Defence Union Finds a Home

The year was 1953. The workers of National Defence had a dream to form a Union, and did so. The newly elected Secretary-Treasurer Ken Green had a dream to find the Union a home. The quest was on!

Following an abortive early attempt to buy an existing building, Green solicited authority from the Executive, in October 1954, to set up a Building Fund Company. The 1958 London Convention granted $85,000 with $15,000 contingency to build an office for the National Defence Employees Association (NDEA).

In September 1960, a Trust Agreement was signed to take title of 330 McLeod Street. Just when things were looking good, pandemonium broke out. Half the Executive expressed lack of confidence in the other half. Even worse, there were suggestions of impropriety. It took the best Union negotiating skills to settle things down.

A new problem developed when the allotted money turned out to be insufficient to buy the property and also supply a down payment for the building. A vicious circle resulted. The lenders would advance no funds without signed rental leases. The prospective tenants would not put pen to paper until they saw an actual building. The edifice could not be erected until cash was borrowed. What to do?

Desperate cost saving revisions added stories then subtracted, cut the elevator then restored it. Fortunately, Unionists came to the rescue buying up $300,00 worth of debentures. Construction began on 4 October 1960, and NDEA moved into its new headquarters the following autumn. The official opening ceremony took place on 19 January 1962 when Defence Minister Douglas Harkness cut the ribbon. The final cost was $350,000; the building was constructed with a proud "Union label."