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Rose City Roots · Timeline · Chapter 8 of 11

Works and Wages

1860S TO TODAY

Salt, ships, steel and cars. The plants that built the city, and the people who worked in them.

Distilleries

Before the auto plants, a distillery sat at the centre of one Border City. The City of Windsor's History of Windsor describes "Walker Town" as a community of employees of Hiram Walker's distillery and flour mill, east of the village of Windsor. The City's Former Municipal Boundaries poster dates that distillery to 1858 and the Town of Walkerville to 1890-1935. The plant-and-union record on this chapter starts later, with Ford in 1904 and the 1945 strike. The town's own story, including Willistead, is on Border Cities and Neighbourhoods.

Border Cities brewing in the same era is already treated, with a period photograph, on Rum Row. That picture is not repeated here.

Sources: City of Windsor, History of Windsor · City of Windsor, Former Municipal Boundaries poster

Timeline

  1. 1860s Ships at Walkerville. The Jenking yard at Walkerville builds Detroit River ferries in the 1860s and 1870s. (What Canadian Bridge built in the Second World War is described differently by different sources, so we leave it to the War Chest.) Sources: Ontario Historical Society ferry history (PDF) · Shipbuilding History
  2. 1891 and 1893 Salt. A Canadian Pacific test well finds salt in 1891. The Windsor Salt Company starts in 1893 and the Canadian Salt Company in 1901. Sources: Windsor Public Library · GeologyOntario
  3. 17 August 1904 Ford of Canada. Gordon McGregor founds the Ford Motor Company of Canada in the former Walkerville Wagon Works. Sources: Windsor Public Library · University of Windsor
  4. 1904 117 Model Cs. The first large-scale car production in Canada: 117 Model C Fords at the wagon works (Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association). Sources: Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers' Association · Windsor Public Library
  5. 1910s to 1920s More automakers. Studebaker, Hupp and Maxwell build plants in the Border Cities (Windsor Public Library, 'Windsor on Wheels'). Sources: Windsor Public Library · Windsor Public Library
  6. 1925 Chrysler Canada. Chrysler Corporation of Canada is incorporated in June 1925 from Maxwell-Chalmers, with a plant on Tecumseh Road. Sources: Windsor Public Library · Canadian Encyclopedia
  7. 1939 to 1945 The arsenal. Wartime production, including Ford's Universal Carriers. Windsor War Chest tells this story. Sources: Windsor News · Library and Archives Canada
  8. 12 September to 19 December 1945 The Ford strike. A 99-day strike at Ford of Canada in Windsor, led on the union side by UAW Canadian director George Burt and Local 200. Workers sought union security. A car-and-truck blockade around the plant is documented in union and labour histories. Justice Ivan Rand's decision of 29 January 1946, the Rand Formula, shaped Canadian labour law. Sources: Canadian Encyclopedia · Canadian Encyclopedia · Canada's History; Unifor legacy Windsor strike PDF
  9. UAW strikers block Sandwich Street during the 1945 Ford strike
    Sandwich Street blockade, 6 November 1945. Cec Southward for The Windsor Star. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons. Period strike photograph (preferred over modern commemorative uploads).
  10. 1948 Ford of Canada from the air. A Ford Motor Company film shows Windsor, the bridge and Plants 1 and 2. It is public domain in the Ford Film Collection at the U.S. National Archives. One source so far. Sources: Internet Archive
  11. 1955 The Ojibway mine. The Canadian Salt Company begins production at its Ojibway mine, at the 965-foot level (GeologyOntario). Sources: GeologyOntario · Windsor Public Library
  12. 2 November 1983 The minivan. After a refit of about $400 million, Windsor Assembly starts building the Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager. One source so far. Sources: Stellantis media
  13. 1904 to 1971 Read the records. The Ford Motor Company of Canada records at the University of Windsor's Leddy Library are open to researchers. Sources: University of Windsor · Windsor Public Library

More plant and business roots

New people from the second deep dive. The Remington Park factory-name claim is held until a non-wiki source is nailed down.

