Search

Several environmental factors have been proposed to account for union decline in the US, some of which apply to Canada as well. An attempt is made to: 1. link a new union paradigm with a new union strategy by suggesting that unions should engage in strategic planning, 2. present union resources as important constructs in predicting a union's likelihood to engage in strategic planning, 3. propose relevant research hypotheses for analyzing the union resource-strategic planning relationship, and 4. ground the research hypotheses by offering an illustrative example focusing on the Communications Workers of America (CWA), Local 7800. Union leaders must begin to act as strategic planners outside the structure of corporate management if they are to move from a new paradigm to a new action orientation. As illustrated by the case of CWA Local 7800, the presence of certain elements seems necessary in order for strategic planning to occur.

By the 1920s child labour and school attendance legislation had almost eliminated the full-time labour of those under fifteen. However, interview data show that both middle- and working-class Canadian children continued to do a great deal of work in their households. Many young boys and girls also worked at regular and irregular part-time paying jobs. The earnings of working-class children often stood between their families and real economic hardship, while those of middle-class youngsters reduced pressure on tight family budgets. In addition to its contribution to family economies, children's work played a considerable role in developing the gender identities of both girls and boys.

The article reviews the book "Canadian Union Movement in the 1980s: Perspectives From Union Leaders," edited by Pradeep Kumar and Dennis Ryan.

Max Swerdlow's life as labour organizer and educator began in Depression-era Winnipeg and carried him to national and international prominence in the Trades and Labour Congress, the Canadian Labour Congress, and the International Labour Organization. In this lively memoir, Swerdlow recaptures the persons and events of his life in the Labour movement. --Publisher's description

An attempt is made to empirically address the issue of whether promotions of female clerical employees are less likely when education and other qualifications are held constant. A model was developed for the probability of promotion. The data were drawn from a large public employer and covered the period of the early 1980s. Questionnaires were sent to all employees, with a 75% response rate. The questionnaires supplemented employer records. Results of the study demonstrated that female clerks were not treated in the same way as their male counterparts in regard to promotions to junior levels of management. The regressions predicted that, if females had been subject to the male criteria, their success in obtaining the promotions would have been almost double its actual value and higher than the actual success of males. The results also indicated a prima facie case of discrimination in promotion. The results were especially important since most discussion of affirmative action focuses on increasing the number of women in upper levels of management.

This article reviews the book, "Union-Management Relations in Canada," 2nd ed., by John C. Anderson, Morley Gunderson, and Allen Ponak.

The article reviews the book, "Reproducing Families: The Political Economy of English Population History," by David Levine.

For Ontario workers during the industrial revolution the workplace was often an environment of terrible danger. Injuries and illness from unsafe working conditions were commonplace. Over time these conditions spurred efforts for reform from activists, legislators, and the courts. But change was slow in coming. To understand the impact of industrial revolution on the health and safety of workers generally, and on women and children in particular, tucker uses their testimony before various commissions, newspapers, and reported court cases. Initial efforts to effect change were made through the courts; they were largely unsuccessful. When the judiciary refused to regulate the risk-creating conduct of employers, through either the civil or the criminal law, workers and Victorian reformers found common ground in successfully promoting factory legislation. By prescribing and enforcing minimum standards, a measure of regulatory responsibility for the health of workers generally and women and children in particular was shifted from the market to the state. Class interest and gender ideology played a substantial role in this process. But the legislation's implementation belied its promise. The government was unwilling to provide adequate enforcement resources and inspectors accepted the conventional wisdom that workers had to adjust to the 'normal' hazards of industry, which were reasonable and, therefore, legal. Even when the accident rate began to soar as a result of the 'second industrial revolution, ' the authorities remained complacent. Tucker says that in industrial capitalist social formation, the nature and degree of hazards to which workers are exposed are determined largely by the employer-worker balance of power. Their respective power resources both shape and are shaped by the ideological, legal, political, and administrative environment in which they are deployed. Throughout the last half of the nineteenth century and up to the First World War, state regulation of occupational health and safety was substantially subordinated to market-driven forces; it still is today

The article reviews the books "Am I That Name?: Feminism and the Category of Women in History," by Denise Riley and "Gender and the Politics of History," by Joan Wallach Scott.

