Your search

The last quarter of the nineteenth century is often referred to as the “Golden Age” of railroad building. More track was laid in this period in North America than in any other period. The building of railroads was considered synonymous with nation building and economic progress. Railway workers were the single largest occupational group in the period and among the first workers to be employed by large-scale, corporately owned and bureaucratically managed organizations. While there is a rich historiography regarding the institutional and everyday lives of railway workers and the corporations that employed them, the unit of analysis has been primarily bounded by the nation. These national narratives leave out the north-south connections created by railroads that cut across geo-political boundaries and thus dramatically increasing the flows of people, goods and services between nations on the North American continent. Does the story change if viewed from a continental rather than national perspective? Railroad Crossings tells the story of the people and places along the route of the Grand Trunk Railroad of Canada between Montreal, Quebec and Portland, Maine and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad (and later of the Southern Pacific) between Benson, Arizona and Guaymas, Sonora. The study first takes a comparative view of the cross-border railroad development followed by a consideration of emerging patterns and practices that suggest a broader continental continuity. The evidence demonstrates that this broader continental continuity flows from the application of a certain “railroad logic” or the impact of the essence of railroad operations that for reasons of safety and efficiency required the broad standardization of operating procedures that in many ways rendered place irrelevant.

La croissance économique future a besoin d’un taux d’emploi plus important des travailleurs de plus de 55 ans. Par rapport à cette problématique grandissante, il est important d’identifier les solutions préconisées par les travailleurs âgés pour favoriser le maintien dans l’emploi. Ainsi, les travailleurs âgés de trois entreprises ont été interrogés à ce sujet. Ce travail avait pour objectif d’identifier les solutions privilégiées par les travailleurs, parmi celles proposées par la littérature et celles que les travailleurs proposent de manière spontanée. Nous avons également tenté de déterminer si les solutions sont différentes en fonction de la catégorie socio-professionnelle, du temps de travail et du type d’horaire. Finalement cette étude a permis de cibler les actions à mettre en place : actions concernant la discrimination, les conditions de travail, le temps de travail et le développement professionnel. Elle a permis surtout de constater que les actions relatives à la lutte contre la discrimination sont davantage demandées par les ouvriers, les travailleurs à temps partiel et à horaire variable. Dans ce sens, il semble pertinent de considérer les demandes des ouvriers différemment des demandes des cadres. Ces derniers cherchant davantage des possibilités de développement, tandis que les ouvriers cherchent plus une amélioration des conditions de travail.

The article reviews the book, "Teachers and Reform: Chicago Public Education, 1929-1970," by John F. Lyons.

Cette thèse de maîtrise retrace les parcours des travailleurs impliqués dans la grève des mines d'or de Kirkland Lake de 1941-1942. À partir de l'examen des fiches d'embauche et de service de la société aurifère la plus importante à Kirkland Lake, la mine Lake Shore, il a été possible de reconstituer, jour après jour, le déroulement du conflit, en y retraçant les va-et-vient précis de tous les travailleurs présents. À l'évidence, les itinéraires reconstitués des travailleurs sont multiples et divergents. Qu'il soit un employé de bureau ou un mineur, chaque travailleur a eu un parcours propre pendant la grève et a été susceptible de modifier à lui seul la tournure des événements, en adoptant, par exemple, des comportements non solidaires, ou en décidant de poursuivre la grève après sa fin officielle.

The article reviews the book, "When the Labor Party Dreams: Class, Politics and Policy in New South Wales 1930-32 " by Geoff Robinson.

The dominant representation of domestic work in the literature is quite negative, with uncaring employers, sexual, verbal, and physical abuse, and underpaid and overworked employees. However, the interviews conducted for this micro-study present an intriguingly different image. Young, immigrant Mennonite women who had come to Canada during the Second World War moved during the post-war period from their rural homes in the Fraser Valley, British Columbia, into the city of Vancouver. There, they were employed in domestic work and spent Thursday afternoons at the Maedchenheim, or girls’ home, with their peers. This thesis examines the disconnect between their accounts of domestic work and those of other domestics, with particular attention to how ethnoreligious understandings of gender, community, and survival informed my narrators’ memories and retellings of their experiences. It also explores whether the shift from a rural to an urban environment changed these women’s perceptions of their gender identity.

