The Mike Solski fonds consists of material created, received, and accumulated by Mike Solski throughout his lifetime. The material documents Solski’s time with Mine Mill Local 598, various iterations of Municipal Government in the Sudbury Area, and his involvement in local history projects. Solski was involved with the administration of Mine Mill Local 598 during a particularly tumultuous period: the 1958 Strike, the 1961 Steelworkers’ raids, and the 1967 merger between Mine Mill and the USWA. The union was often accused of having communist leanings and was under the surveillance of the RCMP. Many records focus on these issues and highlight the cultural landscape within the Sudbury labour movement during the cold war.
As a whole, the fonds touches upon the multifaceted interests Solski held throughout his life and career and includes material on subjects such as Municipal, Provincial, and Federal politics, labour history—both locally and internationally—, tax reform, mining, and community activism. The fonds consists of correspondence, notes, meeting minutes, photographs, essays, audio interviews, and various other kinds of material. Leaflets and copies of Local 598 News, The Mine Mill Herald, and The Beacon, municipal documentation including compiled meeting minutes and correspondence, transcripts of interviews from local trade-union members, and videotapes on various matters can be found within the fonds. Assorted memorabilia, artifacts, awards and recognition, as well as newspaper clippings about Solski and other Sudbury Area figures are included as well. Records from the Sudbury and District Municipal Association and the institution of Regional Government within the District of Sudbury also make up a large portion of the fonds. Documentation and correspondence related to Solski’s various book projects, his involvement with the labour movement in Sudbury, as well as various other matters are included.
The fonds is organized into the following series: I- Trade-Unionism, II- Politics, and III- Communal Work.
Solski, Mike, 1918-1999