He was a founding leader of the United Packinghouse Workers of America (UPWA), and served the union as international vice-president and Canadian director for nearly 30 years.

[1] In 1939, CIO Canadian Director Charles Millard hired Dowling as a staff representative and assigned him to the Packinghouse Workers Organizing Committee (PWOC).

[2] Like many of his packinghouse comrades, Dowling fervently believed the labour movement must encompass wider social and economic causes, concern for peace and world understanding.

[3] Dowling's contributions to the labour and social democracy movement was also recognized by Ontario Premier Bob Rae, who named a Toronto co-operative housing complex in the food worker's honour.

The Fred Dowling Co-Op offers a democratic approach to housing that provides a mix of market and subsidized residential units in the Davenport area of Toronto.