1890s Hamilton

A few hours after the impromptu work action had begun, a meeting of the strikers was held at 4 p.m. at the Foresters’ Hall on James street North to discuss next steps behind closed doors. It was ultimately decided to call for a public meeting on the Gore in order to elicit public sympathy for the discharged workers. The mass meeting was called to begin at 7 p.m.           Meanwhile the Hamilton Street Railway Company officials decided to stop running its cars at 7 p.m. Rumors abounded that as soon as darkness fell, the strikers would attempt to destroy the cars. Such fear proved to be groundless as the men had no desire to destroy property. They only wished to discuss the issues of wages and hours of work.           The public meeting was attended by a large number of citizens who all remained orderly throughout the evening:           “The absence of cars on the streets helped to make the Gore a capital meeting place, and it was evident from the large concourse of p

After the members of their newly-formed association had been fired after trying to engage in discussion with the company’s management, the employees of the Hamilton Street Railway held a meeting.           It was the consensus of those present that the company officials had misunderstood the intentions of the employees in forming the new organization. It was felt that another effort should be made to convince the company that it should engage with its employees responsibly.           However, when the three men who had been dismissed, tried again to meet with Mr. Griffith, manager of the Street Railway company, they were told that the company would have nothing to do with them as representatives of any employee organization, but that he would deal with them on an individual basis:           “(Griffith) was assured that there was nothing antagonistic to the company in the objects of the association and offered to show him the minutes of its meetings. Mr. Griffith still

“Between the Hamilton Street Railway Company and its employees relations just at present are somewhat strained. The trouble has been brewing ever since the horse cars gave place to the trolley system, but only today did the difficulty reach such an acute stage as to result in the dismissal of several motormen and conductors. The events that lead up to this action by the company are connected with the agitation that has arisen over the failure of the management to live up to the terms of the agreement regarding the hours of the men and their pay for overtime.”           “Motormen Discharged : Several of the Street Railway Employees Laid Off”   Hamilton Herald. September 6, 1892. 1           Throughout the summer of 1892, the Hamilton Street Railway Company and its employees had tremendous difficulties adjusting to the new schedules necessitated by the conversion of the system from horse to electric motive power.           One employee, John Kelly, had amassed over fifty

The meeting of Hamilton City Council at which the controversial street railway bylaw was to be discussed had been scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m., March 14, 1892. Long before that scheduled starting time, scores of Hamiltonians arrived at the Council Chambers to ensure that they would be able to witness the proceedings.           By 7 o’clock, the aldermen and city officials who sought to enter the chambers found every entrance crowded and they had difficulty reaching their seats:           “ To such an extent was the public interest that every square foot on the floor of the chamber, in the little retiring rooms on either side, in the cockloft which is miscalled a gallery and out along the corridors and down the broad stairways, was occupied, and no discomfort of position or inconvenience caused by crowding seemed to make any difference in the willingness of the people to stay, so long as the subject they had come to hear discussed, was debated.” 1 1 “It Went : The St