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Introduces and provides background on the letter written on Feb. 21, 1939, from Victor Midgley in New Zealand to his friend and fellow socialist, Angus MacInnis, in Vancouver. Midgley, who was formerly a prominent member of the BC labour movement and the CCF, gives his assessment of union and political affairs in New Zealand, where a Labour government was then in power. The opening page of the handwritten letter is reproduced.

Cet article examine l'implication sociale et politique d'un groupe de ménagères de la classe ouvrière au cours du vingtième siècle. Dès leur formation en 1905, jusque dans les années trente, les locaux canadiens de la Ligue auxiliaire de l'Association internationale des machinistes ont promu des activités de nature familiale au sein du mouvement ouvrier et syndical. Ils ont également offert à leurs membres un centre d'éducation et d'action politique important. Après la deuxième guerre mondiale cependant, alors que les membres de la Ligue continuent de s'impliquer publiquement au sein de leurs communautés, elles expriment un sentiment d'appartenance au mouvement syndical et ouvrier nettement plus ambigu. L'évolution de la Ligue est examiné à la lumière des changements structurels qui affectent le mouvement syndical au cours des années trente et quarante.

The article reviews the book, "European Centre for Work and Society," edited by George Spyropoulos and Gabriel Fragnière.

The article reviews two books: "On the Political Economy of Social Democracy: Selected Papers of J. C. Weldon," edited by Allen Fenichel and Sydney Ingerman, and "Economic Theory, Welfare and the State: Essays in Honour of J. C. Weldon," edited by Athanasios Asimakopulos, Robert Cairns and Christopher Green.

The article reviews two books: "Uncommon Property: The Fishing and Fish-Processing Industries in British Columbia," edited by Patricia Marchak, Neil Guppy, and John McMulla, and "Salmon: The Decline of the British Columbia Fishery," by Geoff Meggs.

The extent to which the probability of union membership is affected by demographic characteristics, occupational characteristics, and labor policies is examined. The results for the first 2 sets of factors show that married workers are more union-prone, whereas those with working spouses are less likely to become union members. Age is also significantly related to the probability of union membership, but education and gender are not. The results indicate that blue-collar workers and full-time employees are more likely to become union members. The most important finding, however, is that labor provisions do affect the probability of union membership. If the trade union movement wants to increase its membership, it should lobby for a reduction in the minimum support requirement during certification application and for a majority status based on those voting during certification elections. The movement may also want to support statutes protecting workers against their own unions.

The article reviews the book, "Belated Feudalism: Labor, the Law, and Liberal Development in the United States," by Karen Orren.

The article briefly reviews "'Just Call Me Mitch': The Life of Mitchell F. Hepburn," by John T. Saywell, "Duff Pattullo of British Columbia," by Robin Fisher, "Social Democracy Without Illusions: Renewal of the Canadian Left," edited by John Richards, Robert D. Cairns, and Larry Pratt, " Frontier and Metropolis: Regions, Cities, and Identities in Canada," by J.M.S. Careless, "Women Who Taught: Perspectives on the History of Women and Teaching," edited by Alison Prentice and Marjorie R. Theobald, "Community Organization and the Canadian State," edited by Roxana Ng, Gillian Walker, and Jacob Muller, "More Than Our Jobs: An Anthology," edited by Glen Downie and Pam Tranfield, "Immigrant Odyssey: A French-Canadian Habitant in New England," by Felix Albert, introduced by Frances H. Early, "The Diary of a Shirtwaist Striker," by Theresa Serber Malkiel, introduced by Francois Basch, "The Re-Education of the American Working Class," edited by Steven H. London, Elvira R. Tarr, and Joseph F. Wilson, "The Anti-Chinese Movement in California," by Clarence Sandmeyer, "The Fictitious Commodity: A Study of the U.S. Labor Market. 1880-1940," by Ton Korver, "Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communists During the Great Depression," by Robin D.G. Kelley, "Masters to Managers: Historical and Comparative Perspectives on American Employers," edited by Sanford M. Jacoby, "Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Round: The Pursuit of Racial Justice in the Rural South," by Richard A. Couto, "The 60s Experience: Hard Lessons About Modern America," by Edward P. Morgan, "The Rise of Financial Capitalism: International Capital Markets in the Age of Reason," by Larry Neal, "The Struggle For Market Power: Industrial Relations in the British Coal Industry, 1800-1840," by James A. Jaffe, "Industrialization and the Working Class: The English Experience, 1750-1900," by John Belchem, "The ILP on Clydeside, 1893-1932: From Foundation to Disintegration," edited by Alan McKinlay and R.J. Morris, "What's Left? Women in Culture and the Labour Movement," by Linda Swindells and Lisa Jardin, "Writing Women's History: International Perspectives," edited by Karen Offen, Ruth Roach Pierson, and Jane Rendall, "Agrarian Capitalism and the World Market: Buenos Aires in the Pastoral Age, 1840-1890," by Hilda Sabato, "Slavery in the Circuit of Sugar: Martinique and the World Economy," by Dale W. Tomich, and "The Welfare State in Capitalist Society: Policies of Retrenchment and Maintenance in Europe, North America, and Australia," by Ramesh Mishra.

