Your search

The article reviews the book, "Edible Histories, Cultural Politics: Towards a Canadian Food History," edited by Franca Iacovetta, Valerie J. Korinek, and Marlene Epp.

Theory and research surrounding employee voice in organizations have often treated high-involvement work practices (HIWPs) as substitutes for unions. Drawing on recent theoretical developments in the field of industrial relations, specifically the collective voice/institutional response model of union impact and research on HIWPs in organizations, the authors propose that these institutions are better seen as complements whereby greater balance is achieved between efficiency, equity, and voice when HIWPs are implemented in the presence of unions. Based on a national sample of Canadian organizations, they find employees covered by a union experience fewer intensification pressures under higher levels of diffusion of HIWPs such that they work less unpaid overtime, have fewer grievances, and take fewer paid sick days. Job satisfaction is maximized under the combination of unions and HIWPs.

A quarter-century ago, in the Action Travail des Fermmes case, the Supreme Court of Canada gave strong endorsement to the principle that systemic remedies should be widely available in human rights cases to combat entrenched patterns of discrimination, and indicated that such remedies could be expected to be effect- ive in meeting that objective. This paper considers developments in the area of systemic remedies since Action Travail des Fenmes was decided, and concludes that the promise held out by the Supreme Court remains unfulfilled and indeed that the viability of systemic remedies themselves is very much in question. At the federal level, amendments to the Canadian Human Rights Act retrenched the tri- bunal's remedial powers, by seemingly inhibiting the imposition of hiring quotas in cases where systemic discrimination in employment had been established In addition, the generation-long saga of the McKinnon case in Ontario laid bare the almost insurmountable challenges of enforcing systemic orders against a recalci- trant respondent, and revealed the limits of the human rights system's institutional capacity. Most recently, in the Moore decision, the Supreme Court has cast doubt even on the availability of systemic remedies, by holding - on the basis of a superficial analysis and contrary to its own long-standing jurisprudence - that only individual remedies should have been ordered in a case which unmistakeably had systemic dimensions. While the decision may reflect the Court's concern that the tribunal decision intruded excessively into the realm of public policy and finance, it provides no meaningfd guidance on how government can be held accountable for its human rights obligations.

Pays tribute to Bettina Bradbury's feminist historiography and how it influenced the author's own work on the household economy of residential prostitution as well as female tavern and inn keepers in 19th century Montreal. Concludes that Bradbury raised the bar for studies of social, economic, cultural, and political history in Canada and Quebec.

The article reviews the book, "Building Sanctuary: The Movement to Support Vietnam War Resisters in Canada, 1965-73," by Jessica Squires.

This article reviews the book, "Rebellion in Black and White: Southern Student Activism in the 1960s," ed. by Robert Cohen and David J. Snyder.

This study seeks to develop a diversity profile of the nursing workforce in Canada and its major cities. Background There is ample evidence of ethnic and linguistic segregation in the Canadian labour market. However, it is unknown if there is equitable representation of visible and linguistic minorities in nursing professions. We cross-tabulated aggregate data from Statistics Canada’s 2006 Census. Analyses examined the distribution of visible and linguistic minorities, including visible minority sub-groups, among health managers, head nurses, registered nurses, licensed nurses and nurse aides for Canada and major cities as well as by gender. In Canada and its major cities, a pyramidal structure was found whereby visible and linguistic minorities, women in particular, were under-represented in managerial positions and over-represented in lower ranking positions. Blacks and Filipinos were generally well represented across nursing professions; however, other visible minority sub-groups lacked representation. Conclusions Diversity initiatives at all levels can play a role in promoting better access to and quality of care for minority populations through the increased cultural and linguistic competence of care providers and organizations. Implications for Nursing Management Efforts to increase diversity in nursing need to be accompanied by commitment and resources to effectively manage diversity within organizations.

Despite their high levels of education, racialized immigrant women in Canada are over-represented in low-paid, low-skill jobs characterized by high risk and precarity. Our project documents the experiences with precarious employment of racialized immigrant women in Toronto. We conducted 30 semi-structured interviews with racialized immigrant women. Participants were recruited through posted flyers, partner agencies, peer researcher networks and snowball sampling. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using NVivo software. The project followed a community-based participatory action research model. Participants faced powerful structural barriers to decent employment and additionally faced barriers associated with household gender relations. Their labour market experiences negatively impacted their physical and mental health as well as that of their families. These problems further constrained women's ability to secure decent employment. Our study makes important contributions in filling the gap on the gendered barriers racialized immigrant women face in the labour market and the gendered impacts of deskilling and precarity on women and their families. We propose labour market reforms and changes in immigration and social policies to enable racialized immigrant women to overcome barriers to decent work.

