Factory Life

The Border Cities' auto workers received wages that were at one time, reportedly the highest in any part of the Dominion, but high wages did not necessarily translate to a large annual income. In the early years of the industry, sales were closely linked to the seasons and to good road conditions. What became an annual autumn layoff persisted until the 1930s. Weeks of overtime could be followed by a sharp drop in production, creating a highly irregular work schedule that could mean unemployment for as much as six months of the year. Such conditions made auto work extremely tenuous, as did the absence of seniority. Any number of workplace infractions could lead to dismissal such as smoking on the job, defacing walls or running in the plant. The single biggest factor in creating worker vulnerability, however, was the move toward mechanized production.

An outgrowth of the bicycle and carriage trade, the auto industry was only in its infancy at the turn of the century, and made little use of machinery and automation. Cars were virtually hand-built via a craft method of production in which skilled workmen, on their own or as part of a team, proceeded to machine, fit and assemble finished parts into components and the complete automobile. The early industry's reliance on skilled machinists left employers little choice but to give workers a measure of control.

Ford Motor Company in the United States began experimenting with the idea of a moving assembly line in 1913, adopting innovations in production methods used in local slaughterhouses. The results were encouraging; the assembly time of a single chassis went from fourteen hours to a little over ninety minutes. Soon auto companies on both sides of the border were making use of the new technology. The line must have been less than a dream come true for workers, however, whose skills were diluted along with the autonomy that had once been an integral part of their work experience. Workers now had little say in the work they did, and even less say in the pace at which it was performed. Although only 15-20 percent of the workforce was stationed on the assembly line, it drove the process, setting the goals of all operations.

The full-scale use of machinery in the auto industry only increased the number of already prevalent health hazards workers faced. While problems such as lead poisoning, burns, poor ventilation, extreme heat, silicosis or other long ailments were previously present, the rate and tedium of the assembly line heralded problems relating to mental anxiety and complaints of "nervousness"; workers could also get caught in exposed belts. Because employees were paid piece-work or were on a bonus system, awkward or ineffective safety equipment, which could slow down production, was often not utilized. All of this occurred in an industry that was in fact one of the safest in the manufacturing sector.

Such conditions were no doubt exasperated by the continual speed-ups proscribed by foremen, whose own pay-rates were linked to production output While many foremen maintained friendly relations with the workers they oversaw, numerous foremen took advantage of the authority and position they possessed - an authority often left unchecked by company officials. Foremen had the power to hire workers in the early years of the industry, and could terminate employment at many companies into the 1930s. As such, it was not uncommon for employees to bring gifts to their foremen, or to offer favours of all sorts in order to keep their positions. Jobs could be "purchased" from foremen at Ford, Chrysler, Kelsey Wheel and General Motors. Resistance on the part of workers was more often directed at exploitive and discriminatory foreman as individuals, than as representatives of the company.

Discrimination manifested itself most clearly in the way jobs were ethnically and racially segmented. Immigrant and Black workers most regularly found themselves doing the dirtiest and most arduous work in the factory. Whereas many Black workers found employment in Detroit's auto plants, Windsor's auto factories had few Black workers. Chrysler refused to hire Blacks entirely and did not do so until it lost a human rights case in 1946, initiated by the Canadian UAW and others in the civil rights and labour movement.