Working Class Experience is a sweeping and sympathetic study of the development of the Canadian working class since 1800. Beginning with a substantial and provocative introduction that discusses the historiography of the Canadian working class, the book goes on to establish a general framework for analysis of what ultimately is a social history of Canada. Dividing the years into seven periods in the evolution of class struggle, it beings each chapter with an assessment of that period's prevailing economic and social context, followed by an examination of the many factors affecting the working class during that period. Written in a colourful and sometimes irreverent style, Working Class Experience focuses on the processes by which working people moved, and were moved, off the land and into the factories and other workplaces during the Industrial and post-Industrial Revolutions in Canada. Drawing on much recent work on contemporary capitalism, Working Class Experience offers a significant explanation of the malaise in current labour and management relations and speculates on its significance for progressive change in Canadian Life. --Publisher's description

The article briefly reviews "The Formation of Labour Movements, 1870-1914: An International Perspective," edited by Marcel Van Der Linden,and Jurgen Rojahn, "Reluctant Icon: Gladstone, Bulgaria, and the Working Classes, 1856-1878," by Ann Pottinger Saab, "On the Move: Essays in Labour and Transport History Presented to Philip Bagwell," edited by Chris Wrigley and John Shepherd, "Regulating a New Economy: Public Policy and Economic Change in America, 1900-1933," by Morton Keller, "The Nature of Work: Sociological Perspectives," edited by Kai Erickson and Steven Peter Vallas, "Repression and Recovery: Modern American Poetry and the Politics of Cultural Memory, 1910-1945," by Cary Nelson, "The Arbitration of Rights Disputes in the Public Sector," by Clarence R. Deitsch and David A. Dills, "Women, Employment and the Family in the International Division of Labour," edited by Sharon Stichter and Jane L. Parpart, "History from South Africa: Alternative Visions and Practices," edited by Joshua Brown et al., "Arbitration Discharge: Grievances in Ontario : Outcomes and Reinstatement Experiences," by Peter J. Barnacle, "Labour Arbitration Yearbook, 1991, Volume 1," edited by William Kaplan, Jeffrey Sack, and Morley Gunderson, "Class War: A Decade of Disorder," edited by Ian Bone, Alan Pullen and Tim Scargill, "Taylorism Transformed: Scientific Management Theory Since 1945," Stephen P. Waring, and "Women Workers and Global Restructuring," edited by Kathryn Ward / reviews by Bryan D. Palmer -- "Foreign Language Literature on the Nordic Labour Movements," edited by Marianne Bagge Hansen and Gerd Callesen / review by Gregory S. Kealey.

The article reviews the book, "Russia's Cotton Workers And The New Economic Policy," by Chris Ward.

The article reviews the book, "Industrial Harmony In Modern Japan: The Invention Of A Tradition," by W. Dean Kinzley.

Cet article examine l'évolution du discours et des revendications du Comité féminin de la CTCC-CSN. Créé en 1952 à la demande des travailleuses de cette centrale, ce comité reçoit le mandat d'étudier les problèmes particuliers de la main-d'œuvre féminine. Les résultats de l'analyse révèlent que les membres de ce comité semblent se situer, en fait, à la jonction de deux courants idéologiques qui se chevauchent sans pour autant s'exclure l'un l'autre. En effet, leur réflexion et leurs pratiques revendicatives s'inspirent à la fois d'un féminisme égalitaire et d'un discours de la différence modulé par l'intériorisation des rapports sociaux de sexe et notamment, par l'assignement prioritaire des femmes à la sphère privée. Au coeur de cette ambivalence se trouve peut-être un fil conducteur permettant de mieux comprendre le cheminement de ces militantes dans leur volonté de définir un nouvel espace social pour les femmes.

The article reviews the book, "Hello Central? Gender, Technology, and Culture in the Formation of the Telephone Systems," by Michèle Martin.

The problems of time delay, costs and legalism in grievance arbitration are interrelated. Previous studies, as well as new data from the Province of Alberta, show that delays are increasing and that the average grievance that ultimately is resolved through arbitration takes a year to proceed from its origin to the arbitrator's award. Factors associated with time delay include the use of 3-person boards (as opposed to sole arbitrators), the sector (public or private), and the type of issue. The most obvious way to save time without a drastic overhaul of the system is to use sole arbitrators more frequently. In order to reduce the length of the process, it is useful to break the process into 4 distinct phases: 1. the grievance procedure stage, 2. the arbitrator selection stage, 3. the scheduling stage, and 4. the decision stage. The first and last stages need not be tampered with; however, refinements in the arbitrator selection and scheduling stages must be addressed.

The article reviews the book, "New Forms of Ownership," edited by Glenville Jenkins and Michael Poole

The article reviews the book, "New Times: The Changing Face of Politics in the 1990s," edited by Stuart Hall and Martin Jacques.

The article reviews the book, "Work and Wages: Natural Law, Politics and the Eighteenth-Century French Trades," by Michael Sonenscher.

Data on 430 union organizing campaigns in the US are used to examine the incidence and patterns of organizing tactics in representation campaigns. The results show that most traditional tactics were widely used, but most new organizing strategies and tactics were infrequently used in the sample of representation campaigns. None of the corporate power tactics were used in more than 5% of the campaigns. The community acceptance and integration tactics tended to be used less often than the classical approach tactics but more often than the corporate power tactics. Service unions tended to use the classical approach tactics less often and the corporate power and the community acceptance and integration tactics more often than manufacturing unions. Manufacturing unions used paid advertisements more often than service unions, perhaps because they have more resources at their disposal to do so. The importance of new organizing strategies seems to have been exaggerated in the literature.

The article reviews the book, "Moncton 1871-1929. Changements socio-économiques dans une ville ferroviaire," edited by Daniel Hickey.