Every Year for 10 years the Joseph Mairs Memorial Committee has staged an event to honour Joseph and talk about the 'Common Condition' of working people and how we can all pursue justice and equality. He died just before his 22nd birthday, after being arrested during the 2 year long strike coal miners on Vancouver Island waged for the eight hour day, health and safety and wages. The Nanaimo mines
were unionised in the 1880's but the Dunsmuir Mines proved very hard to organise due to the powerful influence of the Dunsmuir family. In 1911-1912 the United Mine Workers of America succeeded in organising all the mines on the Island. A bitter strike started in Sept. 1912 that lasted until the start of World War I. The Vancouver and Nanaimo Coal Co settled in 1913 but the other three owners would not. They brought in strikebreakers and evicted strikers from company housing. Clashes broke out between strikers and the police and strikebreakers at all the mines. The AG William Bowser sent in the militia and they remained until the end of the strike. Joseph was arrested on August 15, 1913 after the Militia retook the Town of Ladysmith from striking miners. Miners had held the town from August 12th to 15th. They stoned the residences of scabs and drove them out of town. He was sentenced to one year in jail and a $100 fine. In January, Joseph became ill and receiving no medical attention died on January 14th, 1914.
