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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.
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The article reviews the book, "Advocate and Activist: Memoirs of an American Communist Lawyer," by John J. Abt.
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This article reviews the book, "The Electrical Workers: A History of Labor at General Electric and Westinghouse 1923-60," by Ronald W. Schatz.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.