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As themes in film studies literature, work and the working class have long occupied a peripheral place in the evaluation of Canadian cinema, often set aside in the critical literature for the sake of a unifying narrative that assumes a division between Québécois and English Canada's film production, a social-realist documentary aesthetic, and what might be called a 'younger brother' relationship with the United States. In Working on Screen, contributors examine representations of socio-economic class across the spectrum of Canadian film, video, and television, covering a wide range of class-related topics and dealing with them as they intersect with history, political activism, globalization, feminism, queer rights, masculinity, regional marginalization, cinematic realism, and Canadian nationalism. Of concern in this collection are the daily lives and struggles of working people and the ways in which the representation of the experience of class in film fosters or marginalizes a progressive engagement with history, politics, and societies around the world. Working on Screen thus expands the scholarly debates on the concept of national cinema and builds on the rich, formative efforts of Canadian cultural criticism that held dear the need for cultural autonomy. -- Publisher's description

This article seeks to connect two seemingly distinct phenomena. Labour disputes in the nonprofit sector and the pressure nonprofits have undergone to become more economically and operationally efficient. The article describes the antics of some nonprofits in Ontario, and equates them with similar tactics that are employed by mega corporations that are notorious for their mistreatment of employees. The article endeavors to find a correlation between the mistreatment of employees by nonprofits and the ever-growing pressure, nonprofits have had to endure in recent years, to become more efficient. The author argues that the ethics of efficiency and corporate-like models of operation bring along other characteristics of for-profit businesses that may explain actions taken by nonprofits that are otherwise in direct contrast with everything they stand for.

In this feature documentary, 6 student activists visit 36 Canadian towns to take on one giant corporation. Filmed over 2 summers, these young crusaders (plus a gonzo journalist) try to raise public awareness about Wal-Mart's business practices and their effect on cities and towns across Canada. With youthful passion and often hilarious cultural jams, this film takes us to the frontlines of the ongoing debate over the company's increasing dominance in the Canadian retail market.

The article reviews the book, "Cuba: A Revolution in Motion," by Isaac Saney .

"[E]xamines the interconnections between gender, nationality, and occupational health. ...[The author] reports that 10 percent of adult Canadians, mostly women, have debilitating work-related musculo-skeletal disorders that seriously limit the scope of their daily activities. ...Canadians have a distinct disadvantage in fighting occupational injury and illness since record keeping was outsourced by the government during the 1990s to thirteen regional Associations of Workers Compensation Boards of Canada, a nonprofit association that charges fees to access the data that were formerly available to the public for free." --Editor's introduction

This book focuses on the efforts and progress of union revitalization and organizing, and documents the renewal initiatives undertaken by unions in Canada. Unions, separately or in coalition with other unions or social groups, have begun to re-examine the basis of their organization and activity in the face of a harsher economic and political climate. Signs of union renewal include increased rank-and-file participation in the life of the union, increased democratic decision-making, evidence of new horizontal union structures, the development of a worker-centred societal vision, and a new emphasis on organizing both internally and externally. Paths to Union Renewal addresses a subject of considerable political and social importance about which there have been a number of debates. A key impetus for this re-examination has originated in the United States where decades-long union decline has engendered new ideas adopted by a number of unions and the national central labour body the AFL-CIO. This in turn has led to debates on renewal strategies in Western Europe and Anglo-Saxon countries from Britain to Australia. Despite this, little detailed research of the processes, structures, and implications of union renewal has been undertaken across Canada. Paths to Union Renewal fills this gap by critically examining union renewal in a variety of unions, providing a basis for informed discussion and debate on the role and place of trade unions in contemporary society. --Publisher's description. Contents: Pt. 1: Union Renewal and the State of Unions in Canada.  Union Renewal and Organizational Change: A Review of the Literature / Pradeep Kumar and Christopher Schenk -- Rowing Against the Tide: The Struggle to Raise Union Density in a Hostile Environment / Andrew Jackson -- Innovation in Canadian Unions: Patterns, Causes and Consequences / Pradeep Kumar and Gregor Murray -- Women are Key to Union Renewal: Lessons from the Canadian Labour Movement / Charlotte Yates -- Globalization and Union Renewal: Perspectives from the Quebec Labour Movement / Christian Lévesque and Gregor Murray. Pt. 2: Case Studies on Union Renewal. The BCGEU [British Columbia Government and Service Employees Union]: The Road to Renewal / Gary Steeves -- Union Renewal and the CUPE / Jane Stinson and Morna Ballantyne -- Union Resistance and Union Renewal in the CAW / David Robertson and Bill Murningham -- Rank-and-File Involvement in Policy-Making at the CEP / Keith R. Newman -- Mobilizing Young People: A Case Study of UFCW Canada Youth Programs and Initiatives / Anna Liu and Christopher O'Halloran -- Renewal from Different Directions: The Case of UNITE-HERE Local 75 / Steve Tufts -- Building Capacity for Global Action Steelworkers' Humanity Fund / Judith Marshall and Jorge Garcia-Orgales. Pt. 3: Unions and Community: Campaigns and Organizing. Community Unionism and Labour Movement Renewal: Organizing for Fair Employment / Cynthia J. Cranford, Mary Gellatly, Deena Ladd, and Leah F. Vosko -- The Workers' Organizing and REsource Centre in Winnipeg / Geoff Bickerton and Catherine Stearns -- A Community Coalition in Defense of Public Medicare/ Natalie Mehra -- Organizing Call Centres: The Steelworkers' Experience / Julie Guard, Jorge Garcia-Orgales, Mercedes Steedman,a nd D'Arcy Martin. Pt. 4: Leadership Development and Education. Increasing Inter-Union Co-ooperation and Co-ordination: The BC Federation of Labour Organizing Institute / John Weir -- Union Education, Union Leadership and Union Renewal: the Role of PEL / Johanna Weststar.

