10

Service with a Smile:
Departments Serving Employees

Medical: An Ounce of Prevention

Within a month of breaking ground, in March 1941 Bob and Phil Hamilton already were considering the needs of their future employee base, and organized GECO’s Medical Department.1 They estimated that the department would need to service 3,000 employees, of whom two-thirds would be women.2 Little did they know, over 21,000 employees eventually would pass through GECO’s clock house,3 and that as the war wore on, the percentage of women employed versus men would reach 95 percent.4 They had no way of anticipating how heavy the cost to property and human life would be, due to chemical poisoning, fire, and explosions, but they did know full provision had to be made for any such emergency.5 As in all other decisions, the Hamiltons took a pro-active approach, and prepared as best they could for the worst possible outcome, and then regularly tested their progress, adapting new, better, safer, and more efficient methods to ensure they minimized risk and maximized ammunition output.

In addition to preparing for the worst, as part of Bob and Phil Hamilton’s proactive strategy, they wanted to care for all non-occupational illnesses among their employees while they were on plant property.6 That meant GECO’s medical team would treat everything from runny noses to mysterious rashes. Medical Officer Dr. A.H. Jeffrey anticipated the health requirements of future GECOnians. He helped design the change houses and uniforms; he selected soap, skin cream, and towels, and helped choose sinks and toilets.7 In fact, input from GECO’s Medical Department went well beyond the change rooms. From the frequency of laundry service to the maintenance of washrooms, from ensuring buildings were ventilated properly to the proper installation of air conditioning, Dr. Jeffrey was involved with all personnel health-related decisions.8 He also spearheaded the decision to chlorinate GECO’s water supply, to preclude potential contamination from explosive dust, a serious problem at other war plants.9 Medical personnel also made careful physical examinations of all applicants, setting a high standard of physical fitness for prospective employees.10 In addition to looking for pre-existing skin conditions and chronic respiratory illnesses that might harm operators working with tetryl powder, eyesight and nimble, steady fingers were important factors as well, since good vision was required for precise filling procedures; unsteady hands could have spelled disaster.11

Bob and Phil Hamilton and Dr. Jeffrey embraced the adage, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Industrial medicine, as it was practised at Scarboro, was preventative in nature, designed to keep each individual healthy and capable of productive work with minimal time lost through illness.12 Records show that 85 percent of medical cases treated over the life of Scarboro were non-occupational in nature, mostly minor complaints like contending with a cold or flu.13

However, even minor illness was of concern to GECO management. Viruses had the potential to keep employees away from work, with a subsequent loss in munitions production; and yet, women who continued to work through their illnesses could spread germs within the close confines of their workshop, potentially causing an even greater loss of output. The simple common cold virus demanded diligence and required a delicate balancing act between keeping a dedicated GECOnian on the job and sending her home.

The staff of the Medical Department originally consisted of three fulltime physicians on salary and two nurses, but by May 1942 five full-time physicians were on staff to help give pre-employment medical examinations to several thousand applicants.14 A doctor was on duty on the clean side during specified hours, and employees could see him there or could drop in to the medical building during their lunch hour, or at the end of their shift.15 As the war dragged on, however, a scarcity of doctors threatened this extra service.16

In case of an emergency, an employee could obtain a “barrier pass” from their workshop supervisor and go directly to the medical building.17 An employee working on the dirty side of the plant could go to the medical building at any time. GECOite Dorothy Cheesman recalled fainting once and having to seek medical help. “I was treated very well,” she said.18

Nursing staff at GECO increased to twelve by the end of 1943, with six stationed throughout the plant, including in the change rooms at the start or end of shifts.19 The nurses advised female employees about health matters, particularly about skincare and the prevention of tetryl rash.20 Following the introduction of this proactive nursing service, the incidence of tetryl rash dropped, and other munitions plants nationwide adopted GECO’s approach to managing this occupational hazard.21 Close supervision in the change houses also helped to limit the spread of contagious diseases; nurses sent women home if they were too ill to work or seemed contagious. Through close daily association with GECO’s women operators, nurses gained enough confidence to be of invaluable help in counselling women on non-medical problems as well.22 In April 1943, GECO’s Medical Department introduced a “Visiting Nursing Service” to follow up on serious occupational and non-occupational illnesses at an employee’s home.23

GECO nurses enjoying a round of horseshoes on their lunch break. Medical staff at Scarboro included five full-time doctors and twelve nurses. Courtesy of Archives of Ontario.

