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This text is a collection of classic and contemporary articles exploring the nature of work in Canadian history from the late eighteenth century to the current day. Class relations and labour form the core of the volume, but attention will also be paid to the state and its relations with workers both formal and informal. The volume is designed as a core text for classes in Canadian labour/working-class history, taught out of history and labour studies departments. --Publisher's description

After the First World War, many Canadians were concerned with the possibility of national regeneration. Progressive-minded politicians, academics, church leaders, and social reformers turned increasingly to the state for solutions. Yet, as significant as the state was in articulating and instituting a new morality, outside actors such as employers were active in pursuing reform agendas as well, taking aim at the welfare of the family, citizen, and nation. Citizen Docker considers this trend, focusing on the Vancouver waterfront as a case in point.After the war, waterfront employers embarked on an ambitious program - welfare capitalism - to ease industrial relations, increase the efficiency of the port, and, ultimately, recondition longshoremen themselves. Andrew Parnaby considers these reforms as a microcosm of the process of accommodation between labour and capital that affected Canadian society as a whole in the 1920s and 1930s. By creating a new sense of entitlement among waterfront workers, one that could not be satisfied by employers during the Great Depression, welfare capitalism played an important role in the cultural transformation that took place after the Second World War.Encompassing labour and gender history, aboriginal studies, and the study of state formation, Citizen Docker examines the deep shift in the aspirations of working people, and the implications that shift had on Canadian society in the interwar years and beyond. --Publisher's description. Contents: Introduction: "A good citizen policy" -- Welfare capitalism on the waterfront -- Securing a square deal -- "The best men that ever worked the lumber" -- Heavy lifting -- "From the fury of democracy, good Lord, deliver us!" -- Conclusion: from square deal to new deal. Includes bibliographical references (pages 221-234) and index.

By the mid-19th century, the Mi'kmaq of Cape Breton Island, much like the Mi'kmaq on the Nova Scotia mainland, were nearly destitute. The outcome of over two centuries of political, economic, and cultural interaction with Europeans, this condition was exacerbated by the massive influx of Scottish settlers to the island after the end of the Napoleonic Wars -- nearly 30,000 between 1815 and 1838. With their lands occupied and access to customary hunting and fishing grounds severely limited, the island's Mi'kmaw population -- estimated to be about 500 in 1847 -- adopted numerous economic initiatives to stay alive: they pursued agriculture and wage labour, mobilized older skills toward different occupational niches, and maintained, at least to some extent, customary rounds of seasonal resource procurement. This essay examines this evolving pattern of occupational pluralism, and highlights how customary norms, codes, and behaviours provided part of the logic through which the island's Mi'kmaw people made decisions about what to do, economically, to survive. Mid-19th century Cape Breton was a contested place as the forces of immigration and settlement exerted new pressures on Mi'kmaw life. This paper is about that changing context and how the island's indigenous people sought to understand it, negotiate its pressures and possibilities, and blunt its negative effects.

The article reviews several books including "Slave Ship Sailors and Their Captive Cargoes, 1730-1807," by Emma Christopher, "Liberty on the Waterfront: American Maritime Culture in the Age of Revolution," by Paul A. Glije, and "Villains of All Nations: Atlantic Pirates in the Golden Age," by Marcus Rediker.

The article reviews the book, "From Peasants to Labourers: Ukrainian and Belarusan Immigration From the Russian Empire to Canada," by Vadim Kukushkin.

This article proposes a study of the violation of contract process through a case study. The study is based on a discourse of the union, SUD Michelin, which is contrasted both with those of another union, the CFE-CGC Michelin and of the senior management of the corporation. The results highlight the possibility of applying Morrison and Robinson's (1997) Psychological Contract Violation model at the social contract level. The emotional reactions appearing in the literature, which are associated with contract violations, can be seen in the union discourse of the SUD. The other union does not perceive any breach of contract. These differences may be attributed to the very nature of social contracts-relational in the first case, and more balanced in the second.

