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  • On February 18, 1949 the asbestos industry went on strike at Asbestos, Quebec. During four and a half months, 5,000 miners faced the united forces of the mining companies and the Duplessis government in what turned out to be a bitter, hard-fought confrontation. The strikers received widespread support and sympathy in Quebec. In a dramatic break from tradition, the Catholic church came out strongly their side. The Duplessis government, however, put on a massive show of police power and used mass arrests and widespread beatings to intimidate the workers. Many Quebec intellectuals were active on the strikers' side. Their involvement led to the writing of this book, originally published in 1956. Contributors, including Fernand Dumont, Gérard Pelletier, Gérard Dion, and Pierre Elliott Trudeau, trace the history of the strike and analyze its causes and consequences. Like the strike itself, this book is a landmark. It marks the beginning of a new, critical traditioin of writing on Quebec history and society, and it is a major contribution to the history of the Quebec labour movement. This translation of the original 1956 edition makes the complet text of this important book available to English-speaking readers for the first time. --Publisher's description. Contents: Foreword / Frank R. Scott -- Preface / Jean-Charles Falardeau -- The province of Quebec at the time of the strike / Pierre Elliott Trudeau (pages 1-82) -- Financial history of the asbestos industry / Jean Gérin-Lajoie (pages 83-106) -- History of the trade union movement in the asbestos industry / Fernand Dumont (pages 107-142 )-- History of the strike at Asbestos / Gilles Beausoleil (pages 143-182) -- History of the negotiations (pages 183-204) -- The church and the conflict in the asbestos industry / Gérard Dion (pages 205-226) -- The strike and our judicial system / Charles A. Lussier (pages 227-238) -- The strike and the press / Gérard Pelletier (pages 239-274) -- Six years later / Maurice Sauvé (pages 275-298) -- The strike and the labour movement / Réginald Boisvert (pages 299-332) -- Epilogue / Pierre Elliott Trudeau (pages 333-352) -- Appendix 1: Bibliographical notice (pages 353-354) -- Appendix 2: The Custos report (pages 355-356) -- Appendix 3: Opinions on the police brutalities and extracts from a judgment of the superior court (pages 367-370) -- Appendix 4: The Rocque trial: A case of judicial oversimplification / J.P. Geoffroy (pages 371-376) -- Appendix 5: A reader's guide to The Asbestos Strike / James Boake (pages 377-382).

Last update from database: 12/21/24, 4:10 AM (UTC)

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