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[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.

The article reviews the book, "Men of Blood: Violence, Manliness and Criminal Justice in Victorian England," by Martin J. Wiener.

Compilation of recent English/French publications on Canadian labour history that emphasize the period 1800-1975. Materials pertaining to the post-1975 period may also be included, although more selectively. [See the database, Canadian Labour History, 1976-2009, published at Memorial University of Newfoundland.]

Much research on precarious employment compares permanent workers with one or two other broadly-defined employment categories. We developed a more refined method of examining precariousness by defining current employment arrangements in terms of job characteristics. These employment arrangement categories were then compared in terms of socio-demographics and self-reported job insecurity. This investigation was based on a cross-sectional population-based survey of a random sample of 1,101 working Australians. Eight mutually exclusive employment categories were identified: Permanent Full-time (46.4%), Permanent Part-time (18.3%), Casual Full-time (2.7%), Casual Part-time (9.3%), Fixed Term Contract (2.1%), Labour Hire (3.6%), Own Account Self-employed (7.4%), and Other Self-employed (9.5%). These showed significant and coherent differences in job characteristics, socio-demographics and perceived job insecurity. These empirically-supported categories may provide a conceptual guide for government agencies, policy makers and researchers in areas including occupational health and safety, taxation, labour market regulations, the working poor, child poverty, benefit programs, industrial relations, and skills development.

Using a feminist political economy approach, contributors document the impact of current socio-economic policies on states, markets, households, and communities. Relying on impressive empirical research, they argue that women bear the costs of and responsibility for care-giving and show that the theoretical framework provided by feminist analyses of social reproduction not only corrects the gender-blindness of most economic theories but suggests an alternative that places care-giving at its centre. In this illuminating study, they challenge feminist scholars to re-engage with materialism and political economy to engage with feminism. -- Publisher's description

In two parts, the Notebook opens with "Steel-ing Cape Breton's Labour History," by Dan McDonald, who critiques "The Steel Plant in the Home," an exhibit at the Cape Breton Centre for Heritage and Science. McDonald also argues that Cape Breton's rich labour history has been trumped by the notorious Sydney tar ponds and a giant fiddle built as as tourist attraction. The second part, entitled "Report from the Archives: Records of the Joint Action Group to Clean Up the Sydney Tar Ponds," by Wendy Robicheau, discusses the 90 linear metres of unprocessed records received by the Beaton Institute from the Joint Action Group, a community-based organization dedicated to cleaning up the tar ponds.

An essay is presented on industrialization. It offers a history of employment and examines the possible role of employers in the proliferation of work culture. The author relates his first experience with unionized environment and discusses conversations he has had with several employees on the subject of labor union.

[This book updates] recent and classic scholarship on the history, politics, and social groups of the working class in Canada. Some of the changes...in the new edition include better representation of women scholars and nine provocative and ground-breaking new articles on racism and human rights; women's equality; gender history; Quebec sovereignty; and the environment. --Publisher's description

The article reviews the book, "Unsocial Europe: Social Protection or Flexploitation?," by Anne Gray.

The article reviews the book, "Paths to Union Renewal: Canadian Experiences," edited by Pradeep Kumar and Christopher Schenk.

Case study of efforts [by the United Steelworkers] to organize Omega Direct Response, a call centre in Sudbury, Ontario. The study shows that, by working together, rank-and-file workers as inside organizers and experienced professional organizers can develop winning strategies that can enable unions to organize hard to organize workplaces. The paper also includes perspectives from a conference on organizing call centres held in Toronto in September 2003. --Editors' introduction

...This [book], most decidedly, is not only the narrative of the prominent citizens in the history of Hull. Rather, it is the story of thousands of virtually unknown men, women, and children of the working class of Hull, Quebec. Among many others, it’s the story of James McConnell, a worker from Nova Scotia, hired by Philemon Wright in Quebec City in 1801. It’s the story of Luther Colton, a carpenter from New York, who came to Hull in 1802. It’s the story of Joseph Delorme, one of the first French Canadians to be hired by Philemon Wright to work in his shanties, just to give three examples of normally unnamed workers. This study of the ordinary people of Hull reflects an agenda that emerged in the last half of the 20th century when historians came to see that “the real task of history in our time is to recreate, appreciate and analyze the full spectrum of past societies; that means, pre-eminently to attempt to understand the lives of the working people, the great mass of any society,” rather than merely the politicians and elites who governed past societies. This book also studies the workers who helped the workers of Hull forge an awareness of themselves as a class in a self-conscious attempt to improve the lot of ordinary working people. --Author's preface

In April 2003, funding by Status of Women Canada was provided to carry out a research project to understand the nature, extent and conditions of rural women’s employment in forestry and agri-food industries. While women have a long history of employment in these resource sectors, surprisingly, their employment contributions and experiences have not been publicly discussed. The goal of this research was to make visible the employment experiences of rural women in these industries, particularly as rural women have fewer job opportunities than women living in cities. We describe issues faced by women working in the forestry and agri-food industries and recommend policies to enhance women’s employment experiences.

The article reviews the book, "Black Struggle, Red Scare: Segregation and Anti-Communism in the South, 1948-1968," by Jeff Woods.

In most western nations, laws discourage discrimination in paid employment on the basis of disability, but for these policies to be of benefit, individuals must define their functional limitations as disabilities. There is a strong relationship between age and disability among those of working age, yet it is unclear whether older workers attribute their limitations to disability or to ‘ natural ageing ’. If the latter is true, they may not believe that they need or qualify for workplace accommodations (i.e. adaptations or interventions at the workplace). Similarly, if an employer as- cribes a worker’s limitation to ‘natural ageing’, rather than to a disability, they may not offer compensatory accommodation. Using data from the Canadian 2001 Participation and Activity Limitation Survey, this paper asks whether workers who as- cribe their functional limitation to ageing are as likely as those who do not to report a need for a workplace accommodation. It also addresses whether those who identify a need for compensatory accommodations and who ascribe their limitation to ageing have unmet workplace-accommodation needs. The findings suggest that, even when other factors are controlled, e.g. the type and severity of disability, the number of limiting conditions, gender, age, education, income and occupation, those who made the ageing attribution were less likely to recognise the need for an accommodation; and among those who acknowledged a need, those who ascribed their disability to ageing were less likely to have their needs met.