Collette was one of many from the Ste Therese plant in Quebec, which was then on shutdown, that came and worked at the van plant towards the end. She was 5'2", but the man on the opposite shift was 6'1". Whenever she came into work, the gun was adjusted to his height...she was unwilling to insist that someone lower the gun for her, so worked like this all day long. Her son didn't believe her, so she asked me to take the picture.
--------------
Photos of the GM Scarborough Van Plant - by Gayle Hurmuses - Exhibition and video screening
Wednesday, September 14 · 6:00pm - 8:30pm
Steam Whistle Brewery - The Roundhouse – 255 Bremner Blvd, Toronto, ON
416-532-2702
http://hurmuses.com/exhibsite/ExtendedFamilyAtSteamwhistle.pdf
https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=244678795557648
Every summer, right about now, the local union (CAW303) would have a picnic in a Scarborough park. Always well-attended, it brought together people from all three shifts (two production and one maintenance) for a day of fun and bonding. All the usual stuff, 3-legged races, egg races, water-dunking union executives, arm-wrestling competitions. Everyone's children would play together. As a plant with many generations of families working together, drawing on the local community, there were many co-workers, and more than a few spouses that had met this way as children.In a period when you could still grow up in sight of a place like that, which fed the community and where you might know you could find a job as an adult, these picnics both brought together current co-workers and inducted future co-workers into the rich community life within the plant.
