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There is a growing body of research on African Canadians in the 19th century that touches on their experiences in the workforce. Nonetheless, the literature has been largely silent on how labour market opportunities for African Canadians altered over time and, in particular, how members of this community fared with the slow, but nonetheless dramatic, rise of an industrial-capitalist economy. This study uses census data to explore the occupational experiences of African Canadians living in London, Ontario, between 1861 and 1901. Findings suggest that labour market opportunities were better for men of African origins around mid-century but declined noticeably in the succeeding years. African Canadians of both genders were largely excluded from growth areas in the economy, and their labour was highly concentrated in a narrow range of low-skill jobs. Although there is limited evidence of upward occupational mobility over time for some, and a slight broadening of occupational opportunities by 1901, African Canadian men and women were disadvantaged compared to their white counterparts.

The article reviews the book, "The Business of Women: Marriage, Family, and Entrepreneurship in British Columbia, 1901–51," by Melanie Buddle.

The article reviews the book, "The Nurture of Nature: Childhood, Antimodernism, and Ontario Summer Camps, 1920–55," by Sharon Wall.

Power in Coalition: Strategies for Strong Unions and Social Change, by Amanda Tattersall, is reviewed.

Drawing on data collected as part of a larger qualitative study of the experience of restructuring in the non‐profit social services in Canada and Australia, this article argues that resistance, including social unionism, is often a complex form of emotional labour and a source of deep satisfaction for care workers in the non‐profit social services.

The article reviews the book, "Privatizing Pensions: The Transnational Campaign for Social Security Reform," by Mitchell A. Orenstein.

Employment Policy in the European Union: Origins, Themes and Prospects, edited by Michael Gold, is reviewed.

The article reviews the book, "Making Capitalism Safe: Work Safety and Health Regulation in America, 1880-1940," by Donald Rogers.

The article reviews the book, "La signification du travail : nouveau modèle productif et ethos du travail au Québec," by Daniel Mercure and Mircea Vultur.

The article reviews the book, "Seeking Spatial Justice," by Edward W. Soja.

The article reviews the book, "Embedded With Organized Labor: Journalistic Reflections on the Class War at Home," by Steve Early.

During the last two days of December in 1911 the Finnish Labour Temple in Port Arthur, Ontario, was the scene of one of the most significant events in both Canadian and regional political history before the First World War. Chosen for its geographic position, the temple hosted a pan-national gathering of socialists who, in an attempt to unite the Canadian left, established Canada’s first social democratic party, the Social Democratic Party of Canada (SDPC). The goal of the SDPC was to educate the workers of Canada to consciousness of their class position in society, their economic servitude to the owners of capital, and to organize them into a political party to seize the reins of government and transform all capitalist property into the collective property of the working class. Its activity during the next decade would have a profound influence on both the various manifestations of socialism regionally and nationally over the next century and on mainstream Canadian social politics. However, the hundredth anniversary of its establishment has gone unnoticed by political and labour historians. Part of the reason rests with the simply fact that, although many works mention and even briefly discuss the SDPC, no full-length study has yet been written. In an attempt to rectify this situation, this paper provides an overview of its actions and activities at the Lakehead,between 1911 and 1918. --Introduction

The article reviews the book, "Êtes-vous qualifi é pour servir?," by Sylvie Monchatre.

La puissance et le pouvoir sont des notions fondamentales pour l'étude de la négociation collective. Bien qu'ayant été au coeur des travaux fondateurs des relations industrielles de part et d'autre de l'Atlantique, leur traitement demeure pourtant insatisfaisant. Il convient donc de proposer une conceptualisation spécifi que et nuancée de celles-ci, permettant le cumul des acquis de connaissance afi n, notamment, de mieux comprendre les aff rontements entre employeurs et syndicats ainsi que l'équilibre au sein des régimes de rapports collectifs du travail. Pour ce faire, l'auteur propose une synthèse des travaux antérieurs intégrant certaines contributions majeures du champ de la sociologie politique. La puissance et le pouvoir, notions correspondant à une capacité et son actualisation, y sont envisagés du point de vue de la dépendance qu'entretiennent les parties à la négociation collective ainsi que des ressources et de la capacité stratégique de ces dernières.

The article reviews the book, "Seated by the Sea: The Maritime History of Portland, Maine, and Its Irish Longshoremen," by Michael C. Connolly.

The article reviews the book, "Live Wire: Women and Brotherhood in the Electrical Industry," by Francine A. Moccio.

Editorial introduction to the themes examined in the issue.

The global economic crisis and its effects have changed the context for public sector unions in Canada. There is evidence that an intensified offensive against public sector unions is beginning. Few public sector unions are prepared to respond adequately to such an offensive, as the important 2009 strike by Toronto municipal workers illustrates. In this more difficult context, change within public sector unions is increasingly urgent. The most promising direction for union renewal lies in the praxis of social movement unionism. However, there are very few signs of moves to promote this approach within Canadian public sector unions.

We utilize two representative cross-national data sets to shed light on what has been a vexing problem in the industrial relations literature; namely, the existence and persistence of the representation gap documented more than a decade ago by Freeman and Rogers (1999). Specifically, we estimate the determinants of employee desire for a range of collective voice mechanisms, including unionization. We do this separately for the US and Canada and then, using an application of the Oaxaca decomposition technique, we decompose the differences in those desires between the two countries into a component due to differences in the characteristics of respondents and another due to differences in preferences for collective voice mechanisms. Our results indicate that: (1) roughly half of workers in both countries expressed a desire for a range of collective voice mechanisms to deal with workplace issues; (2) that desire for collective voice was stronger in the US than in Canada; and (3) that virtually all of the stronger desire for collective workplace voice in the US, as compared to Canada, was due to stronger employee preferences for collective solutions as opposed to differences in the characteristics of workers. We offer plausible explanations for our findings and discuss the implications for labour law reform.

This paper draws on research on the emergence of the Chinese Medical Doctor Association (CMDA) in recent years, by examining interview and documentary evidence from this organization and two case study hospitals in China. With reference to mobilization theory, the research investigates whether the CMDA has developed sufficient power to effectively represent and defend members' interests. The paper reviews the increasing presence of the CMDA in doctors' professional training and education, self-discipline and ethical issues. The findings show that at present the CMDA has not become an independent Dunlop-type union organization or a new industrial relations actor. Nevertheless, the CMDA may be able to help doctors to develop their social capital and group identity, and in the future the CMDA may become more powerful in representing Chinese doctors.