The National Action Committee on the Status of Women marked the twentieth anniversary of its founding in 1992. Today, it is the umbrella organization for roughly six hundred women’s groups in Canada. The authors of this study argue that, if women’s movements are to achieve their equality goals, they must develop enduring institutions that allow women’s efforts to be organized over the course of several generations. The authors examine the process of institutionalization through an in-depth study of the National Action Committee. In the belief that women’s movements in Canada have become more or less permanent features of the political system, operating parallel to its official structures, the author argue the need for a feminist political science that can accommodate the study of both women’s politics in their autonomous movements and women’s conventional activities in official politics. Indeed, this book undertakes political analysis ‘as if women mattered’: it focuses on women’s interests and draws on feminist theory while remaining connected to the broad framework of political science. The book documents NAC’s evolution as a ‘parliament of women.’ It shows how the organization moved from a fairly narrow status-of-women focus in its policies to a broadly conceived policy framework that linked such apparently sex-neutral issues as free trade, federalism, and taxation to feminism. Although the more comprehensive feminist approach to public policy proved dangerous for NAC in a conservative era, it also solidified its role and reputation as a major play in equality-seeking politics in Canada. --Publisher's description. Contents: Introduction : NAC and women's politics in Quebec ; NAC and women's politics in the first nations ; NAC and the politics of the 'new force' ; NAC as the coordinating institution of the English-Canadian women's movement ; Highlights of NAC's development -- The intellectual and political context for the development of NAC : An overview of women's movements and the National Action Committee ; Canadian political culture and Canadian women's movements ; Radical influences on feminist political culture ; NAC's political-opportunity structure: the Canadian political system -- NAC in the shadow of the royal commission: the founding era, 1972-1978 : 'Social' movements and the political process ; The founding of NAC -- The struggle for NAC: the transitional era, 1979-1982 : The issues in conflict: grafting on a radical grass roots ; Two coalitions competing for the future of NAC -- A new Parliament of women: institutionalizing NAC, 1982-1988 : Getting NAC 'back on track' ; The great leap forward: the expansion examined ; Opposition on the right ; Organizational review -- Agency, leadership, representation, and democracy in NAC : A revolution of rising expectations: NAC member groups ; Leadership and accountability: is anyone here in charge? ; Representation: the heart of the matter ; Process and democracy in NAC -- The policy process: structures for a new Parliament of women : Changing conceptions of the policy process in NAC ; Evolving policy structures in NAC ; NAC's ability to deal with short-term policy issues ; NAC's approach to long-term policy issues -- Feminist ideology and policy making in NAC : In search of a framework: understanding the ideological trends in NAC ; The development of a feminist ideological spectrum in NAC: some benchmark issues ; From a status-of-women approach to a feminist politics -- Conclusion : What is success? ; Can NAC's role as a Parliament of women continue? ; Is radical liberalism outmoded as a cultural basis for NAC politics? ; Will NAC survive? -- Appendixes : A. Ideological forces among Anglophone NAC delegates, 984 AGM ; B. Groups affiliated with NAC by type, circa 1987-1988.

The article reviews the book, "Santé et sécurité du travail," by Micheline Plasse.

The paper presents data from a study of workers' knowledge, perceptions and actions regarding occupational health and safety. The correlates of workers' knowledge of health and safety legislation are analyzed, as well as the links between their knowledge and their resistance to hazardous work. The data suggest that workers who are most disadvantaged in the workplace are least likely to be aware of their rights. The correlates of action regarding health and safety are less clear, though knowledge of the legislation was related to resistance to hazardous work.

The article reviews the book, "L'entreprise à l'écoute," by Michel Crozier.

The article reviews the book, "The New Unionism: Employee Involvement in the Changing Corporation," by Charles C. Heckscher.

The article reviews the book, "The Commercial Fishery of the Canadian Great Lakes," by A. B. McCullough.

La planification des ressources humaines en tant que nouveau style de gestion des ressources humaines est en train d'émerger dans le secteur privé. La présente étude montre qu'elle commence également à apparaître dans le secteur public. À partir d'une enquête par entrevue (n = 11) et par questionnaire (n = 76), cette recherche indique que la planification des ressources humaines a fait son apparition dans certaines parties de la fonction publique fédérale.

The subject of this research is the conflicting policy interests and ideas of Canadian organized labour and the federal Conservative government between 1984 and 1988. This conflict is placed within the context of the political and economic changes accompanying the international restructuring of capital and focusses on the opposition of the Canadian trade union movement to federal economic development policies. The struggle of ideas and interests surrounding specific policy areas is detailed. These areas include deficit reduction, the privatization of Crown corporations and government services, deregulation of certain economic activities and sectors and comprehensive bilateral free trade with the United States. Labour's opposition is shown to have manifested in a new strategy for building a broad-based coalition with other popular interests, in an effort to defeat the Conservative government and their policies at the polls. The research work concludes with speculation as to the future of labour and popular-coalition politics.

The article reviews the book, "The Canadian Labour Movement: A Short History," by Craig Heron.