This study endeavours to investigate the effect of family-friendly practices (FFPs) on organizational attractiveness. Using a policy-capturing research design, we tested the distinct effect of four FFPs (i.e., on-site child care; generous personal leaves; flexible scheduling; and teleworking) on applicant attraction. We also tested the effect of organizational reputation and candidates' desire for segmentation. Our results indicate that FFPs do have a main effect on attractiveness. More specifically, the two scenarios that received the highest scores on attractiveness were personal leaves and flexible scheduling. Contrary to expectations, we did not find a significant "Desire for segmentation x Family-friendly practices" interaction. As expected, corporate reputation does have a significant main effect of attractiveness. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

The article reviews the books, "Sociologie des relations professionnelles, " new edition, by Michel Lallemant, and "Sociologie du travail : les relations professionnelles" by Antoine Bevort and Annette Jobert.

Following the Second World Congress of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) held from June 21 to 25, 2010 in Vancouver, this article examines the changes undergone by international trade unionism in recent years. The increasing power of multinational corporations, as a result of globalization, has led to a transformation in international trade unionism which has produced a reorganization of its structures and the emergence of new forms of action to ensure the protection of workers´ rights worldwide. The key argument of this article is that the evolution of the structures and practices of international trade union organizations over the last two decades has been characterized by the implementation of strategies aimed, on the one hand, at reinforcing trade union unity and, on the other hand, at targeting multinational corporations. Lastly, although the transformation of international trade unionism has given rise to important structural changes, international trade union organizations continue to face formidable challenges in their efforts to effectively contribute to the regulation of the global economy.

Labour Conditions for Construction: Building Cities, Decent Work and the Role of Local Authorities, edited by Roderick Lawrence and Edmundo Werna, is reviewed.

The article reviews and comments on four books: "Democratizing Pension Funds: Corporate Governance and Accountability" by Ronald B. Davis; "When I'm Sixty-Four: The Plot against Pensions and the Plan to Save Them" by Teresa Ghilarducci; "No Small Change: Pension Funds and Corporate Engagement" by Tessa Hebb; and one other.

The article reviews the book, "Guantánamo: A Working-Class History Between Empire and Revolution," by Jana K. Lipman.

The article reviews the book, "Until the End: Memoirs of Sinter-Plant Activist Jean L. Gagnon," by Adelle Larmour.

This dissertation traces a shift in the Communist Party of Canada, from the 1929 to 1935 period of militant class struggle (generally known as the ‘Third Period’) to the 1935-1939 Popular Front Against Fascism, a period in which Communists argued for unity and cooperation with social democrats. The CPC’s appropriation and redeployment of bourgeois gender norms facilitated this shift by bolstering the CPC’s claims to political authority and legitimacy. ‘Woman’ and the gendered interests associated with women—such as peace and prices—became important in the CPC’s war against capitalism. What women represented symbolically, more than who and what women were themselves, became a key element of CPC politics in the Depression decade. Through a close examination of the cultural work of two prominent middle-class female members, Dorothy Livesay, poet, journalist and sometime organizer, and Eugenia (‘Jean’ or ‘Jim’) Watts, reporter, founder of the Theatre of Action, and patron of the Popular Front magazine New Frontier, this thesis utilizes the insights of queer theory, notably those of Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick and Judith Butler, not only to reconstruct both the background and consequences of the CPC’s construction of ‘woman’ in the 1930s, but also to explore the significance of the CPC’s strategic deployment of heteronormative ideas and ideals for these two prominent members of the Party.

