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Contemporary historians of the Canadian working class have portrayed the period after the 1937 General Motors (GM) strike in Oshawa until the outbreak of World War II as one of slow growth and setbacks for the union movement, and between 1937 and 1939 union membership did decline. Union initiatives after the Oshawa strike led GM employees to form other organizations which included a ladies' auxiliary, a bowling club, a Rod and Gun Club, and a credit union. The proliferation of such organizations enhanced the position of autoworkers in the community and gave all workers a stronger presence in Oshawa. As the city became more unionized, cooperation grew among workers both inside and outside the city. Locally in Oshawa between 1937 and 1939, industrial workers became more active politically. After the Oshawa strike, a new class consciousness among that city's industrial workers emerged. The Oshawa strike "kick-started" the industrial union movement in Canada.