TORONTO — Heritage Toronto has announced it will be unveiling a new plaque featuring union leader Jack White.
White (1925-2002) was the first elected Black representative of the Ironworkers union, stated a release. The plaque will memorialize the activist whose wrongful dismissal in 1964 launched a historic union battle to protect the rights of all Black transit workers.
Sheila White, a relative of Jack White, is scheduled to attend a ceremony highlighting the plaque unveiling on June 14 in Toronto.
Born in Nova Scotia, Jack White was the son of prominent Baptist minister Rev. W.A. White, and the brother of vocalist Portia White and politician Bill White. Before moving to Toronto, Jack White worked at the Canadian National Railway, where he became the first Black union steward in 1944. Settling in Toronto, he later joined the subway construction crew working on the Prince Edward Viaduct.
In 1964, White, a rep for the Ironworkers Local 721, was laid off by the subway contractor, an event that sparked a major labour disruption. For two-and-a-half weeks, in solidarity, his crew stopped working, asserting White was dismissed because of his race. The dispute was resolved only when White was rehired.
White was also the first Black representative for the Canadian Union of Public Employees in Ontario. In the 1970s, White became the director of social services for the Ontario Federation of Labour and an injury and disability claims consultant.
In 1963, he was among the first Black Canadians to run for provincial office, representing the NDP. He was also editor of The Canadian Negro, a pioneering newspaper in the 1950s.
The plaque will be installed by fall near the Castle Frank subway station.
Amazing, well deserved