Our Union Fabriks: Studies in the Working Class Series Editors: Ingo Schmidt and Jeff Taylor

Our Union Fabriks: Studies in the Working Class Series editors: Ingo Schmidt and Jeff Taylor Capital is dead labor. Karl Marx Fabriks: Studies in the Working Class provides a broad-based forum for labour studies research. Of particular interest are works that challenge familiar national and institutional narratives, focusing instead on gender-based, occupational, racial, and regional divisions among workers and on strategies for fostering working-class solidarity. The series also seeks to resurrect both social class analysis and the view of labour movements as a potentially liberating social force. It invites contributions not only from labour historians but from indus- trial relations scholars, political scientists, economists, sociologists and social movement theorists, and anyone else whose concerns lie with the history and organization of labour, its philosophical underpinnings, and the struggle for economic and social justice. The Political Economy of Workplace Injury in Canada bob barnetson Our Union: UAW/CAW Local 27 from 1950 to 1990 Jason Russell OURUNION UAW/CAW Local 27 from 1950 to 1990 Jason Russell Copyright © 2011 Jason Russell Published by AU Press, Athabasca University 1200, 10011 – 109 Street, Edmonton, AB T5J 3S6 ISBN 978-1-926836-43-0 (print) 978-1-926836-44-7 (PDF) 978-1-926836-45-4 (epub) A volume in Fabriks: Studies in the Working Class: ISSN 1925-6477 (print) 1925-6485 (digital) Cover and interior design by Natalie Olsen, Kisscut Design. Printed and bound in Canada by Marquis Book Printers. library and archives canada cataloguing in publication Russell, Jason, 1968– Our union : UAW/CAW Local 27 from 1950–1990 / Jason Russell. (Fabriks : studies in the working class, ISSN 1925-6477) Includes bibliographical references. Issued also in electronic format. ISBN 978-1-926836-43-0 1. CAW-Canada. Local 27—History. 2. International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America. Canadian Region—History. 3. Labor unions—Ontario—London—History. 4. Labor union locals—Ontario—London—History. 5. Labor union locals—Social aspects—Ontario—London. 6. Automobile industry workers— Labor unions—Canada—History—20th century. I. Title. II. Series: Fabriks : studies in the working class HD6528.A82C385 2011 331.88’12920971326 C2011-905716-6 We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund (CBF) for our publishing activities. Assistance provided by the Government of Alberta, Alberta Multimedia Development Fund. This publication is licensed under a Creative Commons License, Attribution– Noncommercial–No Derivative Works 2.5 Canada: see www.creativecommons. org. The text may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes, provided that credit is given to the original author. To obtain permission for uses beyond those outlined in the Creative Commons license, please contact AU Press, Athabasca University, at [email protected]. CONTENTS List of Tables vi List of Illustrations vii Acknowledgements ix Introduction: Local Unions in the Post–World War II Decades 3 I Built to Last 17 2 The National Union 49 3 Employers and Bargaining Units 79 4 Collective Bargaining 103 5 Labour Relations 141 6 The Social and Community Agenda 165 7 Community Politics and Activism 201 8 “It Was All About Families” 223 Conclusion: Looking Back 251 Appendix A: Local 27 Bargaining Units 263 Appendix B: Interviews 264 Notes 265 Bibliography 309 Index 319 TABLES 4.1 Wages at GM Diesel Versus Wages in London, Ontario, 1951 113 4.2 Selected Local 27 Wages Versus London Wages, Early 1960s 114 4.3 Selected Local 27 Wages Versus London Wages, Early 1970s 114 4.4 Selected Local 27 Wage Increases Versus London Wages, 1981 116 4.5 Local 27 Bargaining Units with COLA Provisions 119 4.6 Local 27 Bargaining Units with Pension Plans 129 5.1 Local 27 Arbitrations by Bargaining Unit, 1950–90 152 7.1 Union Membership (AFL-CIO/CLC Affiliates) in London, 1966–84 206 7.2 Local 27 Membership, 1960, 1975, and 1990 206 7.3 Provincial Election Results for London Ridings, 1963–90 212 7.4 Federal Election Results for London Ridings, 1963–90 213 8.1 Population of London by Marital Status, 1951–91 226 8.2 London Families, 1951–91 227 8.3 Women in the London Labour Force, 1971–91 228 8.4 Population of London by Ancestry, 1951 236 8.5 Languages Spoken in London, 1986 236 8.6 Home Ownership in London, 1951–91 238 vi ILLUSTRATIONS 1.1 Founding members of Local 27 34 1.2 Pin-up cartoon 36 2.1 To Russia with Bob 67 2.2 Free trade protest 68 3.1 “Why?” campaign 88 4.1 Hector McLellan and family 126 5.1 Turkey of the Month Award 145 6.1 Pay equity 177 6.2 Depicting management 180 6.3 3M strike 183 6.4 Roland Parris 187 6.5 London planning districts, 1971 193 6.6 