That was the day five Italian immigrant workers were killed in Toronto, Ontario in what is known as the Hoggs Hollow Tragedy.
Referred to as sandhogs, workers sought to connect a pumping station to the water distribution network.
They were building a water main in a tunnel under the Don River.
The project was already far behind schedule and over budget.
Workers were welding in a compression chamber when smoke began to overwhelm the main shaft.
Some workers made it out.
Firefighters were prevented from releasing water into the tunnel to extinguish the fire over concerns that it would cause a collapse.
There was no backup safety equipment at street level.
The tragedy shed light on the appalling wage and working conditions immigrant workers faced just outside the city borders.
The persistent public outcry prompted exposes and investigations that revealed just how bad conditions were.
It was truly a tale of two cities.
Within the city, union requirements guaranteed breaks and enforcement of safety regulations.
But just outside it was a different story.
According to Jamie Bradburn, who wrote for the Toronto Historicist in 2010, “workers on suburban projects faced conditions that included lack of proper sanitation, poor safety inspections, illegal withholding of vacation pay, unpaid overtime, cheques that often bounced, and groundless threats of deportation. The coroner’s inquest determined that callous management, incompetent foremen, inexperienced workers, a disorganized rescue, and inefficiency at the Department of Labour caused the disaster... Though no criminal charges were ultimately laid, the sacrifice of the five men at Hogg’s Hollow brought about improvements in the conditions that had led to their demise.”
December 1 - Standing Up for Themselves and Their Patients
November 30 - Angel of the Stockyards is Born
November 29 - The Fight for $15 & A Union
November 28 - Disaster in the Mines
November 27 - Death Trap in Newark
November 26 - The Birth of William Sylvis
November 25 - Chicago Printers Walk Off the Job
November 24 - The Hollywood Ten
November 23 - The Thibodaux Massacre
November 22 - Uprising of the 20,000
November 21 - Autoworkers Join the Postwar Strike Wave
November 20 - Birth of the Time Clock
November 19 - Joe Hill’s Final Words
November 18 - Accident or Murder?
November 17 - Resisting Impressment
November 16 - NFL Players End Strike
November 15 - The IWW is Raided
November 14 - The Origins of CWA
November 13 - The Holland Tunnel Opens
November 12 - Striking Against Privatization
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