They believed that the businesses built the city and a strike on such a grand scale "alarmed [businessmen] about their physical safety," given that businessmen as well as employers didn't really care about the working conditions and long hours their employees or workers had to work in while being paid as little as possible. Thus, from analyzing the situation they became rather concerned and hired the Royal Northwest Mounted Police (a group of mercenaries) who were paid six dollars a day (they were paid more than the police force), because even the policemen and firemen were on strike. By doing this, they hoped to protect their businesses and their own personal safety; however, this often made matters worse. The businessmen s" point of view is that they were better than the average middle class worker and they worked for him and without businesses the city of Winnipeg would never been prosperous, therefore workers working long hours in horrible working conditions was nothing to complain about. Business leaders, politicians, and industrialists formed the Citizens" Committee of One Thousand and its primary purpose was to concentrate on a campaign to disassemble the labour movement, they ignored the strikers" basic demands for improved wages and union recognition and avoided confrontation by declaring the strike a revolutionary conspiracy.
As a union member, they were the workers who were discontented and disappointed in the hideous working environments and extremely long working hours, while being paid relatively little by their employers, thus they supported the strike movement. The union leaders strongly supported and choreographed the events that took place during the strike, the peaceful aspects at the very least, they believed in "solitary forever, the union makes us strong," the union members sang this song for the same purposes as a World War I war song. The union members were advised to do nothing in order to avoid violent confrontation, however what were initially peaceful displays turned into riots rather quickly with a sizeable group of people.