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lu PAGE 12, WEDNESDAY, JULY 16, 1980, WHITBY FREE PRESS [Our historical I ~Ju heritage By EUGENE HENRY, Whitby,'s toremost hiistorian D. THAPAR Denture Therapist 214 Dundas St. E, Whitby 668-7797 HOUAS: Mon. - Sat. & Evonings By Appointment Oniy 125TH ANNIVERSARY 1855-1980 THE CORPORATION OF THE TOWN 0F WHITBY NOTICE 0F INTENTION NOTICE Is hereby given that the Councl of the Corporation of the Town of Whitby intends to pass by-iaws to Stop up, Close and Seli those untraveiied portions of the public highways municipally known as Coîborne Street and Pine Street, as more specif ically described as follows:- 1. That untravelled portion of Coîborne Street, as shown hereunder, lying east of the Canadian Paciflo Railway, and being composed of part of the north haîf of Lot 23, Con- cession 1, Town of Whitby. "411\\ -1 1I1l PlUT4WL0GLGE 7IFI I.4 r AND FURTHER TAKE NOTICE that the Council of the Town of WhItby will, at the hour 8:00 p.m. on the 2lst day of July, 1980, ln the Meeting Hall of the Municipal Building, 575 Rossland Road East, WhItby, Ontario, hear ln person or by his counsel, solicitor, or agent, any person who dlaims his land Will be prejudicially affected by such by-laws and who appiies to be heard. DATED at Whitby, Ontario this 25th day of J une, A.D., 1980. GM strike of 1937 one of the most misunderstood icidentm local history May I suggest to Free Press readers, that the 1937 strike at General Motors was perhaps, one of the most important and disturbing events in the long history of the Oshawa/Whitby area. Liberal Premier, Mitchell Hepburn (with G.M. management squarely at his side) locked horns with organizing labor and when it was all over, 16 days later the social fabric of the area was changed for good and labor'relations at G.M. were colored for all time. The strike had a profound and lasting effect not only upon the Motor City itself but also on dormitory towns like Whitby, where many G.M. workers lived. Those who were employed at "the Motors" and local businessmen will have ever- green memories of those critical days, even though the events took place more than 40 years ago. Let's look at the conditions that prevailed then. As developments led up to the historical event and the -strike itself. To get a proper fix on this situtation Free Press readers must realize, that the man-on-the-street of those days, had littie under- standing or appreciation for organized labor's asperations, as they do today. The whole process of in- dustry-wide collective bargaining and a firm con- tract with employers, was a thing of the future. Union activity such as it was, remnained a "local" af- fair and at G.M., int he early days of 1937. There was a company union only, headed Up by an ex-General Motors employee by the name of Charles Millard. On the management side there was of course, that omni-present, benevolent corporate old codger, Col. R.S. (Sam) McLaughlin and bis minor minions, who lived conspicously close to their work, inthe centre part of Town. We oe têreêir mpIe. od Corne un and see our assortmient of Baking Supplies R als in s, dates,gtazed fruit, bak.ing nuts, dried fruit,. sp iCes, teas, can d ie s. R iverside c heese . NA TURÂ L FOODS NO W A VAIL4BLE HEALTH FOOD MIXES Tropical Mlx Swoet & Salty mlX Delux MIX Tahitian gold mix Sesame crunch clearcello mix Honey coated peanuts Califomnia mix LCARMEN DISCOUNT BAKING PRODUOTS 320 Marwood Ave., Unit 3, ODshawa 579-2948 Hours: MON.-SAT. 1lDam to 5 pm 1.99 lb 1.99 lb 1.99 lb 1.99 lb 1.99 lb 1.99 lb 1.99 lb Take*Wilson Rd. South of Wentworth to Marwood We're in the Industrial Malil Collectively they held the City of Oshawa in a pater- nalistic grasp. The strike would after completely the social usages of the past and G.M. Executives, (Col. McLaughlin in particular) would live 10w profile lives in the other community in the future. Like many other historical events the G.M. Strike of '37 has simple beginnings. Negotiations for a new con- tract was just getting under way. Charles Millard was ac- ting for the U.A.W. mem- bers and across the table from him was, the smartest man ever unearthed by G.M. in Canada, Harry Car- michael. He was a deceptively quiet man, tough, cool and capa.ble, with shop ex- perience in bis past and big bucks with Argus Cor- poration in his future. At this point, it is necessary to put this scene on "hold" and move to Queen's Park in Toronto, where our onion farmer premier, was being briefed on the unholy alliance bet- ween the U.A.W. in Oshawa and its affiliate in the U.S. - the C.I.O. Mitchell Hepburn was cer- tain that the C.I.O. was rid- den with communists and that violence inevitably followed their appearance on the labor scene. It was his firmn belief, that any C.I.O. involvement in the Oshawa situation would lead eventually to the disruption of a relatively stable labor/management picture in the Norther Ontario mines and forests. I have said, that the average Ontario citizen had little knowledge and less ap- preciation of labor's aspirations back in the thir- ties. Unfortunately, Mitchell Hepburn had littie experien- ce or feel for labor relations as well and he had no sen- sitivity at aIl, for social justice. "Mitch" as he was known to ail, was a Charasmatic character, energetic am- bitious, ruthless and lusting for political power. There was no territorial limits to bis constituency. He foughit endlessly with the senior liberal of his time, Prime Minister Mackenzie King. He gathered talented people around him as ministers and strangely two of them, David Croil and Arthur Roebuck, developed some of the most progressive larbor legislation ever presented to the people of Ontario. Mitch was 41 at the time. Premier Hepburn' s in- timates were a coarse lot, rich and powerful alI of them--Sevator "Candy Man" Frank O'Connor; "Sell 'Em" Ben Smith, a broker; Ed Bickell mining tycoon, Lawyer Arthur Slaght and publisher George McCullough. They were plain, blunt even brutal people at times, but suc- cessful. As a group and they were interested mainly in protecting and developing the profitability of com- panies, where the economic base of the province was located at the time. John L. Lewis, was emerging as a national force in the labor movement in the United States. The main tactical weapon of bis C.I.O. ®rganizers in those days was the sit-down strike. Death and disaster on the picket line were not unusual. The C.I.O/U.A.W. mamrage int CONT'D ON PC. 14 zollq 8 PRE!ýENTS ,%M - momor