Homeowner, citizen, consumer, and union member 194 6.7 Generational change 197 7.1 Labour Day picnic 208 8.1 Kelvinator closure 224 8.2 The negotiating committee 229 8.3 Washing dishes 231 vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This book originated as my doctoral dissertation, which I completed in the Graduate Program in History at York University. While my status as a part-time student at York meant that I was always on the periphery of the stimulating and dynamic atmosphere of that program, I was fortunate to have benefited 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 for my connection with Jenny Carson, Cindy Loch-Drake, Todd Stubbs, Susana Miranda, and Nathan Smith. Over the past eight years, we have all either moved through our dissertation research or into the academy as faculty, and I have been inspired by their dedication and support. I was also fortunate to have had supportive colleagues beyond the Canadian labour history community. I particularly wish to acknowledge my colleagues at Empire State College, who have helped ease me into life as a full-time faculty member, with special thanks to Roger Keeran, my MA supervisor, who has become a very supportive colleague. I also wish to thank the members of my dissertation committee. Kathryn McPherson and Paul Craven provided excellent guidance and were unfailingly patient from the moment I first approached them. I am grateful as well to Carolyn Podruchny, Sam Gindin, Peter McInnis, and Mark Thomas, who also sat on my examining committee. Above all, without Craig Heron, my dissertation supervisor, none of this would have been possible. I owe him intellectual debts that cannot be repaid. He has been a great mentor. I also owe a debt of gratitude to the past and present members of UAW/ CAW Local 27, especially all those who agreed to interviews. The memories and insights of activists like Julie White, Roland Parris, Hector McLellan, ix Bob Nickerson, and Al Seymour, among others, enabled me to add nuance and depth to my analysis. Roland was always an enthusiastic supporter of my work, and I only wish he’d lived to see this book published. I am especially grateful to Tim Carrie and Jim Wilkes, who provided much- needed help with accessing Local 27’s records, as well as to the staff of the Archive of Labour and Urban Affairs at Wayne State University, the Archives of Ontario, the Archives and Research Collection Centre at the University of Western Ontario, and Library and Archives Canada. In particular, I thank Kathy Bennett, at the CAW national office, for helping me locate CAW archival documents at Library and Archives Canada. I am grateful to Alvin Finkel, a friend and colleague at Athabasca University, both for his encouragement and for his valuable comments on my work, and to Walter Hildebrandt, Pamela MacFarland Holway, and all the staff at Athabasca University Press. My grandparents — George Alexander (Alec) Russell, Norma Rus- sell, William Dalton (Mike) Rapsey, and Muriel Rapsey — were often in my thoughts as I researched and wrote this book. Alec and Norma raised five children, and Alec often worked two jobs, despite suffering from poor health. Mike was a long-time member of the United Auto Workers. He and Muriel had two children and understood very well the impact that a local union had on their lives. Alec and Mike were also steadfast social democrats. 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, but Norma is still with us. Mike and Muriel passed away after years of hard work and a peaceful retirement. My grandparents worked extremely hard to provide for their children and grandchildren. I think 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 also wish to thank my parents, Tom Russell and Trudy Warren, who have been unfailingly supportive of my academic work. So has Laura Liepins, my wife. Even in moments when I despaired of ever completing my PhD, Laura always believed in me. Finally, I thank my son, Thomas Russell, who is always my greatest inspiration. This book is ultimately for him. Alec, Norma, Mike, and Muriel would have wanted it that way. x OUR UNION INTRODUCTION Local Unions in the Post–World War II Decades This book is as much an outgrowth of years of rank-and-file union activism as it is the result of academic curiosity. My interest in organized labour began when I first became a union member through summer employment at a gas utility in St. Catharines, Ontario. I became aware of Local 27 of the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW; formerly the United Auto Workers [UAW]) when I found work at another gas utility in London, Ontario, and joined a comparatively small Communication, Energy, and Paperworkers Union (CEP) local with barely one hundred members.

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