Cold Warrior: C.S. Jackson and the United Electrical Workers

C.S. Jackson was the labour leader that the establishment loved to hate. Tough, intelligent, courrageous, and incorruptible, he was one of the founders of industrial unionism in Canada in the 1930's. He served as the head of the Canadian division of the United Electrical Workers for 43 years. During that time he battled with some of the world's largest corporations, with powerful politicians who had him interned, and with most of the leadership of the Candianlabour movement. Long-associated with the Communist Party, Jackson and the UE were victimized by the Cold War, expelled from teh Candian Congress of Labour, and subjected to red-baited raids conducted by unions under more moderate political leadership. But in the Cold War, which disfigured both Canadian society and the Candian labour movement, he gave as good as he got. This biography demonstrates that Jackson thrived on conflict and challange and rarely shrank from a confrontation - in either his public or private life. Making extensive use of interviews conducted with Jackson and his associates, it provides an intimate portrayal of one of the most controversial and successful radical labour leaders in Canadian history. --Publisher's description

doi:10.15215/aupress/969583575.01