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The Windsor Ford Strike of 1945

Photo by Alan L Brown - September, 2004

Plaque Location

The County of Essex
The City of Windsor
On the southeast corner of
Riverside Drive East and Drouillard Road

Coordinates: N 42 19.581 W 83 00.179

Plaque Text

As wartime labour shortages eased in 1945, contract talks between Ford of Canada and the United Auto Workers in Windsor stalled. The 10,000 members of Local 200 went on strike on September 12 to win recognition of the union they had built during the war. When Ford had police called in to re-open its powerhouse, 8,000 workers from Local 195 walked out of other Windsor plants. For three days strikers parked cars in this area, creating a 2,000 vehicle traffic jam that completely blockaded the powerhouse. After 99 days, both sides accepted arbitration. The settlement, a major victory for the auto workers, included the Rand Formula, which established union security as a basic principle of post-war labour relations.

Related Ontario plaque pages
Tolpuddle Martyrs
Nine-Hour Movement

Related Toronto plaque page
The Printers' Strike of 1872

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