Cornwall, Ontario is located in the easternmost stretch of southern Ontario along the St.Lawrence River, 30 minutes from the Quebec border. Since its founding in 1784, much of Cornwall’s history has been connected to its role as a regional industrial hub. Cornwall’s cotton mills opened for business as early as 1868, and the Toronto Paper Manufacturing Company Ltd. opened its doors in 1881.
The subject of this blog post is the banner donated to WAHC by the contemporary union UNITE HERE (Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees Union) in 2003. One of its predecessor unions was the the Textile Workers Union of America (TWUA), and TWUA Local 779 represented the rayon factory workers of Courtaulds Cornwall. Founded in 1794, Courtaulds was a well known man-made fabrics company that broke ground in Cornwall in 1924 and operated mills from 1925 – 1992. Over time, they grew from one to five mills on the same property and became one of the town’s biggest employers. The local is represented in the accompanying photos from the 1956 and 1959 Labour Day parades where our banner is seen on full display in the colour photograph!
Local 779 formed in 1936 but how it formed is less clear because the TWUA did not form until 1939. In fact, the committee that formed the TWUA, the Textile Workers Organising Committee, did not exist until 1937. This likely means that 779 was organised by the Committee for Industrial Organisation (CIO) directly. The banner seen in All Together Now! dates between 1940 and 1955 due to the inclusion of CCL and CIO affiliations.
The TWUA had a big presence in Cornwall which included the other Locals 799, 805, 806 and 962. In 1961, the Courtaulds Viscose Workers Association re-purposed a Baptist Church as The House of Labour at 130 Sydney Street. This facility was used by various labour groups in Cornwall and is now a designated heritage building.
Cornwall’s Courtaulds factory produced rayon thread and yarn. Viscose, the most common kind of rayon, appeared in the local’s meeting minutes from at least 1938 until 1964. Local 779 represented workers from several departments including: Viscose, acid recovery, carpets, continuous spinning process, engineering, fibro, nylon, spinners, and others. Rayon production is a resource heavy process and notorious for its toll on the environment. Over thirty years later, two of the remaining Courtaulds landfills continue to leak contaminants into the town’s soil.
The closure of the mills’ in 1992 came about for a number of issues facing the manufacturing sector in Canada in the late 20th century. But the legacy of the industry in the town is significant and one that continues to impact the residents of Cornwall till today.
Key Sources
Danny Moore and Nancy Sutton, Finding Aid 1110: Collection MG 28, I 219, Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union – Textile Division (Ottawa, Ontario: Public Archives Canada, 1985), 159; This particular finding aid was created in 1979 by Danny Moore and Nancy Sutton of the Economic and Scientific Archives. It was revised in 1980 by D. Moore, and again in 1985 by Laura McFarlane and Peter De Lottinville. The collection it represents can now be found under R5230-5-2-E, MG28-I219 through Library and Archives Canada.
Don Smith, “Labour and Labour Days of Yesteryear” ,” Seaway News, 26 Aug 2024. Accessed 27 August 2024 https://cornwallseawaynews.com/columnists/labour-and-labour-days-of-yesteryear. Accessed 27 August, 2024
https://www.cornwall.ca/en/live-here/history-and-heritage.aspx, Accessed 27, August 2024
Nick Seeburch, “Chemical Contamination under Fire Station to be Addressed,” Seaway News, 17 Aug 2020. Accessed 30 March 2023. https://www.cornwallseawaynews.com/local/chemical-contamination-under-fire-station-to-be-addressed/