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A study seeks to explain why companies do or do not introduce employee profit sharing, through a telephone survey of CEOs at 626 Canadian companies. In addition to examining some of the usual contextual variables, the study goes beyond previous work by directly questioning CEOs about their motives for adopting or not adopting profit sharing, and by including managerial philosophy as a possible factor in their decision-making process. Results indicated that managerial philosophy and company size were the 2 key predictors of incidence or profit sharing. However, the firms most likely to adopt profit sharing in the future were those experiencing a high growth in sales coupled with a low growth in employees. Surprisingly, unionization was not related to either presence of, or intention to implement, profit sharing.

The article reviews the book, "Northern Sandlots: A Social History of Maritime Baseball," by Colin D. Howell.

Based on 512 survey respondents, the age at which people voluntarily planned to retire was found to be influenced most strongly by incentives for early retirement embodied in their pension plan. The planned age of retirement was also influenced by the accuracy of information about pension plan features as well as by the respondents' age, gender, health status, and marital status, especially the employment and pension status of the spouse. Implications for public policy and human resource practices of the firm, as well as for implicit contracting are discussed.

The article discusses the retention of employee records to keep track of railway workers serving the Canadian armed forces during World War I. It discusses the impact of the war on the Canadian economy, citing how it deepened the depression, how it affected the business performance of railways, including the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), and how railway employment fell between 1913 and 1915. It mentions the support given by the railway industry to the war effort which is evident in its collaboration with the metal manufacturing sector in producing shells, as well as its assistance to government efforts to boost munitions production. It also explores how companies monitor employees enlisted to serve the military and how this encouraged them to have an accurate record keeping.

Les logiques d'action des ouvriers du secteur industriel à l'endroit de la formation et des changements du travail ne sont pas homogènes. Elles sont tributaires de leurs caractéristiques personnelles mais aussi de leurs positions objectives dans l'espace social des entreprises qui les emploient. Des différences importantes de logiques apparaissent ainsi selon la génération des salariés, selon le moment de leur socialisation initiale au travail, ou selon la longueur de la scolarisation initiale. Mais la position dans l'entreprise intervient également. L'article s'appuie sur une monographie d'un équipementier automobile en Wallonie (Belgique) qui depuis une dizaine d'années développe une politique accentuée de modernisation technique et sociale. Le but de la recherche est de saisir les réactions des salariés à ces politiques managériales, en particulier en ce qui concerne la politique de formation. La recherche s'appuie sur une vingtaine d'interviews de travailleurs d'exécution des deux principaux ateliers et sur une étude statistique et documentaire.

The article reviews the book, "Résistance et transgression. . Études en histoire des femmes au Québec," by Andrée Lévesque.

This study examines the private policing and surveillance tactics adopted by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto to prevent the spread of communism, particularly within its congregation. Catholic "spies" and informants kept the Church abreast of communist maneuverings in ethnic communities, religious organizations, and on university campuses. An extensive moral and educational campaign was launched by the Church to create a bulwark against the Reds. These actions highlight the historical role of voluntary organizations in the policing of citizens and the maintenance of national security. Policing is redefined as a phenomenon that operated beyond the exclusive domain of the state. The analysis seeks to introduce a broader notion of national security and policing by examining the interplay between public and private institutions.

The article reviews the book, "Fantasy, the Bomb, and the Greening of Britain: Romantic Protest, 1945-1980," by Meredith Veldman.

The article reviews the book, "Ideal Surroundings: Domestic Life in a Working-Class Suburb in the 1920s," by Suzanne Morton.

This article uses the experience of the Canada Employment and Immigration Union to argue that progressive political action is still possible on the front lines of the state. The CEIU has used client coalitions to defend and transform its membership, and these efforts have been aided by the contradictions of the neoconservative project itself. Union successes have occurred when clients and community groups are on side, real material gains are conceivable, and the issues at stake impinge on the discretionary decisions of frontline workers. Union efforts are seen to constitute a prototypical strategy of "countermanagement," which can establish the foundations for a new, more democratically-accountable state.

The article reviews the books, "Réaliser l'équité salariale," by Alain Gazaille and "L'équité salariale : mise en oeuvre et enjeux," by Marie-Thérèse Chicha.

Les femmes participent de plus en plus au marché du travail, mais les normes et pratiques qui s'appliquent à la santé au travail ont été élaborées à un moment où les travailleurs étaient surtout des hommes. En 1990, les secteurs d'activité désignés comme étant les plus prioritaires pour l'intervention par la Commission de la santé et de la sécurité du travail du Québec avaient un taux de masculinité qui s'élevait à plus de 85 %. Dans cet article, nous démontrons une certaine exclusion des femmes de la prévention en santé au travail, nous donnons des explications pour cette exclusion et nous proposons des mesures de correction.

The article reviews the book, "Fighter with a Heart: Writings of Charles Owen Rice, Pittsburgh Labor Priest," edited by Charles McCollester.

The article reviews and comments on the books "Race and Labor in Western Copper: The Fight for Equality, 1896-1918," by Philip J. Mellinger and "Copper Crucible: How the Arizona Miners' Strike of 1983 Recast Labor-Management Relations in America," by Jonathan D. Rosenblum.

Research into an industrial sector reflecting principles of the emergent network model of production indicates that organized labor can play a positive role in post-Fordist system of industrial governance. Within the dynamic motion picture industry of British Columbia (B.C.), organized labor was the key organizational factor in the birth and rapid expansion of the agglomeration of small, specialized film production firms. In this process, B.C. film unions have become the dominant actors in forging collaborative relations between local production companies, between the sector and the state, and between the district and other film centers, so critical to the success of the network model.

The article reviews several books including "Red Flags and Red Tape: The Making of a Labour Bureaucracy," by Mark Leier and "Making Vancouver: Class, Status and Social Boundaries," by Robert A. J. McDonald.

Examines the roles of organized labour, the employer, the government, and the First Nations community with regard to the protracted labour dispute at the Muckamuck Restaurant in Vancouver, BC that ended in 1983 with the restaurant's closure. The case study draws on archival materials in addition to the author's recollections as a former union organizer and picketer during the strike. Concludes that although the strike had a downside, including the state's failure to protect the all-female First Nations workers from the employer's discriminatory and illegal practices, it was nevertheless significant in several respects.

The article reviews the book, "Imperial Leather: Race, Gender and Sexuality in the Colonial Contest," by Anne McClintock.

This documentary by acclaimed filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin introduces us to Randy Horne, a high steel worker from the Mohawk community of Kahnawake, near Montreal. As a defender of his people's culture and traditions, he was known as "Spudwrench" during the 1990 Oka crisis. Offering a unique look behind the barricades at one man's impassioned defense of sacred territory, the film is both a portrait of Horne and the generations of daring Mohawk construction workers that have preceded him. [The third film in Obomsawin's series on the events of 1990.]--Website description