Workers at Windsor's Chrysler car assembly plant, about 1990
Workers at Windsor's Chrysler car assembly plant, about 1990. Thomas W. LaSorda, born in Windsor, later became CEO of Chrysler LLC. He is not pictured, and the workers in the frame are not identified here. Photo: Lawrence Monkhouse, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Thomas W. LaSorda

Born Windsor, 24 Jul 1954 Chrysler CEO

A Windsor-born auto executive who rose through Chrysler to CEO of Chrysler LLC. He is not Tommy Lasorda, the Dodgers manager. Full "went far" wording is on Born Here, Went Far.

Sources: Windsor Public Library · This Day in Automotive History

People of the plants

Labour and arbitration figures tied to Windsor's auto plants. The Ford strike timeline entry above is deepened to name George Burt.

Ford Motor Co. of Canada plant, Windsor, 1913
Gardner, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, 1913, p. 84. Public domain. Place context for Ford Windsor; not a portrait of George Burt.

George Burt

UAW Canadian director 1939 to 1968; led the 1945 Windsor Ford strike Labour

Ontario-born trade unionist and Canadian director of the United Auto Workers. In 1945 he led Local 200's 99-day strike at Ford in Windsor over union security. The blockade of cars around the plant is a documented episode in Canadian labour history. The Rand Formula followed in January 1946. Tie: directed the Windsor Ford strike that reshaped Canadian labour law.

Sources: Canada's History "Driving Change" · Unifor legacy Windsor strike PDF · Reuther Library George Burt Collection · Canadian Encyclopedia (Windsor Strike)
I. C. Rand, 1954
I. C. Rand, 1954. Wikimedia Commons. Public domain. Confirm identity against Supreme Court / LAC captions before go-live if any doubt remains.

Ivan C. Rand

Supreme Court of Canada justice; Rand Formula, 29 January 1946 Law

Justice Ivan Cleveland Rand's arbitration award after the Windsor Ford strike required dues check-off for bargaining-unit workers. The decision is already named on this page; this card puts a face to the formula. Tie: the award that settled the Windsor Ford strike.

Sources: Canadian Encyclopedia: Rand Formula · Canadian Encyclopedia: Windsor Strike
Ken Lewenza speaking, 2013
Ken Lewenza speaking, 2013. Photo: OFL Communications Department (crop: Graham11), CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Ken Lewenza

CAW national president 2008 to 2013; Unifor transition Labour

Born in Windsor. He rose through Local 444 and became national president of the Canadian Auto Workers, then helped lead the merger into Unifor. Tie: born Windsor; Windsor auto local leadership.

Sources: Windsor Star profiles · Unifor / CAW releases
Peace Fountain in Coventry Gardens, Reaume Park, Windsor
Peace Fountain, Coventry Gardens / Reaume Park, Windsor. Photo: jodelli, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Place memorial for Charlie Brooks; he is not pictured.

Charlie Brooks

UAW Local 444 president; murdered 1977 Labour

Windsor auto-union leader associated with Local 444. He was murdered in 1977. Cover carefully with primary court and union sources before go-live; do not sensationalize. Tie: Windsor local union leadership.

Sources: HOLD for primary court / union records before final wording

Made in Windsor

Product and company firsts that belong beside the plant timeline. Ford Canada (17 August 1904) and the 2 November 1983 minivan start are already on the timeline above; the minivan line still carries its one-source caution.

Windsor News placeholder for Dodge brothers (Evans and Dodge bicycle). A Rose City Roots tile asking for a photograph of this subject.
Photo wanted. Share yours through the family photo or story note below.

Dodge brothers (Evans and Dodge bicycle)

Windsor years 1892 to 1900 Made in Windsor

John and Horace Dodge moved to Windsor in 1892 and worked as machinists at the Dominion Typograph Co. Horace's 1896 bearing patent and the Evans and Dodge "E&D" bicycle were made in Windsor before the brothers built Dodge Brothers in Detroit. Free bicycle ad not cleared this pass (WPL/SWODA pre-1900 ads are the next ask).

Sources: Windsor Public Library · vintage CCM Evans and Dodge notes
Green Shield head office in Windsor
Crisco 1492. Green Shield head office, Windsor. Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0.

Green Shield Canada

Founded Windsor 1957 Made in Windsor

Pharmacist William Wilkinson founded Prescription Services Inc. in Windsor in 1957; it became Green Shield. The company says it created North America's first prepaid prescription drug plan. That "first" is a company claim; we state it as such until an independent source confirms it. Head-office photo is free.

