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Discusses the socio-political context of the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal's ruling regarding the pay equity complaint of the Public Service Alliance of Canada. The complaint was upheld, but the federal government filed an appeal. Argues for a new understanding of the labour market to counter the devisiveness of the prevailing neo-classical model.

To explain white collar workers' expectations about what unions should do when technological change occurs in the workplace, 2 attitude scales were used. The data indicate that the industries in which employees works as well as their perception about whether computerized technology makes their job rewarding or creates de-skilling are all significant predictors of their attitude regarding a union's decision to accept or resist technological change. Non-union members and managers, in contrast to union members, appear to be concerned about: 1. bread-and-butter issues, and 2. quality of work issues and therefore, are somewhat less likely to feel positive about a union that accepts and helps workers adapt to new office technology.

À partir des fiches du personnel de la Noranda Mines Ltd, l'auteur cherche à cerner les facteurs objectifs qui ont incité quelque 300 travailleurs à déclencher une grève le 12 juin 1934. Comme d'une part, la participation à la grève est inscrite sur les fiches, mais comme d'autre part, la majorité des travailleurs ont refusé de respecter les piquets de grève, deux groupes d'ouvriers-mineurs, les grévistes et les non-grévistes, peuvent ainsi être distingués lors du conflit. Hormis leurs orientations idéologiques, ces travailleurs ont-ils adopté face à la grève une attitude qui peut s'expliquer par leurs caractéristiques socioprofessionnelles? Au centre de cette analyse: les immigrants qui composent la majorité de la main-d'oeuvre. Puisqu'ils sont divisés sur les mérites de la grève, le texte examine l'influence de leur degré d'enracinement au pays sur leur militantisme.

The article reviews the book, "Organisation du travail et gestion de la main-d'oeuvre dans la filière automobile," by Gorgeu, Armelle, René Mathieu and Michel Pialoux.

The article reviews the book, "International and Comparative Employment Relations," edited by Greg J. Bamber and Russell D. Lansbury.

Introduces the international colloquium co-sponsored by Laval University's Industrial Relations Centre and the Canadian Workplace Research Network held in September 1997.

The article reviews the book, "New Forms of Work Organization--Can Europe Realise its Potential?," by EPOC Research Group.

En 1999, la Fraternité des policiers et policières de Montréal célébrait son cinquantième anniversaire. Quelles sont les étapes qui ont marqué la vie de ce syndicat? --Description de l'éditeur

The article reviews the book, "Labor and Urban Politics: Class Conflict and the Origins of Modern Liberalism in Chicago, 1864-97," by Richard Schneirov.

[T]his history is a major contribution in recording the tumultuous times and many sharp battles of the working class in British Columbia. --From introduction by Maurice Rush

Dans cette recherche, nous tentons d'expliquer le phénomène de démobilisation chez les diplômés universitaires récemment embauchés à partir de leurs attentes et des possibilités de réalisation de ces attentes offertes par l'organisation. Différents modèles explicatifs sont testés et celui qui considère les attentes et les possibilités de réalisation comme des effets indépendants se révèle bien plus significatif que le modèle classique des attentes insatisfaites. L'effet des attentes initiales sur la démobilisation s'avère très réduit, remettant ainsi en cause l'hypothèse des attentes excessives qui augmenteraient les risques de démobilisation. Par contre, le défaut par l'organisation de responsabiliser, d'utiliser les compétences et d'informer est beaucoup plus préjudiciable.

The article review and comments extensively on Murray Bookchin's "Considering the Third Revolution: Popular Movements in the Revolutionary Era," 2 vols. (1998).

Following a brief review of the concept of quality, the article analyzes the representations and practices of quality by managers and employees at four Quebec manufacturing plants - Comtel, Microcom, Primétal and Afcan. Each was involved in the transformational process of Total Quality Management. Concludes that there is a duality: either quality management reinforces the relationship of subordination to managerial authority, or, on the contrary, it is based on a negotiated agreement in which unions and workers make themselves heard.

The article reviews the book, "Labor and the Wartime State: Labor Relations and Law during World War II, by James B. Atleson.

Relief policy in English Canada in the 1930s was the forerunner of the Canadian welfare state. As practised, the strength of relief lay in local responsibility but this was also a weakness. The aims of relief policy were undermined by the politics of place: the impact of specific historical and spatial circumstances at the local level. Relief policy was not uniformly enforced nor were the outcomes exactly as intended. The objectives, to provide minimal necessities, to exclude individuals and families from relief rolls, to control gender and familial roles, and to impose middle class societal prescription, were not met. Instead, a complex negotiation of responsibilities and expectations was undertaken. Relief recipients, were able to win some concessions. Further, the fragility of social categories used to implement relief policies was crystallized. The conflict between the ideals of policy and people's realities becomes apparent when two very different cities are compared. Using extensive oral history interviews and contemporary relief policy documents and relief department records, this research shows that while the principles of relief were almost identical in Saskatoon and Vancouver, the practice of relief in these two cities revealed the dependency of relief policy upon face to face delivery. Designed to eliminate potential abuse by recipients, the system barely controlled it. Further, local responsibility also ensured that citizens had access to the mechanisms of local politics and tools for change. The local population in Saskatoon was able to win considerable and significant improvements to relief while Vancouver's system remained virtually untouched, in spite of dramatic and revolutionary local activities which reached the national stage.

Using a large data set of large and small bargaining units, the implications for collective bargaining disputes of the evolution toward small bargaining units and the move to non-traditional forms of representation are examined. It is found that smaller bargaining units, as well as independent unions in both the public and private sectors, are less likely to reach an impasse. This finding supported those hypothesizing the cooperative nature of these organizations. These 2 sets of results suggest that the movement to smaller bargaining units, and towards more independent representation, will result in a higher proportion of directly negotiated settlements in the future. However, a reduced incidence of impasse does not necessarily mean a reduction in industrial conflict. Evidence is found of a shift away from a collective expression of conflict such as strikes, to more individual expressions. Thus, in the future, there may be a greater need for internal conflict resolution systems.

Using monthly data from the Canadian Labour Force Survey, changes in the complete duration of new job spells from 1981 through 1996 are investigated. While the average complete length of new jobs did not increase or decrease over a period, investigation of the distribution of complete job lengths reveals 2 important changes. First, the probability that a new job would end within 6 months rose during the 1980s, but then reversed during the 1990s, meaning that there was little net change over the period as a whole. Second, the conditional probability that a job that had lasted 6 months would continue on past 5 years rose through the whole period. This pattern of change was found among virtually all demographic subgroups examined, suggesting that an economy-wide explanation must be sought.

The article reviews the book, "The CIO, 1935-1955," by Robert H. Zieger.

The article reviews the book, "Daimler-Benz in the Third Reich," by Neil Gregor.

The article reviews and comments on the books, "The Other Side of the Sixties: Young Americans for Freedom and the Rise of Conservative Politics," by John A. Andrew III, "Blues for America: A Critique, A Lament, and Some Memories," by Doug Dowd, "The Way the Wind Blew: A History of the Weather Underground," by Ron Jacobs, "Living Inside Our Hope: A Steadfast Radical's Thoughts on Rebuilding the Movement," by Staughton Lynd, and "Direct Action: Radical Pacifism from the Union Eight to the Chicago Seven," by James Tracy.