Charles Sherwood, 1900-1950
The first name on the steelworkers’ monument for the 1950s is Charles Sherwood. It was just a few weeks after the turn of the decade, on 25 January 1950, that Malcolm Pitcher, a heavy machine operator at the coke ovens, ran over his close friend, 49-year- old Sherwood, and killed him. Pitcher had been backing a company truck out of a loading dock at the plant when he felt an impact and heard another worker, Frank Smith, yell for help. It was not until he jumped out of the truck that Pitcher realized what had happened. [1] Sherwood, who was originally from New Brunswick but had lived in Sydney for the past 20 years, was likely killed outright – the registration of his death notes that his skull had been crushed. [2] He left behind a wife, three sons, and a daughter. [3]
The late 1940s witnessed the rise of the conservative faction in union leadership within the USWA. This was spurred in part by national anti-communist sentiment and the marginalization of radical opposition forces within union locals. [4] It was also during the 1950s that the production gap between the Sydney steel plant and those in central Canada began to widen. This was a direct result of the decision of the government, during the Second World War, to support the modernization of the steel industry in central Canada while nearly ignoring the Maritimes. Many veterans who returned from the war could not find work at the steel plant, and unemployment climbed steadily during the 1950s. [5]
In August 1957 rumors began spreading through Sydney that A.V. Roe, a subsidiary of Hawker-Siddeley, was seeking control of Dosco. [6] Although Dosco President Charles B. Lang originally denied any knowledge of the deal, the next week Avro offered to purchase the company. [7] To allay the concerns of some of Dosco’s board of directors, A. Ron Williams, the assistant to the President of Avro Canada stated: “We are not putting up as much as $100 million in shares and cash to close down or slow down Dosco in the Maritimes. We might as well throw the money in the Bay of Fundy.” [8] The sale went through the next month, and much local skepticism was alleviated the following year when Hawker-Siddeley announced the construction of a $25 million bar and rod mill. Despite the assurances, Hawker-Siddeley immediately began a clandestine policy of deindustrialization in Cape Breton. Instead of re-investing profits into the Sydney plant, money was given for the construction of rod and rolling mills in central Canada. The promised mill in Sydney was never constructed.
Footnotes
[1] Malcolm was absolved of any wrongdoing by a decision of the coroner’s inquiry. Chronicle- Herald, January 26, 1950.
[2] Historical Vital Statistics, “Province of Nova Scotia Certificate of Registration of Death – Charles Otha Sherwood,” 1938.
[3] Chronicle-Herald, January 26, 1950.
[4] Ron Crawley, “Conflict Within the Union: Struggles Among Sydney Steel Workers, 1936- 1972,” Ph.D. Dissertation, Carleton University (1995).
[5] Morgan, Rise Again! The Story of Cape Breton Island from 1900 to Today, 131.
[6] Cape Breton Post, 2 August 1957.
[7] Cape Breton Post, 7 August 1957.
[8] Cape Breton Post, 28 August 1957.
The late 1940s witnessed the rise of the conservative faction in union leadership within the USWA. This was spurred in part by national anti-communist sentiment and the marginalization of radical opposition forces within union locals. [4] It was also during the 1950s that the production gap between the Sydney steel plant and those in central Canada began to widen. This was a direct result of the decision of the government, during the Second World War, to support the modernization of the steel industry in central Canada while nearly ignoring the Maritimes. Many veterans who returned from the war could not find work at the steel plant, and unemployment climbed steadily during the 1950s. [5]
In August 1957 rumors began spreading through Sydney that A.V. Roe, a subsidiary of Hawker-Siddeley, was seeking control of Dosco. [6] Although Dosco President Charles B. Lang originally denied any knowledge of the deal, the next week Avro offered to purchase the company. [7] To allay the concerns of some of Dosco’s board of directors, A. Ron Williams, the assistant to the President of Avro Canada stated: “We are not putting up as much as $100 million in shares and cash to close down or slow down Dosco in the Maritimes. We might as well throw the money in the Bay of Fundy.” [8] The sale went through the next month, and much local skepticism was alleviated the following year when Hawker-Siddeley announced the construction of a $25 million bar and rod mill. Despite the assurances, Hawker-Siddeley immediately began a clandestine policy of deindustrialization in Cape Breton. Instead of re-investing profits into the Sydney plant, money was given for the construction of rod and rolling mills in central Canada. The promised mill in Sydney was never constructed.
Footnotes
[1] Malcolm was absolved of any wrongdoing by a decision of the coroner’s inquiry. Chronicle- Herald, January 26, 1950.
[2] Historical Vital Statistics, “Province of Nova Scotia Certificate of Registration of Death – Charles Otha Sherwood,” 1938.
[3] Chronicle-Herald, January 26, 1950.
[4] Ron Crawley, “Conflict Within the Union: Struggles Among Sydney Steel Workers, 1936- 1972,” Ph.D. Dissertation, Carleton University (1995).
[5] Morgan, Rise Again! The Story of Cape Breton Island from 1900 to Today, 131.
[6] Cape Breton Post, 2 August 1957.
[7] Cape Breton Post, 7 August 1957.
[8] Cape Breton Post, 28 August 1957.