Sources: Green Shield about page · Green Shield Inside Story July/August 2017 PDF
Ford plant in Windsor, 1913
Gardner 1913. Public domain. Via research pack / Commons mirror.

Ford of Canada (timeline deepen)

17 August 1904 at Walkerville Wagon Works Already on timeline

Gordon McGregor founded the Ford Motor Company of Canada in the former Walkerville Wagon Works on 17 August 1904 (Leddy Library finding aid; WPL). This card points back to timeline entry e-E27 rather than duplicating it. Plant still: 1913 Gardner public-domain view.

Sources: Leddy Library Ford Canada finding aid · Windsor Public Library

Union Town (deepen)

Labour-rights dates that sit beside the existing Burt, Rand, Lewenza and Brooks cards. The 1945 strike timeline entry is tightened to exact calendar dates. Local 444 is Chrysler (1956), not the 1945 Ford Local 200.

UAW members block Sandwich Street in Ford City, 6 November 1945
UAW members block Sandwich Street (now Riverside Drive) in Ford City, 6 November 1945. Our Lady of the Rosary and the Ford water tower are in the background. Photo: Cec Southward / The Windsor Star, 6 November 1945. Public domain in Canada.

Ford strike of 1945 (exact dates)

12 September to 19 December 1945 (99 days) Union Town

About 11,000 Ford Local 200 workers struck; about 8,000 other auto workers joined. Demands centred on union security. Justice Ivan C. Rand's award of 29 January 1946 (the Rand Formula) required bargaining-unit workers to pay union dues whether or not they joined, with dues check-off. That is not a requirement to be a union member. Cross-link Women of Windsor for the UAW Women's Auxiliary that fed pickets. People cards for Burt and Rand are already on this page.

Sources: Canadian Encyclopedia (Windsor Strike) · Canadian Encyclopedia (Rand Formula)
Workers at Windsor's Chrysler car assembly plant, about 1990
Workers at Windsor's Chrysler car assembly plant, about 1990. This is the plant, not a portrait of Local 444's founding officers, and the workers in the frame are not identified here. Photo: Lawrence Monkhouse, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

UAW Local 444 (Chrysler)

Founded 1956; Charlie Brooks founding president Union Town

Chrysler workers separated from amalgamated Local 195 in 1956 to form Local 444. Founding president Charlie Brooks (1956 to 1977) already has a people card above. Do not date Local 444 to 1945; that year belongs to Ford Local 200.

