From Mr. Freeman

Olive Kelly would obviously be of Irish origin. The question of ethnicity was very important in the strike. There were many workers of Italian or eastern European origin working at Stelco at that time. They had the worst jobs and they were discriminated against. They were the strongest union supporters. There were also a number of British immigrants who worked at the plant and they were pro-company. The play mentions that but does not spend a lot of time dealing with it.

 

Perhaps the students should know that in American steel plants in the 1930s and 40s, workers of African origin were discriminated against. They had the the hottest and dirtiest jobs and rarely got promoted. The pattern of discrimination in Canada was a little different but fundamentally the same. This grievance played a major role in the creation of the union in Hamilton.

 

Fiddle music in Canada tends to be rural, and a cultural expression of people of Scottish or Irish origin. It currently is going through a great resurgence. There could well have been fiddle music on the picket line—maybe a visiting musician who supported the strike. But people in Hamilton of that era loved the big band sound. Dancing was very popular and there were big dance halls in Hamilton where steelworkers liked to take their girlfriends and wives.

From Couch - Mr. Freeman is an activist trying to make the world a better place.  I had mentioned 

migrant workers, and this is why he included the information about seasonal workers. 

Seasonal agricultural workers are among the most exploited workers in Canada and the United States. Even today wages are terrible and the facilities at the farms are usually rudimentary bunk houses.

 

Canada has taken to importing agricultural workers from Mexico and Jamaica on temporary work permits. The workers are paid less than minimum wage and work under the most trying conditions. The men come and stay in Canada for upwards of 6 months and have little contact with their families. 

 

Canadian unions have been active in these communities trying to organize the workers but not much has been achieved. To their credit the unions  have brought the issues to the attention of Canadian authorities and the public, but little more than expressions of moral outrage has been achieved. The farmers have political influence and they are very resistant to change.

 

Steel mills are notoriously noisy. The sounds of the blast of the furnaces, the clang of steel upon steel, shouts of the men, loud machinery, safety whistles to warn the men of danger, all of this and more are part of the normal operations of mills.

 

In the original production of Glory Days Charles Cosins created a sound track as an overture for the play that captured the sounds of the mill. It was very effective.  You would need big speakers and a good sound engineer but it would be possible to recreate something like that.  There also are moments in the first act that mimic action in the mill. It would be great to have sounds of the mill overplay that action.

 

During the fight scenes of the strike there should be shouts and general chaos. The fights usually were gangs of men trying to stop trucks going through the picket lines or battles at night between workers and scabs. It was chaotic, noisy and violent.

 

Bill Freeman
www.billfreeman.ca

DEFYING THE LAW - a film about the STELCO Strike

Defying the Law

Directed by Marta Nielsen-Hastings

Reviewed by Pam Joyner

“Defying the Law chronicles the 1946 illegal strike of Steelworkers at the Stelco steel plant and the impact it had on our history. As a new generation of Hamilton steelworkers challenges a profit-hungry corporation, this documentary shows how a unity fight can win.

The 1946 strike became the lynchpin in the city of Hamilton. The community was described as having “strike fever” in the summer of 1946 as almost half the population was involved in the steel strike and other striking workplaces. The steel strike, however, was central to bringing positive changes for the Canadian working class as a whole. Many believe it to be the birth of the modern labour movement.

Strike origins

There was a great deal of paternalism and fear in worker-management relations that angered many. At one point, Hugh Hilton, president of Stelco, sent letters to every worker telling them to "leave it to dad. He'd take care of us." One worker said this was his final push to join the union.

Racism was also frequently used to remove ethnic workers from skilled jobs and replace them with those of Anglo Saxon background.

Prior to the strike, workers at the steel plants worked a 48-hour workweek with no sick days and no benefits. They had to work 15 years to just to earn one week of paid vacation per year. The working conditions were often hot and difficult in the open-hearth blast furnaces and rolling mills.

