Arquivo RC0411 - Ralph Ellis fonds

Ralph Ellis was an active labour leader in Hamilton for more than twenty years. During that time he was employed as a machinist at the American Can Company. He was active in the CCF party, becoming president of the Hamilton West Riding Association and also running for alderman in the 1950s. In the 1960s he became involved in the crusade to make Canadian labour unions independent of American influence. This activism led to his expulsion from the Hamilton and District Labour Council in 1971 after a membership of twenty years. He went on to chair the National Committee for Independent Canadian Unions. He passed away November 16, 2008 in his 88th year.