A Case Study of Uaw/Caw Local 27 from 1950 to 1990
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THE UNION LOCAL IN POST-SECOND WORLD WAR CANADA: A CASE STUDY OF UAW/CAW LOCAL 27 FROM 1950 TO 1990 JASON RUSSELL A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Programme in History York University Toronto, Ontario October, 2010 Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington OttawaONK1A0N4 OttawaONK1A0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-80577-0 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-80577-0 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par Nnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1+1 Canada IV Abstract The local union was a crucial building block of the post-World War II labour movement in Canada. Local unions organized workers, negotiated collective agreements, and otherwise operated through the post-war labour relations system. They also pursued ambitious political and social agendas. United Auto Workers/Canadian Auto Workers Local 27 in London, Ontario was a large composite local that engaged in all of those activities in the post-war period. It grew to include thousands of members across thirty bargaining units. Local unions were the face of the labour movement for its members. Local 27 was not simply a creation of the national and international union administrations. It was the product of both rank-and-file activism and national and international union offices. Its agenda was subsequently influenced by all of those groups. They sought to represent their rank-and-file members and crafted bargaining and policy agendas that would help workers and their families. Local 27 was also shaped by the employers with whom it bargained. The local enjoyed more organizing successes than failures, but did not achieve uniform gains across all bargaining units. Local activists sought to forge a social and political agenda that would attract rank-and-file participation. That program centered on the local hall. These efforts, while well-intentioned, drew the same members who were already active in union activities. Some aspects of the local's social and political program were not successful. There were limits to what Local 27 could do in its members' lives. It provided them and their families with economic and lifestyle options, but it could not determine the personal decisions that people made. Local 27's story in the post-war decades involved both successes and failures. It engaged in many strikes, endured plant closures, and pursued a continuous stream of grievances and arbitrations. However, its success in the workplace was not always replicated in the broader community. It was an organization rooted in the workplace, rather than a community organization. This fundamental aspect of its nature brought Local 27 success in the workplace, but limited what it could do beyond it. VI Acknowledgements Researching and writing a dissertation is a marathon rather than a sprint. This particular marathon took a circuitous route. It began with me applying to the Graduate History Programme at York University without actually expecting that I would be admitted. My wife, Laura Liepins, was far more certain than me that I would be successful. I also began doctoral study at almost the same time that my son Thomas Russell was born. The work that has gone into this dissertation has been as much a fact of his life as it has been of mine. My status as a part-time student at York meant that I was always on the periphery of the vibrant intellectual life that existed in the Graduate History Programme. I was lucky to benefit from crucial intellectual links with a small group of fellow Canadian history students and with other members of the Toronto Labour Studies Group. I am particularly grateful to have known Jenny Carson, Cindy Loch-Drake, Todd Stubbs, Susana Miranda, and Nathan Smith. We all either moved through our dissertation research or into the academy as faculty in the past eight years, and I have been inspired by their dedication and support. I have also been fortunate to have had supportive colleagues beyond the Canadian labour history community. I want to especially thank my good friend Roger Keeran. Roger was my instructor and thesis advisor at Empire State College, and eventually became a tremendously supportive colleague when I joined the college's faculty. I owe him many intellectual debts. I also want to acknowledge the support of my other vii colleagues at Empire State College who have helped ease me into being a full-time faculty member. I want to thank the members of my dissertation committee: Kathryn McPherson and Paul Craven. They provided excellent guidance, and were unfailing patient, since I first approached them about being on my committee. I also wish to acknowledge and thank the other members of my examining committee: Carolyn Prodruchny, Sam Gindin, Peter Mclnnis, and Mark Thomas. The unfailing support of the best graduate secretary at York University - Lisa Hoffman - was also much appreciated. There is one person in the academy without whom none of this would have been possible: Craig Heron. Craig took what I believe was somewhat of a risk when he recommended to Stephen Brooke, who was then the Graduate History Programme director, that I should be admitted to the Ph.D. program. Craig has been remarkably patient, and wonderfully supportive, for the past eight years. I doubt that I would have made it through with someone else as my dissertation supervisor. I owe intellectual debts to Craig that cannot be repaid. He has been a great mentor. I also owe enormous debts to my family. My grandparents - George Alexander (Alec) Russell, Norma Russell, William Dalton (Mike) Rapsey, and Muriel Rapsey - were often in my thoughts as I researched and wrote this dissertation. Alec and Norma raised five children; and he often worked two jobs while suffering from poor health. Mike was a long-time member of the United Auto Workers. He and Muriel had two children and knew very well the impact that a local union had on their lives. Alec and Mike were also steadfast social democrats. viii Both of my grandfathers served in the Canadian army in World War II, and Muriel was an English war bride. Alec died at a relatively young age. Mike and Muriel passed away after years of hard work and peaceful retirement. Norma is slowly leaving us. My grandparents worked tremendously hard to provide for their children and grandchildren. I think that they would be gratified to know how much their lives inspired me to learn more about what a local union did for its workers. I believe that my parents - Tom Russell and Trudy Warren - may be even more pleased about this dissertation than I am. They have also been unfailing supportive over the past eight years. I again thank Laura for believing that I could make it through a Ph.D. program when I sometimes thought that I could not. Lastly, I thank my son Thomas since he is always my greatest inspiration. This dissertation is ultimately for him. Alec, Norma, Mike, and Muriel would have wanted it that way. IX Table of Contents Abstract IV Acknowledgements vi Table of Contents ix List of Tables x List of Figures xii Introduction Local Unions in the Post-World War Two Decades 1 Chapter One Built to Last: Founding and Building Local 27 19 Chapter Two Challenging Employers through All Available Means 103 Chapter Three Success and Failure: the Social and Community Agenda 185 Chapter Four "It was all about families": Local 27 and Workers' Hopes 266 and Aspirations Conclusion Looking Back from 1990 337 Appendix A: List of Local 27 Bargaining Unit 351 Bibliography 353 X List of Tables Table Title Page 3-1 London Union Membership (AFL-CIO/CLC Affiliates) 226 3-2 Local 27 Membership, 1960 -1990 226 3-3 Provincial Election Results (By Percentage) for London Ridings, 235 1963-1990 3-4 Federal Election Results (By Percentage) for London Ridings, 236 1963 - 1990 4-1 London Population by Marital Status: 1951 - 1991 270 4-2 London, Ontario Families: 1951 - 1971, 1976 - 1991 270 4-3 Women in Two-Income Families in the London, Ontario 271 Labour Force 4-4 London, Ontario Population by Ancestry: 1951 283 4-5 Languages Spoken in London, Ontario: 1986 283 4-6 Wage Increases at GM Diesel Compared with Median London, 285 Ontario Wages in 1951.5 4-7 Selected Local 27 Wage Increases in the Early 1960s 285 (Production Classifications) and Average Manufacturing Labourer Wage in London, Ontario in 1961.