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Detailed assessment of the mixed record of the Canadian labour movement over the past decade. Concludes that union renewal lies in the balance between union education and democracy, and engagement with workplace restructuring.

Discusses way and means to rejuvenate union democracy and education, with references to the Canadian labour movement.

Analyzes how, in the late 1980s, industrial unions such as the Canadian Auto Workers adapted successfully to the growth of the service sector and the changing composition of the workforce. Concludes that problems of internal union structure and identity, as well as jurisdictional disputes between unions, are still not resolved.

Describes the varying patterns of union governance and membership since 1945 in the five primarily English-speaking countries of Australia, Canada, Great Britain, New Zealand, and the US. Discusses union efforts at renewal in the 1990s as a result of declining membership and waning political influence.

Provides a detailed historical account of Ottawa's transformation during the 19th century, focusing on the rise of its working class, labour movements, and the challenges faced during the construction of Parliament Hill. Discusses Daniel O'Donoghue, whose election to the Ontario legislature in 1874 made him the first independent labour candidate to be elected in Canada. Concludes that O'Donoghue's defeat in 1877 signalled an ebbing of working-class power in Ottawa.

Analyzes Supreme Court of Canada's decisions of the 1980s and 1990s that collective bargaining is a not a fundamental right under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Discusses the extensive surveillance of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers by the RCMP and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service from the 1960s-80s, and the union's efforts under the Access to Information Act as well as court challenges to obtain documentation of it. Also discusses the Canadian Labour Congress's 1996 resolution that called for the disbandment of the security service.

The current debate in academic and business circles in the United States over section 8(a)(2), the National Labor Relations Act’s ban on “dominated” labor organizations (company unions), the fact of dramatic union decline in the United States, and the post-NAFTA atmosphere in labor relations that features employer confidence, management aggressiveness against unions, an active search for a nonunion environment either through plant shutdowns or the encouragement of nonunion representation forms, has heightened business interest and renewed curiosity about company unions.

Despite the great economic advantage of capitalism - that it is an efficient system of production and distribution - capitalist societies struggle with its by-products of poverty, exclusion, corruption, and environmental destruction. The essays in "Ethics and Capitalism" address the question of ensuring ethical and just societies within a capitalist system without sacrificing productivity. The introductory essay is a guide to the issues in the emerging field of ethics and capitalism, and refers to recent contributions from several disciplines. The collection as a whole evaluates the morality of capitalism by looking at its foundation in property theory, its relationship to democracy, the problems of corruption and globalization, as well as the impact of capitalism on non-European cultures and the environment. Contributors consider various ideological and cultural biases that affect our understanding of capitalism. It is the aim of the collection to defend the practical merits of capitalism while raising concerns about its ethical problems. In conclusion, the volume considers the possibility of a mitigated form of capitalism that would ensure economic efficiency and productivity while avoiding ethical pitfalls. --Publisher's description

Documents the RCMP's monitoring of the women's auxiliaries of the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers in northeastern Ontario in the Cold War era.

The history of British Columbia is a history of class struggle. From the time of the fur trade to the present, working people and their battles to make a better world have transofrmed the politics, economics, laws, and workplaces of the province. This bibliography will make this history more accessible to trade unionists, students, and the general public. ...The bibliography was compiled by graduate students of Simon Fraser University's History Department: Dennis Pilon, Todd McCallum, Andy Parnaby, and David Sandquist. --Introduction

Until the 1960s, racism was a fairly blatant aspect of Canadian society. Racism played an obvious role in shaping individual attitudes, state policies and institutional arrangements in the economy, the political system and civil society. But to what extent does racism continue to inform and structure how our institutions operate today, what is the social meaning of race in contemporary Canadian society, and what is the most effective way to combat racism in all its forms? The chapters in this book seek answers to these important questions. They analyze, in different ways, the conditions that give rise to racism in various forms, the extent to which racism permeates the way certain social institutions operate, how groups of people have organized against racism, and the ways that racism is linked to class, gender and ethnicity. They also try to provide readers with some conceptual tools and empirical evidence as a basis for discussion and debate about the meaning of race, racism, racialization and social inequality in contemporary Canada. This book may disappoint those looking for simple answers and those who are looking for the final word on whether Canada is indeed a racist society. The contributors do not fully agree on the significance of race and racism in contemporary Canada. Some see race and racism as a fundamental organizing principle of our society and of certain institutional spheres; others see racism as more situational, subtle and muted in its forms and consequences; others point to the racialization of certain aspects of Canadian society but do not necessarily see this as being equivalent to racism; and still others argue that allegations of racism in certain institutional spheres tend to be overplayed at the expense of class and gender differences. --Publisher's description

The working conditions of workers who are paid to perform domestic chores by the families in whose homes they live and work have proved to be remarkably resistant to legal regulation. The nature of this resil-ience is both ideological and material. While the logic of formal legal equality has accommodated demands by live-in domestic workers for the gradual extension of protective labour legislation to their work, this extension has been partial and ineffective. --Introduction`

This case study of union women organizing for day care in Ontario analyses the emergence of a women's movement within labour. It provides a social history of women's organizing efforts in the Ontario labour movement, tracing political mobilization of support for universally accessible, publicly funded child care. In addition, day care sheds light on recent developments in two Canadian social movements: the labour movement and the women's movement. Developments in each of these areas have facilitated gains made by both. The active campaign of trade union women for women's equality in the unions has been integrally connected to the contemporary women's movement. While the growth of feminism established a foundation for the struggles of working-class women in unions around gender issues such as day care, a growing number of working women joined unions in the last decade to organize against the domination of the labour movement by men. --Introduction

A quick perusal of the literature in work and industry, industrial relations, and labour studies readily confirms that the current trend is towards some form of Quality of Working Life coupled with an appeal for all parties involved - employer, employee, and government - to change radically their attitudes towards collective bargaining. Employers have to become more willing to accept union contributions; employees have to become more cooperative and "confine adversarial tactics"; and the government has to adopt "a more positive attitude toward employers and unions" in order to facilitate trust and harmony between the two. --Introduction

For the purposes of this review, labour studies is defined to encompass various disciplinary approaches, but, in general, this essay focuses on studies of the working class, not just of the labour movement, and material which places the working class in historical perspective. --From authors' introduction

The term arrangiarsi is normally defined as "making do" or "getting by." This book marks the first attempt to provide a comprehensive treatment of the Italian presence in Canada, and to capture the experience of the Italian immigrants who helped to build this country. Through historical, literary, and artistic approaches, this collection of essays explores how these immigrants saw and were seen: what were their ambitions, their setbacks, their strategies for adapting to the new land. In addition to the editors, contributors include: the late Robert Harney , Bruno Ramirez, Gabriele Scardellato, Laurier Lacroix, Paul-André Linteau, Susan Iannucci, Nicoletta Serio, and William Boelhower. --Publisher's description

Ignored by the elite of their own community, the French miners in Sudbury sought refuge in a left-wing union that was labelled communist. The miners played a historic role in keeping one of the most progressive unions in North America from becoming totally absorbed into the Steelworkers union.