Between 850 and 1,500 employees — about one in five — visited the Medical Department or the First Aid units each week during GECO’s operation, a reflection of the high degree of confidence and trust placed in GECO’s medical team, not an indication of poor health among workers.24 The medical staff probably welcomed employees warmly; there were relatively few munitions-related injuries to keep staff busy. With time on their hands, and with thousands of potential “guinea pigs” on which to experiment, medical staff tried out several innovative investigations in a sincere attempt to improve the overall health of their employees. Doctors measured employees’ hemoglobin counts to treat cases of anaemia that potentially could affect a worker’s efficiency.25 They surveyed and documented women’s menstrual histories; they also tested the effectiveness of taking daily multivitamins.26 Unfortunately, vitamin therapy resulted in no lessening in rates of absenteeism or sickness.27

During Scarboro’s history only two major events occurred that strained GECO’s medical facilities.28 The first happened overnight between the eleventh and twelfth of December 1944, when the entire night shift at the plant became “stormbound” during a blizzard with a record-breaking snowfall and freezing temperatures.29 No one was able to leave the compound until late afternoon the next day.30 The second incident occurred on January 26, 1945, when a Hollinger bus carrying employees from the afternoon shift collided with a large truck in GECO’s parking lot.31 The crash resulted in the injury of many employees, some needing hospitalization.32 One woman, GECOite Mrs. Parkes, died four days later.33 This woman’s passing, while tragic, was remarkable in that it was not munitions-related and was the only fatality recorded at GECO’s entire operation at Scarboro.34

In February and March of 1942 the Division of Industrial Hygiene, Ontario Department of Health, conducted a chest X-ray evaluation of all employees — the first industrial analysis of its magnitude to be undertaken in Ontario.35 Dr. Jeffrey explained that “the number of Scarboro employees working in close contact with each other and, in particular, the presence of a large group of young women from eighteen to thirty years of age made such a survey desirable and knowledge was also required as to what extent pulmonary diseases might be an occupational hazard.”36 This first check comprised 5,424 employees, with another round of X-rays nine months later encompassing 2,281 individuals, including all new employees hired since the first analysis.37 In January and February of 1944 another assessment was made of all employees.38 Staff paid special attention to X-rays of operators who worked with explosive powders.39 It was found that these powders had no negative effects on the lungs, which was a relief to all.40 It was not all good news, though. The first round of X-rays showed nineteen employees with active pulmonary tuberculosis, of which fifteen were sent to a sanatorium for treatment.41 Another thirty-one cases were questionably active.42 The prevalence of active TB among GECO’s population was 0.54 percent for men and 0.28 percent among women employees.43 From a contagion and health perspective, government and health experts considered these rates very satisfactory in view of the age groups involved.44 Questionable cases worked only during the day and learned about disease control.45 In the second assessment at the end of 1942, only one active case of tuberculosis required treatment.46 While they wanted to be helpful in conducting the health survey, in an ironic twist, both the Medical Department and management had to dispel rumours that a worker could “catch” tuberculosis from being in close contact with fellow fuse-fillers in windowless air-conditioned workshops.47

In April 1943 GECO introduced an employee Sick Benefit Plan.48 Employees could receive $10.00 per week for female workers and $15.00 per week for male employees, due to illness or accident, up to 13 weeks.49 A doctor’s certificate was necessary to apply for benefits.50 The monthly cost to the employee to enroll in this plan was $1.13 for female employees and $1.73 for men.51 Employees could also purchase hospital insurance for stays of up to twenty-one days per year.52 Coverage was split into three categories: single men and women; married women with or without children and married men with children; and wives of members of the armed forces without children.53

Food Services: Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy

When Bob Hamilton brought Mrs. Ignatieff onboard to take care of Scarboro’s dietary needs, he gave her full autonomy except for one important stipulation: the cafeteria was to run on a non-profit basis.54 She was to keep prices down, regardless of inflation, and base every nutritional decision on quality, quantity, and service.55

