I would like to invite you to march in this year’s Labour Day Parade.
The details are as follows:
First Parade: 1872
Organizer: Toronto and York Region Labour Council – a component of Canadian Labour of Congress
PIPSC Organizers: Din Kamaldin - dkamaldin@aol.com
Peter Gilkinson - petergilkinson@bell.net
Date: Monday September 4th, 2017
Time parade begins: 9:30 a.m.
Start Location: Dundas and University
Time arriving at the Ex: 11:30 a.m.
Lunch: Lunch voucher redeemable at the Ex provided
Cost to participants: $0
Admission to Ex: Yes, using a wristband, which will be handed out
If you would like to participate, please contact one of the organizers. We have 200 wristbands and they will be given out on a first come, first serve basis
Can you bring someone? ...Yes, and they will get a wristband Ex admission as well
Some interesting fact about Labour Day....
Labour Day has been celebrated on the first Monday in September in Canada since the 1880s.
The origins of Labour Day in Canada can be traced back to December 1872 when a parade was staged in support of the Toronto Typographical Union's strike for a 58-hour work-week. The Toronto Trades Assembly called its 27 unions to demonstrate in support of the Typographical Union who had been on strike since March 25.
George Brown, a politician and editor of the Toronto Globe hit back at his striking employees, pressing police to charge the Typographical Union with "conspiracy."
Although the laws criminalizing union activity were outdated and had already been abolished in Great Britain, they were still on the books in Canada and police arrested 24 leaders of the Typographical Union.
Labour leaders decided to call another similar demonstration on September 3 to protest the arrests. Seven unions marched in Ottawa prompting a promise by Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald to repeal the "barbarous" anti-union laws. Parliament passed the Trade Union Act on June 14 the following year, and soon all unions were seeking a 54-hour work-week.
The Toronto Trades and Labour Council held similar celebrations every spring.
American Peter J. McGuire, co-founder of the American Federation of Labor, was asked to speak at a labour festival in Toronto on July 22, 1882. Returning to the United States, McGuire and the Knights of Labor organized a similar parade based on the Canadian event on September 5, 1882 in New York City.
On July 23, 1894, Prime Minister John Thompson and his government made Labour Day, to be held in September, an official holiday.
We hope to see you there!
Peter Gilkinson
Director – Ontario Region