Fort William Freight Handlers Strike | The Canadian Encyclopedia

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Fort William Freight Handlers Strike

The Fort William freight handlers strike, by 700 nonunionized immigrants, occurred 9-16 August 1909. Greek and Italian strikers engaged Canadian Pacific Railway police in a protracted gun battle on August 12, whereupon Colonel S.B.

Fort William Freight Handlers Strike

The Fort William freight handlers strike, by 700 nonunionized immigrants, occurred 9-16 August 1909. Greek and Italian strikers engaged Canadian Pacific Railway police in a protracted gun battle on August 12, whereupon Colonel S.B. STEELE restored order using the local militia and the Royal Canadian Mounted Rifles from Winnipeg. A federal conciliation board granted a satisfactory settlement, but in 1910 the CPR fired its 400 southern European employees.