Sources: Unifor Local 444 history page · Canadian Encyclopedia strike context

Pictures

Ford Motor Co. of Canada plant, 1913
Ford Motor Co. of Canada plant, 1913. Windsor, Ontario, Canada, 1913, compiled by Harry Wentworth Gardner (Windsor: Evening Record, 1913), p. 84. Photographer uncredited. Public domain. Via Canadiana.ca / Wikimedia Commons.
Studebaker Corporation of Canada, 1913
Studebaker Corporation of Canada, 1913. Windsor, Ontario, Canada, 1913, compiled by Harry Wentworth Gardner (Windsor: Evening Record, 1913), p. 90. Photographer uncredited. Public domain. Via Canadiana.ca / Wikimedia Commons.
Hupp Motor Car Co., 1913
Hupp Motor Car Co., 1913. Windsor, Ontario, Canada, 1913, compiled by Harry Wentworth Gardner (Windsor: Evening Record, 1913), p. 62. Photographer uncredited. Public domain. Via Canadiana.ca / Wikimedia Commons.
Ford Motor plant from an aeroplane, Ford City
Ford Motor plant from an aeroplane, Ford City. Ford Motor Plant from an Aeroplane, Ford, Ont., about 1920. Canadian Postcard Company. British Library HS85/10/37671. Public domain.
Canadian Salt Co. salt works, Windsor, 1913
Canadian Salt Co. salt works, Windsor, 1913. Windsor, Ontario, Canada, 1913, compiled by Harry Wentworth Gardner (Windsor: Evening Record, 1913), p. 31. Photographer uncredited. Public domain. Via Canadiana.ca / Wikimedia Commons.
Canadian Bridge Co. works, 1913
Canadian Bridge Co. works, 1913. Windsor, Ontario, Canada, 1913, compiled by Harry Wentworth Gardner (Windsor: Evening Record, 1913), p. 87. Photographer uncredited. Public domain. Via Canadiana.ca / Wikimedia Commons.
Launch of HMCS Dundurn, Canadian Bridge Co.
Launch of HMCS Dundurn, Canadian Bridge Co.. Launch of HMCS Dundurn at the Canadian Bridge Company, Windsor, 20 September 1943. National Film Board of Canada. Photothèque / Library and Archives Canada.
The Ford Motor plant office building on Sandwich Street, now Riverside Drive East, 1918.
Ford Motor plant, 1918. The Ford office building on Riverside Drive East, then Sandwich Street. St. Mary's Church Collection. Courtesy of the Southwestern Ontario Digital Archive (SWODA), Leddy Library, University of Windsor. Public domain.
The north front of the Hiram Walker and Sons offices in Walkerville, facing the river, 1895.
Hiram Walker & Sons offices, north front facing the river, 1895. From Souvenir: Windsor and Walkerville, May, 1895, the official programme of the Grand Military Demonstration of 24 to 26 May 1895 (E. J. Baxter, publisher), p. 34. Courtesy of the Southwestern Ontario Digital Archive (SWODA), Leddy Library, University of Windsor. Public domain.
Brick warehouses of the Walker distillery in Walkerville, photographed from the railroad yard, about 1900 to 1915.
Warehouses from the railroad, Walker distillery, Walkerville, about 1900 to 1915. Detroit Publishing Co. / Library of Congress, LC-DIG-det-4a21196. No known restrictions on publication. Source record
A long avenue of rack warehouses at Hiram Walker and Sons, Walkerville, about 1905 to 1915.
Avenue of rack warehouses, Hiram Walker & Sons, Walkerville, about 1905 to 1915. Detroit Publishing Co. / Library of Congress, LC-DIG-det-4a19915. No known restrictions on publication. Source record
A 1908 trade-journal advertisement for Kerr globe and gate valves, made by The Kerr Engine Co. Limited of Walkerville.
Advertisement for The Kerr Engine Co. Limited, Walkerville, 1908. From the trade journal Hardware merchandising (Toronto), January to March 1908. Via Internet Archive / Wikimedia Commons. Public domain. Source record
A 1928 directory advertisement for the Royal Windsor Ramp Garage on Dougall Avenue, with a photograph of the building.
Royal Windsor Ramp Garage, Dougall Avenue, 1928. An advertising insert from Vernon's City of Windsor Directory, 1928 to 1929. The garage stood on Dougall Avenue between London Street and Park Street. University of Windsor, Leddy Library / Southwestern Ontario Digital Archive. Public domain. Source record
Front of a 1940 Studebaker promotional postcard showing three car models, distributed by a Windsor dealer.
1940 Studebaker promotional postcard, front. National advertising art for three 1940 Studebaker models. The Windsor tie is the local dealer imprint on the back of the card, Market Garage & Motors Ltd., 301 Chatham Street East. Mike Skreptak Collection, University of Windsor, Leddy Library / Southwestern Ontario Digital Archive. Public domain. Source record
Back of the 1940 Studebaker promotional postcard, with the Market Garage and Motors Ltd. imprint at 301 Chatham Street East, Windsor, and a Windsor postmark of 22 April 1940.
1940 Studebaker promotional postcard, back. The reverse of the same card, with the imprint of Market Garage & Motors Ltd., 301 Chatham Street East, Windsor, and a Windsor postmark of 22 April 1940. Mike Skreptak Collection, University of Windsor, Leddy Library / Southwestern Ontario Digital Archive. Public domain. Source record
