Olivier-David Benoît
Encyclopedia
Olivier-David Benoît was a shoemaker by trade and attained importance in history as a trade union leader.
Benoît had his early trade union experience with an American based group called the Knights of Labor
. Expanding from the United States to Canada in the late 19th century, they supported a radical set of social reforms. They were politically active and worked to educate the public with their positions
Olivier-David Benoît was a first generation labour leader who believed in the ideals espoused by the Knights and worked to give working people a societal voice. In a notable case, Benoît appeared before the Royal Commission on the Relations of Capital and Labor in Canada chaired by James Sherrard Armstrong
. In that appearance he was to make his case about the conditions faced by workers in the boot and shoe industry.
Benoît had his early trade union experience with an American based group called the Knights of Labor
Knights of Labor
The Knights of Labor was the largest and one of the most important American labor organizations of the 1880s. Its most important leader was Terence Powderly...
. Expanding from the United States to Canada in the late 19th century, they supported a radical set of social reforms. They were politically active and worked to educate the public with their positions
Olivier-David Benoît was a first generation labour leader who believed in the ideals espoused by the Knights and worked to give working people a societal voice. In a notable case, Benoît appeared before the Royal Commission on the Relations of Capital and Labor in Canada chaired by James Sherrard Armstrong
James Sherrard Armstrong
James Shearer Armstrong was a Canadian lawyer, jurist, and landowner from Quebec. From 1871, he served as the Chief Justice for the colony of St. Lucia and in 1880, he was additionally appointed Chief Justice of Tobago...
. In that appearance he was to make his case about the conditions faced by workers in the boot and shoe industry.