Announcement of suspension of the publication and a retrospective.

As a result of concerns around declining memberships and the growth of precarious employment in recent years, unions have sought to expand their jurisdictions and organize groups of workers who have typically resisted collective bargaining. Research on union renewal has examined working conditions and workplace structures that may give rise to successful organizing campaigns. In this paper we examine working conditions amongst non-unionized same-day messengers working in Toronto, Canada. The research team conducted 143 semi-structured interviews with bikers, drivers and walkers who work primarily for local courier companies. We find that although same-day couriers are typically treated as ‘independent contractors’, they are dependent on brokers, and precariously employed, with unpredictable income and hours of work. Though this group would benefit substantially from unionization, especially organized on a sector-wide basis, their attitudes and culture combined with the structure of the local industry create substantial impediments to organizing.

The article pays homage to the socialist labour activist Hugh Lukin Robinson (1916-2012), who worked at the United Nations and was research director of the Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers from 1952-62.

This article reviews the book, "A Contest of Ideas: Capital, Politics, and Labor," by Nelson Lichtenstein.

This article reviews the book, "Social Transformation in Rural Canada: Community, Cultures, and Collective Action," ed. by John R. Parkins and Maureen G. Reed.

"[E]xamines the workload responsibilities of teacher, research and service and the role of collective agreements in ensuring balance." -- Editors' introduction.

This study analyzes the results of a 2010 national survey of Canadian non-managerial employees' membership and interest in worker organizations. This is the first general survey to include associations as well as unions. Profiles of membership and interest in unions and associations are presented, then demographic, organizational and attitudinal factors related to interest in joining these worker organizations are examined. The findings suggest that, in spite of some recent decline in union density, most Canadian non-managerial workers who are interested in collective representation are members of at least one of these organizations. The strongest interest in joining is expressed by those who are highly educated, poorly paid and feel underemployed-even if allowed some workplace "voice". The limited prior focus on unions needs to be expanded to attend to both unions and associations as worker-controlled vehicles of representation, particularly to identify strategic alliances with the growing numbers of professional employees.

The 1990s and 2000s were especially difficult decades for government–public sector union relations in Canada. Rising costs and growing debts meant that governments were on the lookout for savings, and public sector unions and employees were easy targets for government actions. Bitter conflicts between unions and governments erupted and each labour dispute involved numerous rounds of public rhetoric in which both sides attempted to justify their actions and stigmatize their opponents.In Bad Time Stories, Yonatan Reshef and Charles Keim analyse the language of both parties in order to identify the legitimation strategies at work during government-union conflict. The authors use evidence drawn from newspapers, speeches, parliamentary transcripts, and legal statements in presenting a new framework for understanding the discursive strategies employed by governments and unions in labour disputes.Using a case study and linguistic approach, Bad Time Stories offers a unique perspective on industrial relations and will be of interest to scholars in the areas of business, public policy, and communications, as well to those directly involved in union-management negotiations. -- Publisher's description

La conciliation entre la vie professionnelle et la vie de famille cristallise un défi majeur aussi bien pour les travailleurs, les organisations que pour la société. De nombreux changements et mutations survenus dans le marché du travail et dans la vie familiale participent de l’avènement de cette situation (c.-à-d. les exigences accrues au niveau de la charge de travail suite aux restructurations, les changements fréquents d’affectation, la nécessité d’accorder des soins particuliers à des membres de la famille, etc.). Plusieurs facteurs nocifs à la performance des entreprises découlent de cette situation dont, entre autres, la recrudescence actuelle des comportements de retrait, des intentions de quitter et du roulement volontaire des travailleurs. Ce contexte s’avère particulièrement préoccupant dans le secteur de la santé, notamment chez le personnel infirmier. L’objectif général de la présente recherche est d’étudier l’influence de différents conflits travail-famille à l’endroit de l’intention de quitter l’organisation au niveau du personnel infirmier. Deux modèles théoriques rivaux, soit le modèle du stress organisationnel et le modèle d’effets d’entraînement, prétendent expliquer l’influence des conflits travail-famille sur l’intention de quitter l’organisation. Le but de cette étude est de vérifier lequel de ces deux modèles théoriques explique le mieux l’influence de la conceptualisation multidimensionnelle de ce conflit (deux directions de ce conflit, soit travail→famille et famille→travail exprimées chacune en termes de temps, d’effort et de comportement) à l’endroit de l’intention de quitter. À partir d’un échantillon de 404 sujets provenant du personnel infirmier d’un centre hospitalier, l’analyse de régression hiérarchique montre que le modèle du stress organisationnel explique davantage l’intention de quitter l’organisation que le modèle d’effets d’entraînement. En outre, les résultats indiquent que ce sont les ingérences de la vie d’emploi, en termes de temps et surtout d’effort, qui intensifient l’intention de quitter. Des avenues de recherche et des implications managériales sont déduites à la lumière des résultats enregistrés.

