"We who make up the Local Division today, owe very much to their foresight and courage, in forming and building this union. We of Division 107 have benefited much in these long 75 years. We have achieved our standard of today at the expense of many tireless and frustrating hours put in by the members before us. It has been a very long and hard road and we have many members to remember and give thanks to." Spoken sixty-eight years after the street railway strike of 1906, the 1974 Local 107 President Henry Austin, could have been directly thanking his predecessor, Mr. John Theaker, President of local 107 during the 1906 Hamilton street railway strike.

Labour unions are formed on behalf of workers to ensure that their needs and interests are being addressed. These needs and interests usually are comprised of wages, working hours, and working conditions in general. As in the case of the Hamilton street railway employee's of 1906, workers will go on strike to ensure that their employer will recognize these unions during contract negotiations.

The Hamilton street railway strike occurred, primarily because the management of the Hamilton street railway company

Ex-Chief Brown, who was a constable at the time, recounts his experience during the Street Railway Strike. Mr. Brown was assigned to ride on a streetcar from the Sanford Avenue barns to the Bay Front. He was to protect the passengers from injury. When they got to the King and James intersection, demonstrators throwing rocks broke every window in the car. At one point a group rolled a large boulder on top of the car from some high point, and it came through the roof. The car was derailed and turned on its side with the passengers, driver and police constable fleeing for their lives.

The Cradle of Collective Bargaining History of Labour and Technology in Hamilton and District. Department of Humanities McMaster University.

"1906 Transit Strike Left City in Shame," The Hamilton Spectator, 19 August 1982, (the section and page number was not listed, this article came from a clippings file.)

The Hamilton Gallery of Distinction, The Hamilton Public Liabrary.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Street Railway, Railway Company, Theaker President, Hamilton Spectator, Riot Act, Allan Studholme's, King James, October November, John Theaker, Allan Studholme, street railway, hamilton street, hamilton street railway, local 107, railway strike, street railway strike, street railway company, railway company, striking workers, riot act, john theaker, company refused, division 107, management hamilton street, riot act read,
Approximate Word count = 2906
Approximate Pages = 12 (250 words per page double spaced)