Labour pioneers remembered today

Chief among those honoured is Tubal Uriah ‘Buzz’ Butler who rallied workers in the midst of rising tensions between employers and employees in different sectors. Worker abuse, underpayment for labour, racism, economic depression and a considerable fall in the living standards of the working class were rampant at the time.

Labour Day falls on the anniversary of the Butler Oilfield Riots that took place in 1937 and was declared an annual national holiday in 1973.

Among the many memorials of the labour movement, there are some erected in the Southland to remember the turbulent days before workers gained some respect in the workplace. While La Brea Charles may not have been among the leaders of the movement, he would forever be remembered because of his tragic involvement in the 1937 riots. In a case of mistaken identity, Charles was shot and killed by police officers who were looking for Butler on the evening of June 19,1937.

Earlier in the day, attempts were made to arrest Butler during a sit-down protest in Fyzabad. While the warrant was being read for his arrest, Butler asked angry workers if he should be arrested. They shouted, no, and moved to shield Butler. A non-commissioned police officer, Corporal Charlie King, who was neither stationed in Fyzabad, nor on duty at the time, held on to Butler attempting to arrest him but was unsuccessful. La Brea Charles is remembered today by the Oilfield Workers’ Trade Union (OWTU) as the union’s second highest award, the La Brea Charles Medal is awarded to persons for their outstanding contributions to the labour movement every year on the occasion of the union’s anniversary.

Another monument is the Butler statue erected at the Oilfield Workers’ Trade Union Fyzabad/Forest Reserve branch office. He was a born in Grenada in 1897 and moved to Trinidad in 1921 after serving in the First World War in the British West Indian Regiment under Captain Arthur Cipriani. He became involved in the labour movement throughout the years while working in the oil industry. After forming his own political party, the British Empire Workers and Citizen Home Rule Party (BEWCHRP), in 1936, he organised the 1937 protest that proved to be instrumental in the development of the labour movement in years to come. After attempting to arrest Butler, a riot ensued in which 14 people were killed and 59 injured.