"[E]xamines issues and challenges of collegial self-governance for academic librarians at Brock University." -- Editors' introduction.

Given [the] hostile political and ideological climate in which, rightly or wrongly, unions are seen as defenders of sectional rather than the general interest, the question of new and effective political strategies and tactics to combat austerity is all the more urgent for the labor movement. It is within this context that contributors to this special issue of Labor Studies Journal and other labor educators from across North America presented their research at the United Association for Labor Education conference in Toronto in March 2013 as part of six panels focused on labor’s strategic response to austerity. Panelists represented a wide range of different approaches, produced rich and varied research aimed at clarifying some of the obstacles facing unions, and explored the various routes open to the labor movement in its efforts to confront austerity. --From Editors' Introduction

L’apport du professeur Pierre Verge au droit du travail est remarquable! Ses travaux ont profondément marqué cette discipline et en ont accompagné le développement pendant plus de cinquante ans. Engagé, il occupa dès le début de sa carrière diverses fonctions administratives, dont celle de doyen (Normand). Visionnaire, il se tourna rapidement vers la recherche subventionnée et vers l’interdisciplinarité. Pluraliste, son approche se focalisa sur la multiplicité des sources – juridiques ou non - qui jalonnent sa discipline, élargissant ses horizons de recherche, vers la sociologie, notamment. Joueur d’équipe, il sut transmettre à d’autres, ici même et ailleurs dans le monde, son savoir et son expérience, ce qui se traduit par d’innombrables copublications et collaborations, et autant d’amitiés nouées. Rigueur intellectuelle, érudition et ardeur au travail sont des traits de personnalité connus du professeur Verge. Mais à cela s’ajoutent de belles qualités humaines : générosité, affabilité et modestie caractérisent en effet cet homme, authentique, qui, durant son illustre carrière, influença tant de collègues et d’étudiants. Plusieurs d’entre eux ont donc voulu lui rendre un vibrant hommage et exprimer leur attachement et leur reconnaissance sous la forme de Mélanges. --Publisher's description. Contents: 1 La contribution scientifique de Pierre Verge à l'affirmation et à la recomposition du droit du travail / Guylaine Vallée -- 2 Un décanat de développement et de consolidation / Sylvio Normand -- Autonomie collective et pluralisme juridique : Georges Gurvitch, Hugo Sinzheimer et le droit du travail / Michel Coutu -- 4 Corporatism, Neo-Corporatism, and Freedom of Association / Adrian Goldin -- 5 Le syndicat obligatoire au Québec : une contrainte individuelle à la faveur de l'autonomie collective / Pierre Verge, Christain Brunelle, Anne-Marie Laflamme et Doninic Roux -- 6 "La convention collective lie tous les salariés ..." mais, sans les ligoter! (art. 67 C.t.) / Me Fernand Morin -- 7 La solubilité de la convention collective dans son environnement normatif : quelques réflexions sur une mutation institutionnelle / Louis LeBel -- 8 Regulating strikes in essential (and other) services after the “New Trilogy” / Bernard Adell -- 9 L'arbitrage de grief et le développement de la spécificité du droit du travail : une contribution reconnue / Denis Nadeau -- 10 Embracing collective rights: Unions and the new struggle for relevance and autonomy : A view from the Commonwealth Caribbean / Rose-Marie Belle Antoine --11 Collective autonomy in New Zealand / Paul Roth -- 12 Social partners : Autonomy and its limits : A Polish perspective / Michal Sewerynski -- 13 Le droit français du travail est-il toujours un droit de protection des salariés? / Jean Pélissier -- 14 Les tribunaux judiciaires et les conflits collectifs de travail en Amérique latine / Héctor-Hugo Barbagelata -- 15 La détermination des conditions collectives de travail dans l'entreprise au Japon : le règlement intérieur et la modification des conditions de travail / Yasuo Ishil -- 16 The Wagner model and international freedom of association standards / Lance Compa -- 17 Strike ban for public servants in Germany -- an international anachronism / Udo R. Mayer-- 18 2019 : autonomie collective, élément clé du travail décent des travailleuses et travailleurs domestiques / Adelle Blackett --19 The new public and private international labour regulations and their implementation experiences / Pablo Lazo Grandi -- 20 Organisations nouvelles du travail et représentation collective des travailleurs / Jean-Michel Servais -- 21 Repenser les politiques des rapports collectifs de travail à l'ère des entreprises transnationales / Gregor Murray.