The article reviews the book, "Femininity in Flight: A History of Flight Attendants," by Kathleen M. Barry.

Cet article s’intéresse à la question des relations d’emploi durables et se propose de démontrer la pertinence du paradigme du don/contre-don de Mauss (2003) pour lire et comprendre les réglages de ces relations et l’engagement des individus inscrits à l’intérieur. Il étudie, à partir d’une recherche de type ethnographique et inductive menée au sein de l’entreprise France Télécom, les moteurs et les ressorts de l’engagement durable des acteurs dans un contexte où les conditions initiales d’entrée dans la relation ont été modifiées par les restructurations de l’entreprise. En s’appuyant sur les résultats de l’enquête, il témoigne de la force explicative des thèses de Mauss et de leur intérêt pour la GRH, en montrant comment celles-ci complètent les approches managériales traditionnelles et redéfinissent les conditions d’efficacité des politiques d’accompagnement proposées par l’entreprise., There is much research into occupations, and a growing marked interest in what are called “new careers.” These new careers, which are defined in relation to traditional occupations, are typified by lower loyalty and less attachment to the employer on the part of the employee. There are various factors that account for this. From a sociological viewpoint, modern workers tend to need to give a sense to their professional life and so, depending on the moment and their desires, they change organization and accumulate diverse experiences over the course of their career. Economically, with the ubiquity of corporate restructuring and organizational change, employees aim to protect themselves from the risk of redundancy having come to the realization that jobs for life no longer exist. These changes correspond to a new, more contractual and more rational, psychological relationship between the individual and the organization. This means that in the new areas of exchange, loyalty and reciprocity are maintained through the synchronous realization of expectations. As a result, attachment to the organization and emotional investment are weaker than was the case in the past. While being both justified and pertinent, the above mentioned research engenders a particular viewpoint. Through a certain prioritization, this research has lead to an almost total neglect of research into single-employer careers and into long-term employment relationships which were historically the basis of an employee’s relation with the organization. Although single-employer careers have not disappeared, it must be admitted that nowadays they have taken on a new form. Internal reorganization and permanent changes have contributed to a redefinition of the conditions of long-term employment relationships. They also contribute to the modification of the rules of involvement and the transformation of the relationship between contribution and remuneration. This leads to the question of the longevity of the commitment of those who choose to stay with one organization. It is to this rarely investigated question that this article is addressed. This article analyses the sustainable employment relationship in order to understand the motives for the commitment of the actors engaged in such a relationship. The study is based on an ethnographic survey which was conducted over fifteen months within the firm France Telecom. Over the last fifteen years, this firm has undergone major restructurings which has had as a result that the firm’s employees work in a professional and social framework that is different from the one in place when they joined the company. The legal status, the meaning given to their work, the values as well as the job itself have all been redefined to match the new obligations of the organization. Classic management approaches consider that undergone changes in conditions induce hitches or even a rupture of the psychological contract. They also show that these hitches in the exchanges between employer and employee go along with negative consequences on the employees’ commitment, their loyalty, their social behaviour, and their performance (Delobbe et al., 2005). Studies on the psychological contract have mainly highlighted the fact that, under such circumstances, most employees resign. Our research seeks to understand what causes employees to maintain their involvement even when their employment conditions have been radically redefined. To do this, we start with the paradoxes seen in our study. At France Telecom, even when those involved have undergone professional reorientation, moving them away from their previous experiences, none of them wish to leave the company. The behaviour of the individuals and the performance of the company show a strong commitment to the company and to the work on the part of the employees. The inductive survey reveals that the reasons for a lasting/long-term commitment are grounded in and protected by the history of the relationship that links the employees to the firm (primary socialization, protection of traditional values, behaviour standards, social dependence) and also by a great number of mixed features that are specific to lasting/long-term employment relationships (strong identity roots, affection for the firm, etc.). The paradigm of gift/counter-gift (don/contre-don) and of the social phenomenon initiated by Marcel Mauss (1923–1924) is used here to analyze this type of relationship. This paradigm allows us to take into account the complexity of the relationship, the dynamics of the different features considered and, most importantly, the role of the lasting/long-term interaction between the employee and the particular context of the relationship. Moreover, it allows us to better understand the issues raised by reorganization for those involved. Using the results of the survey, the article confirms that Mauss’ gift/counter-gift paradigm is relevant to the analysis and understanding of lasting/long-term employment relationships. It also proves that Mauss’ theories are particularly illuminating and of a great interest for human resource management, showing that they complement the traditional management approaches as they define new conditions for the support programmes implemented by the firm in order to be efficient. In this article, we put forward the concept of a “chain giving.” This concept emphasizes the overall and historic dimensions of the relation with the enterprise. It encourages the measurement of all the implications involved in long-term employment relationships (professional, personal and social implications) and their incorporation into managerial decision making. This concept can bring us a clearer reading of the expectations of the individual, comprehension of the paradoxes observed at the workface and a deepening of our understanding of reactions to changes put in place by organizations., Este artículo se interesa a la cuestión de las relaciones de empleo durables y se propone demostrar la pertinencia del paradigma del don/ contra – don de Mauss (2003) para leer y comprender los reglajes de esas relaciones y la implicación de los individuos inscritos al interior. A partir de una investigación de tipo etnográfica e inductiva llevada a cabo en la empresa France Telecom, se estudia los motores y los resortes de la implicación durable de los actores en un contexto donde las condiciones iniciales de entrada en la relación han sido modificadas por las restructuraciones de la empresa. Apoyándose en los resultados de la encuesta, el estudio testimonia de la fuerza explicativa de las tesis de Mauss y de su interés para la GRH, mostrando cómo ellas se completan los enfoques de gestión tradicionales y redefinen las condiciones de eficacidad de las políticas de acompañamiento propuestas por la empresa.

