Latest news with #MaryHill
Glasgow Times
23-04-2025
- General
- Glasgow Times
The story of why this Glasgow area had a different name for decades
In the meantime, a name was used that hinted at the huge significance a certain body of water had on the area. The first survey to plot a "Great Canal" linking the Forth and Clyde rivers was carried out in 1763 by engineer John Smeaton. Given the huge increase in trade between the east and west coasts of Scotland, it was hoped that a planned direct route over water would reduce the time and costs associated with transporting goods over land. Such an ambitious and expensive project naturally attracted debate over essential details such as where to connect the two rivers, how wide and deep to make the canal, and of course, which route the canal should take. 1785 plan of the canal (Image: Glasgow City Archives) After all, fortunes were to be made by those who stood to benefit from the canal's construction. Landowners were assured that they would reap the benefits of the canal's presence on their land and that the canal would increase populations on both sides of the country. Maryhill would end up being a great example of both promised consequences. When Mary Hill and Robert Graham married in around 1761, they brought together the estates of Gairbraid, Garrioch and Lambhill – Mary having inherited the two former estates as a child and Robert's father having purchased the latter in 1700. The Gairbraid estate had debts and an initial idea to mine coal in the area proved to be a non-starter. This unsuccessful attempt was soon forgotten when it was announced in 1785 that the Forth and Clyde canal would be extended westward beyond the current terminus of Stockingfield through land owned by the Graham-Hills. Their sale of land for the canal earned them enough money to leave the old Gairbraid House and build a new one in 1789. This new Georgian mansion sat at the end of a tree-lined avenue off the toll road and overlooked the river Kelvin. While the house was demolished in the 1920s, the street remains and is now called Gairbraid Avenue in reference to the old estate. Gairbraid House (Image: Glasgow City Archives) Since the mid-1700s, the village had started to build up with the printworks at Dawsholm established in 1750, the toll road constructed in 1753 and houses to accommodate the printworkers built in the 1770s on Bridge Street (now Bantaskin Street). The locks 1961 (Image: Glasgow City Archives) The canal's construction had a huge impact on the village's landscape with several major features being added to facilitate the canal's passage through the land. The main toll road running through was diverted so that a canal aqueduct could be built straight over it rather than at an awkward angle. Just along from this, a series of five locks were built past Bridge Street to carry boats down a slope of 50 feet, one of the steepest parts of the canal. READ NEXT: The global superstar rock band with roots in an East End Glasgow tenement READ NEXT: Stunning bungalow near Glasgow in running for Scotland's Home of the Year Perhaps the most impressive construction at this section, however, was the aqueduct built to cross the river Kelvin. Standing at 68 feet high and running 275 feet long, the aqueduct was praised by contemporaries as a display of great engineering skill and elegance. Thankfully worth the money then, having cost around £850k - £1 million in today's money. As well as altering the landscape, the canal's construction also threw open the doors for more industries to thrive in the area. Notably, a drydock for the building and repairing of boats was constructed between locks 22 and 23 at Kelvin Street (now Cowal Road). In an indication of the influence the canal's presence had on the village, people started referring to it as Drydock. To avoid confusion with other docks at Lancefield and Finnieston, Drydock morphed into Kelvindock. This name would stick for decades, with the sawmill and timber yard called Kelvindock Saw Mills and the first bus serving the area in 1842 called the Kelvindock Omnibus. It would be from the 1840s onwards that the name Maryhill started to take precedence. By 1850 the population had massively increased to 3000, just like the Canal company promised.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Amazon Workers Seek Raise in Union-Hostile North Carolina
(Bloomberg) -- When Inc. opened a warehouse in Garner, North Carolina, almost five years ago, Mary Hill was excited to snag a full-time job helping her neighbors get essentials during the Covid 19 lockdowns. Now, the 69-year-old hopes to organize her 4,700 co-workers into a union so they can bargain for $30 an hour and longer breaks. Saudi Arabia's Neom Signs $5 Billion Deal for AI Data Center Nice Airport, If You Can Get to It: No Subway, No Highway, No Bridge Sin puente y sin metro: el nuevo aeropuerto de Lima es una debacle The Forgotten French Architect Who Rebuilt Marseille In New Orleans, an Aging Dome Tries to Stay Super Hill and other organizers won the right to hold a union election this week to determine whether workers at the facility will be represented by the upstart Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment. The group came together during the pandemic, when Hill and many of her colleagues felt Amazon prioritized shipping products over keeping workers safe. 