A strike was called demanding a 19.5 cent per hour raise, more vacation time, and union recognition. Union security became the fundamental issue in the strike. The company refused to negotiate with the union or allow workers who wanted to join the union have their dues deducted from their wages.

As workers were fighting to improve working conditions, they faced not only their employer, but the federal government that took the company's side. In an attempt to halt the impending strike, the MacKenzie King government seized the plants under the War Measures Act, which was still in effect. Workers were threatened with fines and imprisonment if they struck. These threats backfired and simply added fuel to the fire.

Solidarity

The steelworkers had both the support of Hamilton's mayor and the surrounding community. Community members prepared food for the picket line. Families came out with their children in the evenings to participate and listen to music from the picket tent. The Congress of Industrial Oganizations (CIO), which had an almost legendary quality, brought up folk singers Pete Seger and Woody Gunthrie to inspire the strikers.

Several stores in the community also supported the strikers by refusing serve the scabs and companies such as Canada Packers refused to sell meat to Stelco for the scabs’ meals.

Solidarity was the key to keeping the pickets strong and steady, and also to stemming the inevitable media against the strike. The Hamilton Spectator, Globe and Mail and Telegram all ran stories in sympathy with the scabs and their families who were facing pressure from the strike not to return to the plant.

From past to present

The strike was settled after 86 days. Although the 3.5 cent wage increase was much smaller than the original demand, strikers won two weeks vacation after five years of work. More importantly, the union won basic union security and all returning workers joined the union after the strike.

It seems there is no time in history that governments and corporations have been willing to offer up a fair share of their profits without a fight. During the current war on workers, it is very inspiring to look back on one of the most successful fights for better working conditions in Canadian history. This was true after the Second World War as much as it is today with our governments more than happy to spend money on war than in helping their own citizens find jobs and affordable education.

Currently, our sisters and brothers in Hamilton have been locked-out by the new plant owner U.S. Steel after challenging deep cuts to their pension and benefits from the company. A brilliant solidarity rally took place in January with numerous unions busing their members, much more needs to be done to win this struggle. Solidarity is the key as the strike of 1946 shows.”

STELCO During 30's & 40's

Stelco in 1930's

1940's Mill Workers

Strikers in 1946

Strikers

Stelco Timeline

1929: Stelco increased its iron and steel capacity by 50 per cent.

1930s: The Depression

 1936: Local 1005 was formed at Stelco by the Steel Workers Organizing Committee. 

1940s: Winning a better deal

1945: With the end of the Second World War, Hamilton's mills produced about half of Canada's steel. A contract with the United Steelworkers was signed at Stelco and Hugh Hilton became president. Under his leadership, as president until 1957 and chairman until 1966, Stelco tripled in size.

1946: The 1945 Stelco contract expired and with Hilton famously declaring he would oppose the union “until my dying breath,” Local 1005 mounted its historic first strike. Starting in July, it ran for 85 days. The union asked for a wage hike, closed-shop agreement and automatic check-off of union dues. The real issue, however, was a successful demand for recognition of the union. That victory set the stage for a long history of winning improvements in wages and working conditions.

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November 21

"Glory Days  by Bill Freeman describes STELCO in the 1930's and early '40's as a workplace rank with discrimination and favouritism. The workers lived under a form of tyranny where the boss was king and their needs and wishes were simply disregarded... the common belief of management of the day was that workers needed to be disciplined and tough foremen were an absolute necessity if companies were to survive.  Under that system, workers had no power and no means to be able to struggle against that tyranny.  The greatest achievement of unions is that they give the workers the means to challenge this system, and this led to a change of attitudes to the point where today no company, unionized or non-unionized, would dare treat their workforce in such autocratic and discriminatory ways." - from the introduction by Bill Freeman

Students who are interested in the production should go to You Tube for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics Opening Ceremony; the Australian Opening Ceremony; and the London Olympics Opening Ceremony with the Industrial Revolution.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDORgtOSiFY&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tX4QJ57QXKo