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The article reviews the book, "Mail and Female: Women and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers," by Julie White.

The article reviews the book, "Droit de la santé et de la sécurité du travail. La loi et la jurisprudence commentée," 2e éd. by Denis Bradet, Bernard Cliche, Martin Racine and France Thibault.

The paper will proceed as follows. It tells the Westray story in two parts, first, the decision to set up the mine and, second, the operation of the mine. These events illuminate the salience of the broader political economic context to an understanding of what happened. Further, the story gives the lie to the assumptions which underpin health and safety regulation. Next, the paper details the implications of the political economy and the prevailing ideology for the enforcement of health and safety regulation. The paper then critically examines a component of, or prop for, the consensus theory which postulates that workers and capitalists share, in some roughly comparable way, the risks of production. In part this is done by examining the proposition that the corporate form is a neutral, facilitating device.

The article reviews the book, "Laporte, Pierre, Le traité du recours à l'encontre d'un congédiement sans cause juste et suffisante."

The article reviews the book, "Les Normes du travail," by Jean-Louis Dubé and Nicola D'Iorio.

The article reviews the book, "Les Normes internationales du travail. Manuel d'education ouvrière," 3rd edition, by Bureau internationale du travail.

The article reviews the book, "Workplace justice: employment obligations in international perspective," edited by H.N. Wheeler and J. Rojot.

The article reviews the book, "The New Labor Press. Journalism for a Changing Union Movement," edited by by Sam Pizzigati and Fred J. Solowey, eds.

A study examines the determinants of union commitment using correlation, regression, and path analysis techniques as commonly employed. Emphasis is given to the potential differences which may stem from the use of alternative statistical techniques. Given increased use in industrial relations of regression methods, and more recently of path analysis methods, it is important to understand the extent and nature of differences that may be methodology-related. For the particular model and data analyzed, differences in inferences from the alternative methods are relatively minor when comparing the regression and path analysis results, but these 2 methods yield results substantially different from those generated by correlational methods. The overall substantive conclusion inferable from the analyses is that the general attitude towards the unions is the major determinant of union commitment levels.

The article reviews the book, "Rethinking Labour-Management Relations: The Case for Arbitration," by Christopher J. Bruce and Jo Carby-Hall.

In contrast to those who would argue that human resource management (HRM) is only compatible with weak unions or the absence of unions, or that it exists where union avoidance is not an option, there is a large body of industrial relations opinion that asserts that strong, autonomous unions are not only compatible with these innovations, but even necessary to their successful development. One of these industrial relations specialists, Mansell (1987), has also identified several firms that have implemented what she calls Socio-Technical Systems (STS) in unionized settings in Canada. These are Shell, Eldorado Resources, Inco Metals, Xerox, Dominion Stores, and Willet Foods. These cases, which it has been argued illustrate the compatibility of strong unions and HRM reforms, are examined. Each case illustrates the incompatibility of HRM and strong unions and explains why this is so.

The article reviews the book, "Employment Contracts: New Zealand Experiences," edited by Raymond Harbridge.

Sisters & Solidarity provides a clear and well-researched overview of the position of women in relation to the labour movement across Canada. After surveying the development of the labour movement at the turn of the century, the author traces the increasing influence of women members in the Canadian labour movement. Sisters & Solidarity considers not only what unions have negotiated with employers, but the position of women inside the union movement itself. Based on interviews with unions and labour centrals across the country, Julie White examines the representation of women in union executives, committees, conventions and staff. She describes the development of women's committees and examines the responses of unions to demands for change concerning family responsibilities, harassment, and union education. Using new data the author analyzes who are the unorganized, where they work, and why it is difficult to organize them. Three case studies examine the attempts to unionize homeworkers and cleaners and new labour relations legislation in Ontario. Sisters & Solidarity also considers the position of racial minorities, disabled persons and gays and lesbians in the Canadian union movement and the steps unions and labour centrals have taken to meet the needs of these workers. --Publisher's description

The article reviews the book, "We the People: Voices and Images of the New Nation," by Alfred F. Young, Terry J. Fife, and Mary E. Janzen.

This article examines the creation and shaping of an occupation--public school teaching--in 19th century British Columbia. It represents teaching as a contractory endeavour organized around the reproduction of labour power. Drawing upon secondary accounts of teaching and state formation (supplemented with representative documents from the period of concern), the article emphasizes how struggles between different segments of the teaching force and state representatives emerged around changing moral and technical priorities. In the context of state formation and subsequent industrial development, teaching was transformed by the end of the 19th century from a relatively autonomous occupation to a highly regulated and segmented force of dependent state employees.

The article reviews the book, "Making Fast Food: From the Frying Pan into the Fryer," by Ester Reiter.

In the wake of the continuing recession and destabilized global economy, theorizing about the industrial peace that reigned after World War II through the 1970s has undergone considerable revision. In this path-breaking discussion of Canadian labor relations, Charlotte Yates shows how the state-centered European theories of political economy did not fit the Canadian and United States experiences and treated them as anomalies. Through a case study of the Autoworkers Union in Canada (a branch of the UAW until 1984), Yates subjects this theorizing to critical scrutiny. Using extensive archives of union political activities, Yates describes how unions were demobilized in their relationships with the state, employers, and political parties as Fordist regulatory structures and practices forced unions to accept the constraints of responsible union behavior. She argues that the Canadian Autoworkers' collective identity and internal organizational structure counteracted these demobilizing tendencies. This historical legacy laid the groundwork for the Autoworker Union's return to militancy in the 1980s and 1990s and has shaped its responses to the pressures of economic globalization and heightened competition. From Plant to Politics demonstrates how continued union militancy in resisting concessions from employers and other attacks on unions has placed the union in a position of strength from which it now hopes to negotiate the Canadian path to a restructured economy. This study of the internal dynamics of a major union contributes to an understanding of unions as complex organizations engaged in strategic activities that have a definite impact on the national political economy. --Publisher's description