The Prince Edward Hotel

Brandon Sun - ONLINE EDITION

Weathering a railway strike

The Prince Edward Hotel at 100

By: Grant Hamilton

Friday, Jun. 8, 2012 at 5:59 PM | Comments: 0

LA STUCKEY / SJ MCKEE ARCHIVES Enlarge Image

It wasn't just strikes that could slow the train. According to the photographer, it snowed nearly 40 inches in October, 1959, making this train 10 hours late. The Prince Edward Hotel can been seen in the background.

During a recent strike by CP rail employees, the federal government forced them back to work with emergency legislation. Labour Minister Lisa Raitt said the strike was harming the country’s economy and its reputation.

Enlarge Image

A colour postcard showing the back of the Prince Edward Hotel and a passenger train in the station. (COURTESY KENNETH JACKSON)

Enlarge Image

An early view of the rail depot behind the Prince Edward Hotel. (DAVIDSON AND GOWEN / SJ MCKEE ARCHIVES)

For those with an eye on history, though, that stance seemed a little over-the-top.

Related Items

Articles
- Part 2: Heyday of the hotel

A massive rail strike in 1950 showed what economic consequences to a country could really look like.

The strike dominated headlines for 10 days. With freight stalled, fresh food become a worry. Telegraph operators worked for the railways, so they were off the job, too, and telephone switchboards became overwhelmed with long-distance calls — some taking an hour to connect. The government thought seriously about temporarily nationalizing the airlines, if only to get the mail through, at least.

Gasoline shortages were almost immediate. In Brandon, some customers were limited to two gallons at a time and Sun editorialists howled that casual drivers needed to stay off the roads and save the precious fuel for farmers, who needed it most.

But what were they going to do, walk? The city ran out of cement, and sidewalk paving was shut down. In turn, a low-income housing development was also delayed.

Parliamentarians hustled back for an emergency session — relying on a special government air lift through the defence department, since they couldn’t very well use their normal free rail tickets.

There, they introduced back-to-work legislation for the first time ever. And even that was a fairly measured response. There were rumblings of using the War Measures Act. South of the border, as American unions also struck, U.S. President Harry Truman sent in the army to seize control and keep the trains running.

But at Brandon’s Prince Edward Hotel, where the employees were also railway workers, and thus on strike, management and guests coped as best they could — with good humour.

"They’re making their own beds, but they seem to like it," hotel manager H.L. Morgan told the Sun about his guests. Managers had stepped in to run the main desk and the switchboard, and the union "made some provision for elevator service," the paper wrote.

Mostly, it was permanent residents of the hotel who were sticking around, despite a parade of pickets around the hotel every day from 8 a.m. until noon. Temporary guests had fled to other establishments.

Ironically, although hotel workers were included in the strike, they weren’t going to benefit from it very much. In general, railway workers were asking for both more money and a shorter workweek. But hotel employees were expressly excluded from the demands.

Under the union proposal, all they’d get was a two-cent-an-hour raise.

But more than a week later, when the feds finally forced strikers back to work, it turned out that the government had legislated them a four-cent-an-hour raise. Undoubtedly, that helped things at the hotel get back to normal quickly.

Telegraph operators started "clicking" in Brandon that same night, the Sun said. And for the first time in 10 days "breakfast was served today in the (Prince Edward) hotel dining room … and full service has been resumed for all guests."

blog comments powered by Disqus

Rate this
This article has not yet been rated.

We want you to tell us what you think of our articles. If the story moves you, compels you to act or tells you something you didn’t know, mark it high. If you thought it was well written, do the same. If it doesn’t meet your standards, mark it accordingly.

You can also register and/or login to the site and join the conversation by leaving a comment.

Rate it yourself by rolling over the stars and clicking when you reach your desired rating. We want you to tell us what you think of our articles. If the story moves you, compels you to act or tells you something you didn’t know, mark it high.

Sort by: Newest to Oldest | Oldest to Newest | Most Popular 0 Comments

You can comment on most stories on brandonsun.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

There are no comments at the moment. Be the first to post a comment below.

Post Your Comment

The Brandon Sun does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. Comments are moderated before publication. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.