Labour unrest contributed to Mayor George Graff's eventual resignation

George Irwin Graff was born in Port Elgin in 1883 and came to Stratford in 1906 to operate a building business. He became mayor in 1932 and 1933, a period of great upheaval in the community.

The labour union movement had not spread much beyond the Canadian National Railways locomotive repair shops, but there were rumblings in the city’s furniture factories because the Great Depression had forced a drop in wages for that industry.

In Stratford, union demands were drawn up and presented to five of Stratford’s furniture companies on Sept. 13, 1933. The next day, a strike was on. The first violent episode took place on the night of Sept. 18-19, when Preston-Noelting tried to use strikebreakers to ship unfinished radio cabinets. Crowds blocked the way and the police were called in.

The Workers’ Union League organized the women employed at the Swift’s meat-packing plant on Erie Street and, before long, they were on strike, leaving 11,000 live........

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