Strategy and Human Resource Management, Second Edition, by Peter Boxall and John Purcell, is reviewed.

Language barriers are often cited as a factor contributing to ethnic inequalities in occupational health; however, little information is available about the mechanisms at play. The authors describe the multiple ways in which language influences occupational health in a large garment factory employing many immigrants in Montreal. Between 2004 and 2006, individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 women and 10 men from 14 countries of birth. Interviews were conducted in French and English, Canada's official languages, as well as in non-official languages with the help of colleague-interpreters. Observation within the workplace was also carried out at various times during the project. The authors describe how proficiency in the official languages influences occupational health by affecting workers' ability to understand and communicate information, and supporting relationships that can affect work-related health. They also describe workers' strategies to address communication barriers and discuss the implications of these strategies from an occupational health standpoint. Along with the longer-term objectives of integrating immigrants into the linguistic majority and addressing structural conditions that can affect health, policies and practices need to be put in place to protect the health and well-being of those who face language barriers in the short term.

The article reviews the book, "Dreams of Peace and Freedom: Utopian Moments in the 20th Century," by Jay Winter.

The article reviews the book "Domestic Reforms: Political Visions and Family Regulation in British Columbia, 1862-1940," by Chris Clarkson.

Cet article examine l’influence de la perception de certaines pratiques de gestion des ressources humaines sur les comportements de mobilisation des employés, au travers de deux processus d’échange sociaux distincts, employé-organisation et employé-supérieur. Les comportements de mobilisation étaient évalués par les supérieurs et toutes les autres variables par les employés. Les analyses ont été réalisées sur un échantillon de 222 employés et 38 supérieurs de commerces au détail d’une chaîne canadienne. Nous avons établi les relations à l’aide de la méthode d’équations structurelles avec LISREL. Les résultats mettent en relief le rôle fondamental de la relation d’échange social entre les employés et leur supérieur, à travers la perception de support et de l’engagement affectif orientés vers ce dernier., This article presents the results of a study highlighting the role of perceived support and affective commitment in the relationship between the perception of three human resource management practices and two types of employee mobilization behaviours, as assessed by their supervisor. This study sought to explore the relationship between skills development practices, non-monetary recognition and information sharing, on the one hand, and mobilization behaviours in two categories or “areas” of performance, that is, behaviours related to work contract compliance and those related to high job performance, on the other. The concept of mobilization behaviours and its background will be presented in detail. This concept is part of a broader model, that of mobilizing human resources, which will also be presented. In light of research advances in this field, we measured two agents of support and commitment, that is, the supervisor and the organization .We chose management practices which are used in a discretionary manner by the organization but especially by supervisors. Indeed, deliberate intervention on the part of the supervisor increases the influence of these practices on the level of support perceived by employees. The social exchange and norm of reciprocity theories were used to explain the relationships between the different variables in our model. The social exchange theory helps to explain an employee’s decision as to whether or not to contribute to the well-being of the organization in response to the exchange relationships that he or she has experienced at work. Based on the postulate of reciprocity, it is understood that employees tend to show affective commitment to the organization and the supervisor, insofar as they also perceive that the latter are committed to them. More specifically, through positive initiatives such as the implementation of human resource management practices, the organization and the supervisor foster perceived support by getting across the symbolic message to employees that they are valued and taken into consideration. In response to this perceived