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Contemporary historians of the Canadian working class have portrayed the period after the 1937 General Motors (GM) strike in Oshawa until the outbreak of World War II as one of slow growth and setbacks for the union movement, and between 1937 and 1939 union membership did decline. Union initiatives after the Oshawa strike led GM employees to form other organizations which included a ladies' auxiliary, a bowling club, a Rod and Gun Club, and a credit union. The proliferation of such organizations enhanced the position of autoworkers in the community and gave all workers a stronger presence in Oshawa. As the city became more unionized, cooperation grew among workers both inside and outside the city. Locally in Oshawa between 1937 and 1939, industrial workers became more active politically. After the Oshawa strike, a new class consciousness among that city's industrial workers emerged. The Oshawa strike "kick-started" the industrial union movement in Canada.

The article reviews the book, "Bora Laskin: Bringing Law to Life," by Philip Girard.

Uranium miners in Elliot Lake went on a wildcat strike in 1974 to protest their occupational health concerns on the job after a spike in cancer cases. They learned that the provincial government had known of the poor working conditions causing their illnesses, but had not informed them of the dangers or acted to improve their situation. As a result of union and political pressure, the Ontario government created the Ham Commission to investigate and make recommendations. Its hearings revealed the industry's scandalous conditions, and its report eventually resulted in the Ontario Health and Safety (OHS) Act in Ontario. It did not cover the miners until 1984, so they worked through their internal health and safety committees to gain improvements in the work environment. Others have discussed this situation in relation to the emergence of the OHS and environmental movements. This paper discusses the events in terms of the mine owners' attitudes towards their employees, the industry's relationship to governments, and the impact of the uranium mining industry (part of the nuclear industry) on the local community and environment.

The article discusses the life and work of the Black American actor-singer, Paul Robeson. Known for his Communist and Soviet sympathies, Robeson endured extensive harrassment at the hands of US authorities. In 1952, he was blocked at the border from entering Canada by the US State Department while en route to Vancouver to perform at the Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers' union convention. The author concludes that, while Robeson paid a steep price, both personally and professionally, for his beliefs, he also was a hero to many.

The article reviews the book, "Advocate and Activist: Memoirs of an American Communist Lawyer," by John J. Abt.

This article reviews the book, "The Electrical Workers: A History of Labor at General Electric and Westinghouse 1923-60," by Ronald W. Schatz.

This article reviews the book, "The Rise and Fall of the Toronto Typographical Union 1832-1972: A Case Study of Foreign Domination," by Sally F. Zerker.

Because of its potential for disruption of war production, the 1943 steel strike was among the most important wartime disputes. It directly challenged the government's wage control policy, prompted unprecedented state intervention, and finally resulted in a restructuring of the National War Labour Board. Union organizing and economic objectives were in direct conflict with government anti-inflation policy and a federal enquiry was unable to devise a solution. Eventually, Mackenzie King who was sympathetic to the strikers' position and sensitive to CCF growth, was able to arrange a settlement. Subsequently, the settlement was repudiated by the NWLB and union-government relations were further exacerbated.

During the war years extensive trade union growth was accompanied by serious industrial unrest. Wage controls, inadequate labour representation on war policy making bodies, and the absence of collective bargaining legislation resulted in antagonistic labour-government relations. The government's strict enforcement of wage controls and refusal to enact legislation to handle the growing number of "recognition strikes' ' contributed to labour's growing alienation. The T.L.C. and the C.C.L., despite their organizational rivalry, united to demand new legislation modelled after the American Wagner Act. The labour movement also forged a formal relationship with the C.C.F. The federal government decided to maintain wage controls despite their unpopularity; however, the C.C.F. 's growing popularity, its electoral victories, and the success of the recently passed Ontario collective bargaining legislation, caused the government to introduce a new labour relations policy in 1944 (PC 1003). This order became the basis for a new labour relations framework which recognized the status of collective bargaining. Labour did not achieve significant representation on government policy making bodies, but it did achieve representation on the permanent tribunals which were set up to administer the labour legislation. At the local level, employees were more readily able to organize into trade unions and negotiate collective agreements. This permanently undermined traditional management prerogatives and to this extent employees achieved a new status and a degree of participation in industrial decision making.

In Canadian political history, the primary focus of historians has been on leading politicians. Trade union leaders have been virtually ignored. This paper partly fills this gap in presenting the career of C.H. Millard.

[This book] tells the story of one of the most important industrial disputes in Canadian labour history. This strike united the Canadian labour movement around the demand for collective bargaining legislation, which it won in 1944 and which remains central to our industrial relations system. The book provides a comprehensive analysis of all the factors in this dramatic dispute. At the community level, a social history approach examines the local living and working conditions of the miners and their families, the role of the women in the dispute, and the ethnic makeup of the workforce. -- Publisher's description

J.L. Cohen, one of the first specialists in labour law and an architect of the Canadian industrial relations system, was a formidable advocate in the 1930s and 1940s on behalf of working people. A 'radical lawyer' in the tradition of the great American counsel Clarence Darrow or contemporary advocate Thomas Berger who represent the less powerful and seek to reform society and to protect civil liberties, Cohen was also a 'labour intellectual' in Canada, similar to those supporting Roosevelt's New Deal in the United States. He wrote Collective Bargaining in Canada, served on the National War Labour Board, and advised the Ontario government about policy issues such as mothers' allowances, unemployment insurance legislation, and labour law..

The article reviews the book, "In Defence of Home Places: Environmental Activism in Nova Scotia," by Mark R. Leeming.

The article reviews the book, "The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions," edited by Anthony Carew, Michel Dreyfus, Geert Van Goethem, Rebecca Gumbrell-McCormick, and Marcel Van Der Linden.

On 18 November 1941, the gold miners of Kirkland lake struck for union recognition. The Kirkland Lake strike was a bitter struggle between the mine operators and their employees and became a national confrontation between the federal government and the labour movement over the issue of collective bargaining. Locally, the dispute was affected by the company-town environment and by the mine operators' paternalistic view of labour relations. Through the difficult winter womenths, the community -- polarized by the events -- tried to deal with both the 'political' and social impact of the conflict. The author's father, Larry Sefton, emerged as one of the local leaders of the strike, which itself was a training ground for many future trade unionists. The strike was waged in the special circumstances of the war economy, and was a microcosm of wartime developments, which produced unprecedented union growth, serious industrial unrest, hostile management response, and generally antagonistic labour/government relations. Professor MacDowell shows that, even though the strike was lost, its eventual effect on labour policy gave the dispute its particular significance. To win the strike, government intervention and the introduction of collective bargaining were necessary, yet the only intervention was by the Ontario Provincial Police, who were ordered to assist the mining companies to operate with strike-breakers. The federal government refused to intervene, in spire of virtually unanimous support for the strike by the Canadian labour movement. MacDowell confludes that the strike succeeded in unifying organized labour behind the demand for collective-bargaining legislation. It highlighted the inadequacy of the government's wartime labour poilcy, and ultimately forced the government to authorize collective bargaining, first for Crown companies and then for all industrial workers. Thus, the Kirkland Lake strike was not only an important wartime dispute affecting policy development, but it also established a special legacy for trade unionists as part of the history of their movement. --Publisher's description

[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