Royal York Toronto: History

History of the Royal York Toronto – official and unofficial

Up on the mezzanine overlooking the lobby you’ll find a somewhat selective history of the hotel told in photographs. This collection of black and white shots of the hotel at different stages of its life is fascinating. Ok, this company history and homage to itself is egocentric, but it’s also amusing. In addition to the architectural shots there are lots of photos of celebrities. The Rich and Famous reign here in a kind of Perpetual Shrine to Pomp & Power.

One part of its past you won’t find in most potted histories of this hotel is the infamous labour strike of the hotel workers in 1961-1962. The protest lasted 17 days short of a year! Back then, Local 299 of the Hotel & Club Employees Union fought a David & Goliath Battle where the workers took on the rich & powerful in their own castle. Talk about a revolt of the peasants. After nearly twelve months of walking the picket line, the employees – cooks, cleaners, servers etc – couldn’t hold out anymore. Hunger forced most workers back long before the year ended. The remaining ragtag crowd finally accepted a settlement that was little better than the one they’d rejected before the strike.

In a sense Goliath won. However, the Royal York workers did manage to hold onto their union status, which was a victory of sorts, as the hotel management had tried to kill off the union altogether. To this day many members of the hotel staff at the Royal York are unionized.

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