I've worked in a handful of other industrial environments...usually they're pretty segregated, through happenstance or design...perhaps a group of West Indians, another of Vietnamese, and maybe a group from an eastern European country. Probably just the result of who they originally hired that brought the most friends to work with them...but often having the effect of enshrining divisions between people. In 1986 there was a census done of the plant to show the range of culture, ethnicity and race in the plant and discovered that the percentages were roughly approximate to the composition of the Greater Toronto Area at that time.
The van plant was relatively unique then, in the range of peoples working in the plant, and more importantly, working together and with mutual affection and respect. This extended to the relationships between the workers and management. I like to characterize it as being like the Warner Brothers cartoons of the sheepdog and the wolf clocking in and out of work. During their shift, they represent their own interests fiercely, at break and after work, they're friendly with each other. We were like that.
The picture here of Haissam Ramadan and Frank Tridico installing rear doors bracing themselves against each other adds new meaning to the phrase "Got your back'; General Foreman Wally Mann at the 1992 Respot 3 Christmas Potluck is an example of how it could be between grievances; Nisan Khan, Gordon Burr and Rupert Glean were 3 of many friends that hauled me over when I was passing by to take a photo of them together, so they could remember their friendship. Nisan and Rupert worked together in Trim 1 and Gordon worked for the cafeteria provider.
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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
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