A Ladder Up: Ontario Firefighters´ Wages in Neoliberal Times

How and why have firefighters been able to maintain and even strengthen their labour position during a neoliberal period characterized by attacks on public sector wages and working conditions? This paper contributes to discussions about labour inequities by investigating the relations that have supported this masculinized labour sectors’ position. I contend that firefighters have experienced advantages due to their sectors’ ties to capital interests and the organization of the labour process. Further, the honourable white masculinity associated with firefighting has been mobilized to strengthen firefighters’ political influence. [Excerpt from Introduction}