I worked in the Delco plant of McKinnon Industries GM for a number of years, shortly after leaving school in the depth of the depression. As I recall, we had school teachers, office workers and other educated people in the plant, simply because there were no other jobs available.
When I was hired, I recall standing in line at the gates morning after morning, hoping to be selected for a job. After making application, it was up to a man in charge of hiring to select a few people at random for the jobs available that day. I was finally selected and started to work in the department producing motors for refrigerators – stator winding. It was a piece work job with a base rate of 25 cents per hour but of course, one must produce more than that to remain on the job.
Never having worked at manual labour the going was tough. My fingers soon peeled like banana skins and the pain never stopped. In addition, the constant pressure on my index fingers caused them to bend out of shape and they remain so to this day.
I soon found that being called for a job only meant that work was available for a short time. A rush order had been received and it might take a few days or a few months to fill it. If it was a longer job we would be called upon to work 12 hours per day and six and one half days a week; allowing half a day for Sunday. Many times I recall sitting at the dinner table and falling asleep before I could eat a bite.
As the ruse was over, we would stand by for a call to return to work, sometimes for half a day and sometimes longer. It depended upon the forelady of the department for how long. If you were a friend it meant a few more days and it had nothing to do with seniority.
In 1936 we heard rumours about a union being formed in Oshawa and I was contacted by a couple of boys from the foundry who were interested. I wasn’t opposed but neither was I willing to do very much at that time. My contacts were Charlie Williamson and I also met Dick Steele a Young Communist League leader who later died as an early casualty of the Second World War.
In 1937, after a strike at the Oshawa plant, an open meeting was called in St. Catharines and addressed by Charlie Millard. The hall on Queen St. was packed and Charlie Millard was a good speaker, so the ground was laid for a drive for union membership. Oshawa needed our support because we were a parts plant for their assembly line.
The following Saturday, after talking it over with my friend and co-worker, we proceeded to the union hall and I paid my initiation and union dues and much to my surprise, my friend refused to join. She refused to explain her reasons and on subsequent occasions when I asked her about it she became more and more hostile. I was the only woman in the department of approximately 12 women who joined. Subsequently two other women joined, one from my department.
During this organizational period, the superintendent, a man by the name of Tom Cook, called several plant meetings of women only and explained why they didn’t need a union, stating that he knew the names of the women already signed up. This amused me since I was the only member.
Shortly after the organizational drive, an executive was elected and I became the first recording secretary of Local 199. Jack Crozier became the president, Jack Campbell the treasurer, Bert Hillier and I believe Charlie Williamson. There may have been others but my memory fails me with their names. Robert Lewis was hired as business manager We proceeded then with the help of a lawyer from Toronto, Jake Cohen, to set up a meeting with the company to negotiate a contract with emphasis on recognition of the union. It was tough going and the management in that plant were adamant in their refusal to grant recognition or in fact any demands.
As a result of a settlement in Oshawa we were advised to accept the slim offerings and recommended acceptance to the membership. I wasn’t very happy about it but at a membership meeting in the high school auditorium with 1,200 people attending, the vote was to accept. I didn’t learn until later that our bargaining position was poor because we had a bare 50% of the employees signed up. We were able to pick up a number of stragglers after the meeting.
Our troubles weren’t over. The management did everything they could to subvert the bare bones agreement. I remember in our department a petition was circulated asking that we be dropped from the union because we were not autoworkers. As shop steward I turned the petition over to our plant committee and as a result was promptly laid off for a week. The union paid my wages rather than fight it.
Later another girl who had joined the union under my urging, was laid off and since I felt personally responsible, I continuously raised it to the union. It was taken up with top management and their position was that under the agreement signed they had a right to lay off anyone under the six month clause that we had signed. The union executive seemed prepared to accept this but I wasn’t. Our committee raised the question with top management and it was agreed that the girl would be returned to work.
Even after Carmichael, the general manager of GM agreed to this, the plant management refused. The case was taken to conciliation, we won again and plant management refused to hire the girl. Our grievance committee raised it and finally I was told to take it up with “Wecker” plant manager and give him an ultimatum. He turned shades of red and blue while I stood my ground. I had visions of being thrown out of the office bodily. A year later the girl was re-hired but with no remuneration for loss of pay. I don’t think she ever believed that the union actually returned her to work.
It was obvious that management was using the weakest links to break the union. Since we were a piece work department, it was a simple matter to re-time jobs thus cutting wages and while the hourly rate had been increased, it created speed-up to stay above the base rate on the new cute rates. I never could explain this to the satisfaction of the executive and negotiating committee.
After the sit-down strikes in flint, Michigan, union fever was running high and schools were set up in Michigan to explain union, agreements, grievance procedure, etc. I attended one of these schools in Michigan. It was quite an experience and I found firm political lines drawn. I gravitated towards the left and later fell out of favor with many of my executive.
On my return, after accepting a ride with Chas Millard, our Regional Director, we were involved in an accident and I was laid up for several weeks. Another man was appointed to act as recording secretary and Fred Steeve finally won the election to that post.
Since women were a rather scarce commodity in the early days of our union, I found that I was tolerated except when I tried to make a point on the union floor and would be told “Miss Blair doesn’t know what she is talking about.” In retrospect and acquired knowledge perhaps I didn’t but it wasn’t much encouragement to remain as an active member.
In 1939 rumbles of war was the order of the day. I took the position that Chamberlain had assured a war in the pact that he signed with Hitler. My fellow employees disagreed in view of the patriotic fervor being aroused in the plant. GM made it a practice to draw a $5 award in accident free departments and the first draw after patriotism took over was a war bond – I won it!
At this time, after nine years in GM,
I decided that I should try for other work. I took a job in a coffee shop and shortly after GM went on strike.
I supported the strike and finally quit the job to do my stint on the picket line. It was a tough struggle with all forces against the strikers on the basis of patriotism. RCMP were called out and they mounted machine guns at both ends of the picket line on Ontario St. Many of the officers were young men and union girls were soon dating them. It made me sick – those guns were loaded and only needed a command to gun us down if an incident had occurred on the picket line.
After the strike I was able to find office work and was able to polish up on learned skills. I may have expected too much but when I asked for a wage increase, I found that I had to lay the job on the line in order to press the point. I changed jobs frequently and finally decided to leave Ontario. I believe my union activity followed me into the offices in spite of the war and shortage of staff, management was not ready for union talk in the office.
