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.”
April 2 - Trouble in the Sweetest Place on Earth
April 1 - The Promise of 1946
March 31 - Hospital Workers Stand United
March 30 - 15th Amendment Adopted
March 29 - West Coast Hotel v Parrish Decided
March 28 - Partial Meltdown at Three Mile Island
March 27 - FE Strikers Battle Police at Harvester
March 26 - Police Attack UE Amid ‘46 Strike Wave
March 25 - Centralia Coal Mine #5 Explodes
March 24 - Exxon Valdez Runs Aground
March 23 - Texas City Refinery Explosion Kills 15
March 22 - ERA Passes the Senate
March 21 - Truman Signs Loyalty Order
March 20 - Another Deadly Explosion
March 19 - Wartime President Pushes for Labor Peace
March 18 - Wartime Workers Betrayed
March 16 - Big Bill Haywood Talks General Strike
March 15 - The Grapes of Wrath Opens in Theaters
March 14 - Remembering Walter Crane
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