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Windsor-Ford Strike of 1945, The
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 postwar labour relations.
Location
At the southeast corner of Drouillard Road and Riverside Drive, by the parking lot of Holy Rosary Church, Windsor