Women and men at the bottling tables in the Hiram Walker and Sons plant, Walkerville, about 1895.
Employees at the Hiram Walker & Sons bottling works, Walkerville, about 1895. Women and men at the bottling tables in the Hiram Walker plant. Detroit Publishing Co. / Library of Congress, LC-DIG-det-4a20138. No known restrictions on publication. Source record
An aisle of barrel racks inside a Hiram Walker and Sons rack warehouse in Walkerville, about 1900, in a cyanotype photograph.
Rack warehouse, Hiram Walker & Sons, Walkerville, about 1900. A cyanotype of an interior aisle of barrel racks. Detroit Photographic Co. no. 046044. Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, Detroit Publishing Company Collection, LOT 12699, no. 15, LOC 2016803001. The Library of Congress published this digital file at 914 by 1024 pixels; no larger master is on the record, and the image is shown at that size. No known restrictions on publication. Source record
The beer still house on Sandwich Street in Walkerville, about 1905, with ivy on the walls and streetcar tracks in the road.
Beer still house, Sandwich Street, Walkerville, about 1905. The beer still house on Sandwich Street, with ivy on the walls and streetcar tracks in the road. The title is lettered on the negative. Detroit Publishing Co. / Library of Congress, LC-DIG-det-4a21200. No known restrictions on publication. Source record
The Hiram Walker and Sons distillery waterfront at Walkerville, with a sign reading Distillery of Canadian Club, Walkerville, about 1905 to 1915.
Distillery, Hiram Walker & Sons, Walkerville, about 1905 to 1915. The waterfront sign reads Distillery of Canadian Club, Walkerville. Detroit Publishing Co. / Library of Congress, LC-DIG-det-4a21202. No known restrictions on publication. Source record
A chemist at work at Wyeth Laboratories, Windsor, photographed between 1930 and 1960. The chemist is not named.
Chemist at Wyeth Laboratories, Windsor, 1930 to 1960. The record titles it "Chemist working at Wyeth Laboratories, Windsor, Ontario." The chemist is not named. The date is the range given on the record. Canada. Department of Manpower and Immigration / Library and Archives Canada / e011055669. Public domain (Crown copyright expired). Source record
A worker guiding a compressed-air blower packing sand into moulds in the foundry at the Ford Motor Company of Canada, Windsor, 2 July 1942.
Ford of Canada foundry, Windsor, 2 July 1942. The record titles it as a worker guiding a compressed-air blower packing sand into moulds in the foundry at the Ford Motor Company of Canada, Windsor. Negative WRM-2001. This is a different frame from the already-live Universal Carrier track-link photograph from the same shoot (WRM 2006, MIKAN 3196094). Nicholas Morant / National Film Board of Canada. Photothèque / Library and Archives Canada / e000760746. Public domain (official photograph, 1942, Crown copyright expired). Shown at the size of the LAC Flickr scan. Source record
A worker in a safety helmet posing at the Ford Motor Company of Canada foundry in Windsor, 2 July 1942.
Worker at the Ford of Canada foundry, Windsor, 2 July 1942. The record titles it as a worker smiling and posing in a safety helmet used when handling a compressed-air blower for packing sand into moulds at the Ford Motor Company of Canada plant, Windsor. A second frame from the same 2 July 1942 Nicholas Morant foundry shoot, not a crop of the blower photograph or of the already-live track-link still. Nicholas Morant / National Film Board of Canada. Photothèque / Library and Archives Canada / e000760745. Public domain (official photograph, 1942, Crown copyright expired). Shown at the size of the LAC Flickr scan. Source record
The assembly line at the Chrysler plant in Windsor, September 1953, with a line of cars and a Plymouth script visible on a deck lid in the foreground.
Assembly line at the Chrysler plant, Windsor, September 1953. The record is titled "The assembly line at the Chrysler plant in Windsor." A Plymouth script is visible on a deck lid in the foreground. This is an interior assembly-line view, not a photograph of the plant's administration building. Canada. National Film Board of Canada. Photothèque / Library and Archives Canada / PA-205816. Public domain (official photograph, 1953, Crown copyright expired). Shown at the size of the LAC Flickr scan. Source record
Postcard titled A Part of Factory District, Windsor, about 1910, showing factory roofs, a water tower and chimneys.
A part of the factory district, Windsor, about 1910. The printed title is "A Part of Factory District, Windsor, Canada." The card does not name the works. The Toronto Public Library dates this postcard to 1910 and marks it Public Domain. Courtesy of Toronto Public Library, PC_ON_2157, object 306433. Shown at the available size (about 650 pixels wide). Source record

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