support, employees develop affective commitment, that is, an emotional attachment to the organization and the supervisor. It is therefore postulated that employees who perceive support from the organization and the supervisor, through the implementation of discretionary human resource practices, will feel a moral obligation to repay these benefits, by demonstrating affective commitment and adopting mobilization behaviours. In this regard, it is recognized that mobilization is above all fostered by significant reciprocity relationships which are maintained through moral and social debts. We thus studied two social exchange relationships, that between the employee and the organization, and that between the employee and the supervisor. We also hypothesize that an employee’s commitment to the supervisor will lead him or her to display a greater number of mobilization behaviours related to work contract compliance, as these behaviours are likely to be particularly beneficial to the supervisor on a day-to-day basis. In order to eliminate common variance problems, we measured the employees’ mobilization behaviours (related to work contract compliance and high job performance) through a supervisor questionnaire, and the explanatory variables through an employee questionnaire. Analyses were carried out on a sample of 222 employees and 38 supervisors in a Canadian retail chain. Relationships were determined using structural equation modelling with LISREL. We also established the discriminant validity of the constructs by comparing various measurement models using LISREL. Lastly, alternative models were developed in order to assess the mediating effects of support from and commitment to the organization and the supervisor. Our results show that a favourable perception of skills development, non-monetary recognition and information sharing was positively linked to the perception of organizational support. Of these three practices, only information sharing was not associated with the perception of organizational support through the perception of support from the supervisor. Skills development and non-monetary recognition, on the other hand, positively influenced the perception of support from the supervisor which, in turn, reinforced the perception of organizational support. The relationships between the perception of organizational support, affective organizational commitment and high job performance behaviours, as assessed, were significant, as were the relationships between the perception of support from the supervisor, affective commitment to the supervisor and behaviours related to work contract compliance and high job performance, as assessed. Lastly, the link between affective commitment to the supervisor and behaviours related to work contract compliance, as assessed, was stronger than that between affective organizational commitment and these same behaviours, as assessed. Comparing alternative models to the structural model proposed made it possible to gather evidence regarding the mediating role of affective organizational commitment and affective commitment to the supervisor in the relationship between the perception of organizational support, the perception of support from the supervisor and mobilization behaviours. We set out to assess the explanatory power of perceived support and affective commitment involved in the relationship between employees, their supervisor and the organization. Our conclusions indicate that the relationship between employees and their supervisor in the retail trade industry is significant and should be taken into consideration by organizations that wish to foster the mobilization of employees through various human resource practices. Thus, we discovered that in response to the quality of their relationship with their supervisor, employees adopt a wide range of mobilization behaviours., Este artículo examina la influencia de la percepción de ciertas prácticas de gestión de recursos humanos sobre los comportamientos de movilización de los empleados, a través de dos distintos procesos sociales de intercambio, empleado – organización y empleado – superior. Los comportamientos de movilización fueron evaluados por los superiores y todas las otras variables fueron evaluados por los empleados. Los análisis se efectuaron sobre una muestra de 222 empleados y 38 superiores de comercios de detalle de una compañía canadiense. Las relaciones se establecieron con la ayuda del método de ecuaciones estructurales con LISREL. Los resultados resaltan el rol fundamental de la relación de intercambio social entre empleados y sus respetivos superiores, mediante la percepción de apoyo y de compromiso afectivo.