'The word I like to use is 'disillusioned,'' she said of her job packing customer orders. 'I thought Amazon was a great place to work, but then I realized it's really just a sweatshop.' Garner, a community of 40,000 just south of Raleigh, is the backdrop for the latest attempt by workers to unionize the nation's second-largest private employer. Voting is scheduled to end Saturday, after which the National Labor Relations Board will count the ballots. Victory is hardly assured. North Carolina had the lowest union membership rate in the country last year at 2.4%, well below the national average of 9.9%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Amazon's starting pay of $18.50 an hour is in line with other blue-collar jobs in the region, which is home to three major research universities and a well-paid workforce. A 15-year hiring spree has made Amazon a tempting target for unions eager to claw back some of their bargaining power. Forty years ago, more than one in five US workers belonged to a union — twice as many as today. Amazon's growth in transportation and warehousing has undermined one of organized labor's remaining private-sector footholds, prompting the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to target the company. 'We've always said that we want our employees to have their voices heard, and we hope and expect this process allows for that,' Amazon spokesperson Eileen Hards said in an emailed statement. 'We believe our employees favor opportunities to have their unique voice heard by working directly with our team. The fact is, Amazon already offers what many unions are requesting: safe, inclusive workplaces, competitive pay, industry-leading benefits.' Amazon shares fell less than 1% at 10:27 a.m. on Tuesday. US unions have notched only two big victories at Amazon, and both occurred in places were labor still holds some sway. In 2022, workers at a Staten Island warehouse voted to join the Amazon Labor Union, another upstart that has since affiliated with the Teamsters. New York's union membership rate of 20.6% is second only to Hawaii's. Last month, workers at an Amazon-owned Whole Foods Market in Philadelphia voted to be represented by the United Food and Commercial Workers International union. Pennsylvania's union membership rate is higher than the national average at 11.7%. Amazon has prevailed in two union elections at a facility in Bessemer, Alabama, which the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union is trying to organize. Alabama's union membership rate, at 6.6%, is well below the national average. A NLRB judge ruled a third election should be held following allegations of company misconduct during the votes in 2021 and 2022. Amazon has denied any wrongdoing. Hill said her group has communicated with the Amazon Labor Union for tips on how to win and also reached out to workers in Bessemer to absorb lessons from their loss. Organizers also likened their campaign to the civil rights movement in an effort to make their efforts resonate. Even if her group wins, Hill knows the fight with Amazon will probably last years. After all, the workers in Staten Island still lack a contract. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has forced out two top leaders at the NLRB, which is responsible for enforcing most private-sector US employees' right to unionize or take collective action. Already, Amazon is citing the firings in an effort to invalidate the Whole Foods vote. Hill said Amazon workers in Garner include transplants from New York and other states where unions are more common, a factor that she says helped spread awareness about the benefits of organizing. 'We've all been frustrated with management at one point,' Hill said. 'There's always some common ground we can come together on.' --With assistance from Josh Eidelson. (Adds shares. A previous version of this story corrected the day union voting ends and Amazon starting wage.) Trump's Tariffs Make Currency Trading Cool Again After Years of Decline Trump Promised to Run the Economy Hotter. His Shock and Awe May Have a Chilling Effect Why Fast Food Could Be MAHA's Next Target The Game Changer: How Ely Callaway Remade Golf Orange Juice Makers Are Desperate for a Comeback ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg
11-02-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Amazon Workers Seek $30 an Hour in Union-Hostile North Carolina
When Inc. opened a warehouse in Garner, North Carolina, almost five years ago, Mary Hill was excited to snag a full-time job helping her neighbors get essentials during the Covid 19 lockdowns. Now, the 69-year-old hopes to organize her 4,700 co-workers into a union so they can bargain for $30 an hour and longer breaks. Hill and other organizers won the right to hold a union election this week to determine whether workers at the facility will be represented by the upstart Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment. The group came together during the pandemic, when Hill and many of her colleagues felt Amazon prioritized shipping products over keeping workers safe.