Florence oversaw all operations of the massive lunchroom that sprawled across three-quarters of an acre — one of the largest of its kind in Canada with a seating capacity of two thousand — and directed a staff of 120 workers, including chefs, dishwashers, servers, and cleaning personnel.56 In fact, GECO staff served more “customers” daily than all the big hotels in downtown Toronto combined.57 During rush-hour periods, cafeteria staff handled nearly forty customers every sixty seconds.58 Their cutting-edge dishwashing equipment — another GECO invention — met stringent bacterial counts imposed by the Medical Department, and satisfactorily washed away stubborn egg and lipstick from glassware.59 Dishwashing staff daily washed and sterilized about 18,000 plates, 5,000 glasses, and a seemingly unending stream of cutlery.60

In a review of GECO’s operation in 1943, cafeteria manager Florence Ignatieff wrote, “The dining-room was planned and built to enable the employees to secure attractive, nutritious, well-balanced meals, and was arranged large and airy to provide relaxation and pleasant surroundings.”61 A visionary in the science of nutrition, and decades before the “100-Mile Diet” would gain popularity, Florence was convinced local was better, and instructed her staff to buy produce from neighbouring farms whenever possible. Fresh fruit and vegetables harvested from nearby farms at night were on the cafeteria menu the next day. Often ears of corn had been plucked from the fields only a few hours earlier.62 Educated extensively in nutritional sciences, Florence served wholesome meals and espoused healthy eating habits.63 In 1944 she offered diet and nutrition lectures to GECO employees.64 Philip Hamilton, P.D.P. Hamilton’s son, remembers Florence as “a wonderful person” who prepared “wonderful meals.”65

In one day, hungry GECOites consumed up to 1,500 pounds of beef.66 In a typical month, cafeteria staff bought, cut up, prepared, and served twelve tons of meat.67 However, a meat shortage in September 1942 meant a few meatless days in the cafeteria.68 In an amusing GECO cafeteria story, staff mistook salt for sugar while baking a large batch of blueberry pies.69 The staff did not discover the mistake until eight hundred pieces had been cut.70 To complicate things, only half of the slices were salty.71 With only one sure way to ferret out the offending slices, Florence and her assistant Barbara Holmes taste-tested eight hundred pieces of pie.72 It would be a long time before they wanted to eat blueberry pie again.

Florence and her staff believed the large, comfortable cafeteria contributed in good measure to GECO employees’ high morale.73 From the president to the lowliest position at the plant, everyone gathered in the spacious canteen to eat a hearty meal and meet and mingle in informal surroundings. Frequently the large room also functioned as an auditorium and hall, bringing thousands together to hold Victory Bond drives, musical events, talent nights, judging for Miss Scarboro War Worker competitions, and other plant events.

Uniforms: The Mechanical Laundry Mangle

GECO offered free laundering services to employees, mainly to ensure that no explosive dust lingering on dirty uniforms left the property, posing a hazard not only to workers but to their families and the general public.74 Early on, staff sent the plant’s laundry out for cleaning commercially.75 However, transporting dirty uniforms contaminated with explosive dust posed a threat to civilians.76 Opening laundering facilities onsite eliminated a hazard to the public and saved the government $2,000 per week, or more than $100,000 per annum.77 Fortuitously, there were other benefits to washing linens at the plant. Original GECO uniforms, expected to last about eight months, were still in “active service” after more than a year of wash and wear; a conservation initiative decades before a “Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle” would become a global mantra.78

Laundry facilities were housed in Building No. 9, one of the “cleanest” buildings on the dirty side of the plant.79 Laundry staff were in charge of cleaning all linens used in the plant, from shop, cafeteria, and medical uniforms, to towels and hospital bedsheets.80 Staff handled between 65,000 and 75,000 pieces of laundry per week,81 more than Toronto General Hospital at that time.82 Soiled laundry arrived by “trucks” from around the plant, and were sorted, then washed in industrial-strength washers for about an hour.83 This wash included a rinse in a mild solution of sodium sulphite, then a mild bleach to remove dirt, germs, and “tet” — tetryl dust.84 The washing process took seven changes of water.85 Laundry workers put wet clothes through “extractors” — early versions of the modern dryer — to spin out excess water.86 They then pressed clean, dry laundry at the rate of one thousand items per hour in the “mechanical mangle,” a gigantic “ironing” machine.87 Mending happened where needed, and then staff sorted and redistributed clean linens to their appropriate departments.88 Slacks bearing a worker’s employee number were matched to her numbered jacket, a clean turban was added, and then her complete uniform was bundled, tagged, and sent back to the change house, all done within an eight-hour shift.89 By July 31, 1945, GECO’s laundry facilities had handled 10,171,989 pieces of clothing.90

