-rights. Accessed 28 June 2023.