Bloodletting & Miraculous Cures is a collection of mature and intricate stories connected through the relationships that develop among a group of young doctors as they move from the challenges of med school to the intense world of emergency rooms, evac missions, and terrifying new viruses. --Publisher's description. Contents: How to get into medical school, part I -- Take all of Murphy -- How to get into medical school, part II -- Code clock -- A long migration -- Winston -- Eli -- Afterwards -- An insistent tide -- Night flight -- Contact tracing -- Before light -- Glossary of terms -- Acknowledgements.

The article reviews the book, "Corporate Integrity, Rethinking Organizational Ethics and Leadership," by Marvin T. Brown.

This paper examines the impact of enterprise bargaining on employment relations practices in the Australia automotive assembly sector in the context of the globalization of the industry. While there has been convergence towards lean production principles among the four auto assemblers, arising from global trends, there has also been divergence resulting from enterprise bargaining, among other variables. Strong similarities are apparent between the companies in areas such as work organization, skill formation and enterprise governance, whereas there are differences in remuneration and staffing practices. However, it remains to be seen whether decentralized bargaining will continue to yield greater differentiation in employment relations among the automotive manufacturers in an increasingly globalized industry.

Cet article examine le rôle de la médiation comme outil d’action sur la confiance entre les représentants de salariés et d’employeurs. La notion de confiance est appréhendée à travers les typologies de McAllister (1995) et de Lewicki et Bunker (1995b). Il apparaît que la médiation joue un rôle fort sur la dimension cognitive de la confiance, mais un rôle moindre sur sa dimension affective. Parallèlement, les dimensions basées sur le calcul et sur la connaissance sont fortement influencées, mais la médiation a un impact plus faible sur la dimension identitaire de la confiance. Une approche en termes de « contrat psychologique » peut alors aider à rétablir la confiance identitaire ou affective, bien qu’il puisse subsister une part de méfiance irréductible, liée aux blocages idéologiques. Cette réflexion est illustrée par une étude qualitative du « dispositif d’appui au dialogue social » mis en place par l’Agence nationale pour l’amélioration des conditions de travail (ANACT) en France.

The article reviews the book, "From Culture to Democracy: Culture and Politics in the Italian Elections of 1948," by Robert A. Ventresca.

The article pays homage to labour activist Danielle Cuisinier Dionne (1921-2006).

Jeanne Corbin typifies the female militants of the first generation of Canadian Communists. Andrée Lévesque's powerful account of the experiences of Corbin and her female comrades reveals the essential role women played in the movement. Levesque also shows that, despite some efforts to construct egalitarian gender relations, these women subordinated gender issues to the class struggle. Corbin's red itinerary began when she joined the Young Communist League in Edmonton. She later held party posts across the country through her involvement with The Worker in Toronto, a French communist paper in Montreal, the Workers' Cooperative in Timmins, and a lumbermen's strike in Abitibi - where she was jailed for taking part in a protest. She died of tuberculosis in London, Ontario, in 1944. Levesque relies on a wide range of sources to provide a unique exploration of Canadian labour and social history. --Publisher's descriptioin

[C]ontributes to an understanding of the nature of precarious employment and its broader social implications, with an emphasis on its impact on health. It reports findings of a survey exploring connections between the employment relationship, the organization of work, and workers' health. ...[The authors] develop a new concept - "employment strain" - to examine how precarious employment relationships affect workers' health.

The industrial relations system at Magna International is an example of an integrated, coherent, non-union human resource management strategy. It includes significant mechanisms of worker voice and conflict resolution as substitutes for union representation. Potential labor-management conflicts associated with Taylorized labor processes are often translated into group problem-solving. Redistributive conflicts are re-framed as mutual gains through profit-sharing. Corporate communications promote an ethos of competitiveness. Individualized pay and promotion schemes, segmented internal labor markets, and the exposure of individual plants to competitive pressures, promote cultures of labor cooperation in the pursuit of productivity gains. The success of this union avoidance model is situated in a context of the erosion of unionized labor relations, the disciplinary effects of precarious labor markets, and the vulnerability of workplaces to transnational competitive forces. Continued success is predicated on Magna's ability to survive sectoral and macroeconomic restructuring forces which are, in large measure, beyond management's control.

The article reviews and comments on several books including "Every Man a Speculator: A History of Wall Street in American Life," by Steve Fraser, "Something for Nothing: Lick in America," by T. J. Jackson Lears and "Born Losers: A History of Failure in America," by Scott A. Sandage.

[Analyzes] existing legislation, law and legal literature on the application of occupational health and safety and on workers' compensation legislation in Quebec. [Argues] there are very few tools available to examine regulatory effectiveness from a legal perspective...[and that] it is crucial for legal researchers to join with researchers determining health effects. --From editor's introductory chapter, p. 38.

The article reviews the book, "Worker Centers: Organizing Communities at the Edge of the Dream," by Janice Fine.