The article reviews the book, "Théories des organisations : approches classiques, contemporaines et de l’avant-garde," by Linda Rouleau.

In the cemeteries of St. Lawrence and several neighbouring towns on the south coast of Newfoundland lie the remains of some 200 workers, killed by the dust and radiation that permeated the area’s fluorspar mines. The Dirt chronicles the many forces that created this disaster and shaped the response to it, including the classic ‘jobs or health’ dilemma, the contentious process of determining the nature and extent of industrial disease and the desire of employers to ‘externalize’ the costs of production onto workers and communities. Central to the account is the persistent effort by workers, women in the community and other activists to gain recognition of health hazards in the mines, their effects on workers and to obtain adequate compensation for victims and their families. --Publisher's description.  Contents: Origins of a disaster: working conditions and labour relations in the 1930s -- Protest and retreat: the war years -- Industry revival, increasing hazards and the recognition of sislicosis, 1946-1956 -- More deadly perils: radiation and cancer -- "The truly ghastly total" and the lack of compensation coverage -- Mounting protest, industry closure, and the legacy of the past.

The article reviews and comments on several books, including "Capital and Labour in the British Columbia Forest Industry 1934-1974," by Gordon Hak, "The Tribes of Black Ulysses: African American Lumber Workers in the Jim Crow South," by William P. Jones, and the "Up-Coast: Forests and Industry on British Columbia's North Coast 1870-2005," by Richard A. Rajala.

The article reviews the book, "Fading Corporatism: Israel's Labor Law and Industrial Relations in Transition," by Guy Mundlak.

The article reviews the book, "Labour Left Out: Canada’s Failure to Protect and Promote Collective Bargaining as a Human Right ," by Roy J. Adams.

Postwar social theorists (Goldthorpe, Lipset, Giddens, Hout, Brooks and Manza) have typically portrayed members of the Western industrial working-class as accommodative and suggest that an affluent proletariat has seen its oppositional working-class consciousness subverted and transformed by the ‘cash nexus’ into various forms of social integration. With reference to Mann's (1973) measures of class-consciousness I explore expressions of proletarian consciousness among organized workers at one of Canada's largest industrial union locals, the Canadian Auto Workers Local 222 of General Motors, Oshawa, Canada. Here I tested for the existence and degree of working-class imagery, proletarian identity and oppositional working-class consciousness using a survey questionnaire (N=102), in-depth interviews and participant observation. I found a shared view of class relations as primarily characterized by conflict, a clear working-class self-identification and measurable forms of oppositional working-class consciousness among this group. My findings confirm the hypothesis that Oshawa autoworkers' relative material advantage is insufficient to completely transform their proletarian consciousness. In this context I discuss the 1996 Oshawa plant occupation as an example of elevated oppositional class consciousness among Oshawa autoworkers.

The article reviews several books on American workers and unions including "Hard Work: Remaking the American Labor Movement," by Rick Fantasia and Kim Voss, "Demanding Work: The Paradox of Job Quality in the Affluent Economy," by Francis Green, and "Freedom Is Not Enough: The Opening of the American Workplace," by Nancy MacLean.