1946 Stelco strike
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The 1946 Stelco strike was a strike by Stelco steelworkers in Hamilton, Ontario in July 1946.[1][2]
Strike[edit]
On 14 July, the workers met at the Playhouse Theatre on Sherman Avenue and voted in favour of strike action. Their demands included a 40-hour week, increased salaries, and recognition of Local 1005.[3] On 15 July, the workers walked off the job and the strike began. As workers from other unions in the city joined, the strike would reach 20% of Hamilton's industrial workforce at its height, and received support from Hamilton mayor Samuel Lawrence.[4]
During the strike, Bill Scandlan, a nail maker who had begun working at the factory just before the start of World War II, was named as the entertainment coordinator for the workers, including arranging baseball games and appearances by Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger.[5] Frank Tunney would organise a wrestling competition in support of the strike.[6]
The strike saw some violence, with Stelco hiring several hundred strikebreakers to attack the picket lines on the second day of the strike.[7] Nora Frances Henderson, the first woman to be elected to the Hamilton city council, opposed the strike.[8]
On 4 October 1946, the strike ended as workers voted 2173 to 112 to accept an agreement.[7]
Aftermath[edit]
Samuel Lawrence would win the 1946 Hamilton, Ontario, municipal election, held in December. Bill Scandlan, the strike's entertainment coordinator, would go on to run for the federal parliament with the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation in the Hamilton West riding in the 1957 and 1958 elections, later becoming Ontario NDP vice-president in teh 1960s.[5]
In April 1947, the city would demolish Woodlands Park, a city park that served as a frequent gathering spot for the striking workers.[9]
Legacy[edit]
Rob Kristofferson of Wilfrid Laurier University has called the strike "a huge event in the city’s history," saying that it "resembled a general strike."[8] In 2017, the CBC described it as "one of the most significant strikes and labour force conflicts in national history."[10]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ "1946 Stelco Strike". CBC Radio Canada. 28 August 1946. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
- ^ "1946 Strike". Hamilton Civic Museum. 25 June 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
- ^ "The 1946 Stelco strike changed the face of Hamilton". The Hamilton Spectator. 21 August 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
- ^ "July 15, 1946: Stelco strike changes the face of labour". The Hamilton Spectator. 15 July 2019. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
- ^ a b Craggs, Samantha (30 October 2019). "Bill Scandlan kept up morale during the great Stelco strike of 1946". CBC News. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
- ^ https://socialsciences.mcmaster.ca/cradle/html/siege1.htm
- ^ a b "1946 Strike". United Steelworkers of America Local 1005. 15 July 2019. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
- ^ a b McNeil, Mark (12 July 2021). "Veteran of the '46 Stelco strike remembers the bitter labour battle 75 years ago". The Hamilton Spectator. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
- ^ Nickerson, Cara (20 July 2022). "'Ghost Landscape' installation tells story of Woodlands Park role in Hamilton's labour history". CBC News. Retrieved 25 June 2024.
- ^ https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/canada-150-7-hamilton-moments-that-matter-for-canada-1.4173770