United Steelworkers of America. District 6 (Toronto, Ont.)

The Steelworkers' Organizing Committee, which had already organized many workers, met in Cleveland in 1942 to found the United Steelworkers of America (USWA). Canada was divided into two districts: District 5 which included Quebec and the Maritime provinces and District 6 which included the rest of Canada, from Ontario to British Columbia. Around 1960 District 6 was reduced to cover only Ontario. In 1996 Atlantic Canada rejoined District 6. John Mitchell was the first director of District 6. Other directors include: Larry Sefton who was elected director in 1953, Lynn Williams in 1973, F. Stewart Cooke in 1977, Dave Patterson in 1981 and Leo Gerard in 1988. The current director is Harry Hynd. In the early days of the USWA, members were employed in either the steel or mining industries. Nowadays they are employed in many additional sectors of the economy, including hospitals, universities, hotels, warehouses, bakeries, banks, and transportation.

2015-06-05

A. Wilson