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Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. Local 1000 (Toronto, Ont.)
Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union. Local 1002 (Windsor, Ont.)
T. Eaton Co.
Williams, Lynn R.

Lynn R. Williams collection. - 1947-1955. - 12.5 cm of textual records.

Lynn R. Williams was hired as an organizer for the drive to unionize Eaton's Department Store in Toronto, Ont. He had studied at McMaster University and been active in union activities in Hamilton, Ont. After the Eaton's campaign, he worked to organize Smith's Department Store in Windsor, Ont. In 1956 he joined the staff of the United Steelworkers of America and eventually rose to be its president.

The story of the campaign to organize Eaton's is told by Eileen Sufrin in The Eaton Drive: The Campaign to Organize Canada's Largest Department Store, 1948 to 1952. She was one of the organizers and her book is based on her memories plus archival material that she gathered from institutions in Ottawa, Toronto, and Vancouver.

The collection consists of correspondence, manuals, minutes, and broadcast scripts related to the unionization drives at Eaton's and Smith's Department Stores.

Title based on contents of collection.
Collection was obtained from the United Steelworkers of America, District 6, as part of Accession 11-1999.
Finding aid available in hard copy and electronically.
There are no access restrictions.
Further accruals are not expected.

Contact: archives@mcmaster.ca
Last Reviewed: January 27, 2010
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