Transportation: Where the Rubber Hits the Road

With the closest streetcar stop located four miles from the plant, the Hamiltons recognized the need to provide sufficient (and free) transportation for their employees.91 Management hired Danforth Bus Lines Limited and Hollinger Bus Lines Limited to pick up and drop off workers at designated stops in Toronto.92 A gentleman’s agreement was the only contract between GECO and the bus lines for almost two and a half years until they signed a formal contract in September 1943.93 Bus stops were situated at the corners of Danforth Avenue and Coxwell Avenue, Danforth and Dawes Road, Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue, Victoria Park Avenue and Kingston Road, and at Main and Gerrard Streets; there were seven stops in total.94 Buses ran from 6:00 a.m. to midnight six days a week, with an additional bus at 3:00 a.m.95 Up to twenty-six buses were needed each shift.96 Seven additional buses served office staff.97 As the war progressed and part-time work was introduced, ten more buses were brought online between 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. daily.98

In a typical twelve-month period, not counting holidays or Sundays, GECO’s fleet of employee buses transported about 2.7 million passengers — the equivalent of carrying a quarter of Canada’s population — about 600,000 total miles, or approximately twenty-four times around the world.99 By 1944, with additional routes added, GECO buses had made seventy-eight thousand trips, or travelled 780,000 miles, the equivalent of circling the Earth thirty times.100

About one thousand operators lived outside GECO bus service routes.101 Management solved this problem with carpooling. Privately owned cars — about 240 vehicles — that were registered with the War Identification Transit Plan picked up and dropped off those employees who truly lived in the wilds of Scarboro.102

During GECO’s “rush hours” more than fifty people per minute boarded buses to head home or disembarked before starting their shifts.103 Mr. Earl Freeland, who was responsible for all bus services, worked tirelessly to keep vehicles on schedule and in good repair.104 He had no control over Mother Nature, however, when a wicked thunderstorm, a sleet or snowstorm, or frigid temperatures tested the mettle of employees and bus drivers alike. Managing this volume of human beings in a tight space could leave tempers and patience in short supply. Transporting thousands of employees each day sometimes caused anger and frustration for non-war workers along the bus route. In a letter to the editor of the Toronto Daily Star on Saturday, February 14, 1942, one such gentleman — a war worker at Research Enterprises Ltd. near Laird and Eglinton, which at its zenith employed more than 7,500 employees — had this to say in reaction to a previous editorial from “East Ender”:

Sir: I read with disgust the letter by an east ender. I thought that we had more war conscious people in the east end. I am an employee of Research Enterprises Ltd. I know, as do a great many others, the conditions on the Pape Ave. bus line.

We, too, have seen six and sometimes eight buses one after another coming down Pape Ave. But East Ender does not say that each one is crammed to the doors with people who work in war plants. East Ender does not say that the war workers have to line up to Danforth Ave. to get on these buses. There are usually hundreds late every morning because they cannot get on the buses, they are so crowded.

AN R.E.L. MAN105

While “R.E.L. MAN” doesn’t say if Research Enterprises Ltd. had their own set of dedicated buses, he makes it clear that war workers — who are striving to end the war — should, and do, get preferential treatment. GECO management reminded their employees that there were other wartime plants that “would give their eye teeth” to have a free ride to work.106

Material rationing and shortages, of car parts, rubber, manpower, and gas easily exacerbated an already complicated endeavour subject to scheduling headaches in the best of times, let alone when the nation was at war; somehow, however, GECO’s fleet of thirty-five buses diligently stayed on the roads “come hell or high water” and made 245 trips daily.107

GECO buses, over the life of the plant, transported between 190,000 and 225,000 riders per month.108 Although the service was free to its employees, GECO’s average cost per passenger per month to run the service was 10.53 cents, a total of approximately $24,000.109 At the end of July 1945, when GECO closed its doors, the buses had carried more than 8.5 million passengers to or from the plant at a phenomenal cost of approximately $895,000.110