Militants, Mobsters and Mavericks
The Men Who Built Modern Toronto in the 1960s–70s
by Gilberto Fernandes
Organized crime and the fight for immigrant workers’ rights. Unforgettable events and a lively cast of characters all paint a vivid picture of Toronto during the 1960s and 1970s.
Here is a gripping look at the underbelly of Toronto’s explosive postwar growth, when labour leaders, politicians, contractors and crime figures battled for control of the city’s booming construction industry.
Toronto’s highways, subways, and skyscrapers were built by immigrant workers under dangerous conditions, while they fought for fair wages and better safety measures. Militants, Mobsters and Mavericks tells the story of fiery union leader Gerry Gallagher and his cerebral successor Giovanni Stefanini, whose battles for workers made them allies, or foes, of a remarkable cast of Toronto figures of the era, including journalist-turned-politician Frank Drea, idealistic coroner Morton Shulman, and Hamilton Mafia boss Johnny Papalia.
The fast-paced narrative explores a little-known side of Toronto’s history, and the links today between provincial Conservatives and powerful unions like the Labourers International Union of North America (LIUNA), with its 70,000 Toronto-area members, as well as the role unions play in protecting workers’ rights.
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