The article reviews the book, "The Fishermen's Frontier: People and Salmon in Southeast Alaska," by David F. Arnold.

Feminism and the political left come to life in this account of an important early twentieth-century social activist. The political movements and social causes of the turbulent 1920s and 30s are brought to life in this study of the work and times of feminist, socialist, and peace activist Rose Henderson (1871-1937). Her commitment to social justice led to frequent monitoring and repression by the authorities but her contributions to activist thought continue to pose challenges for interpretations of the history of Canada, leftism, labour, and women. In the first biography of Henderson, Peter Campbell provides a broader vision and deeper analysis of the period, drawing together the history of labour and of women's movements in French and English Canada, as well as the rise of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation and its relationship with the Communist Party. Through analysis of Henderson's ground-breaking ideology Campbell shows that in the interwar years she and her comrades developed a distinctive feminism that differs from that of the first and second waves of feminist thought. A fresh look at the turmoil of the early twentieth century from an eye in the storm, Rose Henderson: A Woman for the People brings well-deserved attention to an influential feminist and leftist. --Publisher's description.

The article reviews the book, "Le Japon au travail," by Bernard Bernier, with the collaboration of Vincent Mirza.

A cogent analysis of North American trade unions' precipitous decline in recent decades. As companies increasingly look to the global market for capital, cheaper commodities and labor, and lower production costs, the impact on Mexican and American workers and labor unions is significant. National boundaries and the laws of governments that regulate social relations between laborers and management are less relevant in the era of globalization, rendering ineffective the traditional union strategies of pressuring the state for reform. Focusing especially on the effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (the first international labor agreement linked to an international trade agreement), Norman Caulfield notes the waning political influence of trade unions and their disunity and divergence on crucial issues such as labor migration and workers' rights. Comparing the labor movement's fortunes in the 1970s with its current weakened condition, Caulfield notes the parallel decline in the United States' hegemonic influence in an increasingly globalized economy. As a result, organized labor has been transformed from organizations that once pressured management and the state for concessions to organizations that now request that workers concede wages, pensions, and health benefits to remain competitive in the global marketplace. --Publisher's description. Contents: Labor and global capitalism in North America, 1850-1970 -- The politics of Mexican labor and economic development in crisis -- Mexican labor and workers' rights under NAFTA and NAALC -- Labor mobility and workers' rights in North America -- The crisis of union-management relations in the United States and Canada -- The North American auto industry: the apex of concessionary bargaining -- Veba Las Vegas! unions play casino capitalism : autoworkers lose.

The dominant story of matrimonial property law reform in English Canada treats the farming family case of Murdoch v. Murdoch as the great catalyst for change, but there are persistent inequalities affecting farm women, even in provinces that have made progressive changes in the law of relationship breakdown. The farm is the quintessential family business and is both place of residence and source of income. Since the farm is not readily divisible, it is not surprising that all the major marital property law cases to reach the Supreme Court of Canada have involved farm property. What is surprising is that most provincial property reforms, though inspired by the Murdoch case, explicitly exclude farms from division, and those that include farms in the property to be divided still have mechanisms that tend to favour husbands. This article examines Canadian courts’ gendered conceptualization of what constitutes a family business by examining the cases on farm property and the related legislative reforms. Feminists, and all women who have benefited from matrimonial property law reform, have an obligation to recognize the problems created by our persistent failure to understand the farm as simultaneously home and place of business.

The paper explores the distinctive regulatory space in which care workers' wages and conditions are determined. It draws on a case study of the non-profit sector of Toronto illustrated by the experience of four social services agencies located there. In doing so it examines the intersection between industrial regulation and practice, and other regulatory constraints or mechanisms identified by Lessig (1988). In community services these mechanisms include funding models, the gendered social norms that presume and underpin the valuation of paid care work and the organization of care work in diverse care settings. It is the mix of these regulatory forces and the specific contexts within which they interact that effect particular wage and non-wage outcomes for care work.