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In most western nations, laws discourage discrimination in paid employment on the basis of disability, but for these policies to be of benefit, individuals must define their functional limitations as disabilities. There is a strong relationship between age and disability among those of working age, yet it is unclear whether older workers attribute their limitations to disability or to ‘ natural ageing ’. If the latter is true, they may not believe that they need or qualify for workplace accommodations (i.e. adaptations or interventions at the workplace). Similarly, if an employer as- cribes a worker’s limitation to ‘natural ageing’, rather than to a disability, they may not offer compensatory accommodation. Using data from the Canadian 2001 Participation and Activity Limitation Survey, this paper asks whether workers who as- cribe their functional limitation to ageing are as likely as those who do not to report a need for a workplace accommodation. It also addresses whether those who identify a need for compensatory accommodations and who ascribe their limi- tation to ageing have unmet workplace-accommodation needs. The findings sug- gest that, even when other factors are controlled, e.g. the type and severity of disability, the number of limiting conditions, gender, age, education, income and occupation, those who made the ageing attribution were less likely to recognise the need for an accommodation; and among those who acknowledged a need, those who ascribed their disability to ageing were less likely to have their needs met.

Case study of unions mobilizing with community groups to defend public Medicare in Canada. The catalyst for the national campaign in 2001-02 was the royal commission on the future of health care in Canada, chaired by Roy Romanow.

The article reviews the book, "Race, Class, and Power in the Alabama Coalfields, 1908-1921," by Brian Kelly.

Although the service work occupies on increasingly central position in the Canadian labour market, its legacy of activism has largely been forgotten by scholars. This paper begins a reclamation of that legacy by analysing the bitter 1961-1962 strike at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto, Canada's most luxurious lodgings. The unsuccessful battle of mostly immigrant workers against a powerful corporation anticipates the multinational consolidation of and asymmetrical struggle in the industry over the next four decades. The paper evaluates strategies used by service workers, explores the different historical dynamics of service-work trade unionism, analyses the cultural contests which sprang up around such a powerful symbolic action, and seeks to explain what lessons have been learned by current Toronto hotel activists. It represents one starting point in the important work of understanding service work activism, and the economic, political, and cultural battles around class, gender, ethnicity, and consumption in Canada.

This study examines employment segregation by gender and by Aboriginal ancestry within Canada's forest sector in 2001. Results show that while gender segregation was principally by occupation, segregation by Aboriginal ancestry was principally by industry sub-sector. White women were over represented in clerical occupations and Aboriginal men were over represented in woods based industries. Patterns of employment for Aboriginal women differed from those of both Aboriginal men and white women.

The article reviews the book, "L’entrevue structurée pour améliorer la sélection du personnel," by Normand Pettersen and André Durivage.

[D]iscusses the determinants of a strong union movement, the evolution of the union [from 1985 to 2005], and the challenges of union resistance and union renewal. These include making gains in bargaining, expanding democracy, organizing, deepening membership involvement and participation, generational renewal, strengthening social unionism, building alliances with social movements, strengthening our capacity to mobilize, and defining ourselves by what we do. The paper asserts that one of the union's greatest strengths is its culture. -- Editors' introduction

[H]ighlights some of the innovations in structures, policies, and practices underway in union organizations in Canada, and the factors underlying the patterns of change. The paper draws on an extensive survey of innovations and change conducted by the authors in 2001 in partnership with Human Resources and Skills Development Canada and major unions and federations. --Editors' introduction

[A]nalyzes the Quebec experience with union renewal, focusing on the critical role of power resources, that is "resources that a union can access and mobilize in order to influence the process of change." --Editors' introduction

[O]utlines the process of decision-making in the union on major policies, emphasizing the involvement of rank-and-file membership. The case study describes how the union formulated the energy policy in 2001 and the benefits of rank-and-file membership participation in policy-making. --Editors' introduction

The article reviews the book, "Anarchism: A Documentary History of Libertarian Ideas, Volume One: From Anarchy to Anarchism (300 CE to 1939)," edited by Robert Graham.

L’industrie du travail intérimaire a connu une expansion remarquable au cours des dernières décennies. Le présent article a pour but de comparer la situation des travailleurs intérimaires au Québec et en France et d’expliquer les causes de leur très faible taux de syndicalisation. Pour ce faire, nous ferons les portraits schématiques de l’industrie de l’intérim, décrirons les cadres réglementaires qui régissent le travail intérimaire, examinerons certaines caractéristiques des régimes de représentation collective et analyserons les conditions dans lesquelles s’exerce le syndicalisme des intérimaires dans chacun de ces pays. Si les caractéristiques propres au travail intérimaire rendent difficiles l’organisation et la mobilisation syndicale de cette catégorie de travailleurs en raison de leur dispersion au sein d’une multitude d’entreprises utilisatrices, le très faible taux de présence syndicale dans cette industrie découle également d’autres facteurs spécifiques à chacun de ces pays et que nous tâcherons d’identifier.

[E]xamines the development of youth programs and initiatives within UFCW Canada to increase youth involvement and participation in the union. Of interest are the union's national youth internship program, designed to train young union activists by providing them with basic labour education and training, local union youth committees, and youth conferences for exchange of experiences and views on union strategies and campaigns. The authors believe that the youth initiative has led to the integration of young workers into every level of the union and increased their particiaption in decision-making structures, servicing, and organizing. --Editors' introduction

This paper examines the diversity and complexities of nonstandard work. Two types of nonstandard workers are studied: workers employed by temporary help agencies (THAs) and contract company workers, both of which are involved in a triadic employment relationship. The analyses are based on interviews with managers in three service-sector companies in Norway. The paper discusses the dilemmas managers in client-organizations face when agency temporaries and contract company workers are integrated and do work similar to what is done by the regular workers in the firm. Managers in client-organizations require loyalty from nonstandard workers, and under certain conditions, nonstandard workers are able to form pressure groups. The findings are discussed in relation to the highly regulated labour market in Norway, in a period of labour shortage.

The article reviews the book, "Nursing Against the Odds: How Health Care Cost Cutting, Media Stereotypes, and Medical Hubris Undermine Nurses and Patient Care," by Suzanne Gordon.

The editor pays tribute to managing editor Irene Whitfield, who retired after 25 years' service. Josephine Thompson has succeeded her in various capacities.

Compared to Canada, Australian trade union membership grew dramatically in the period from 1900 to 1914. Through a comparative analysis of two iron and steel plants in Canada and Australia, this article broadens the debate about union growth in this particular period as well as generally. One plant was located at Lithgow, New South Wales, and the other at Sydney, Nova Scotia. While workers at both plants unionized in September-October 1902, the union at the Sydney plant collapsed following a major strike in 1904. Iron and steel unionism did not revive at the Sydney plant until during World War I. With the exception of a brief period, iron and steel unionism continued at the Lithgow plant for the period under examination. This article attempts to explain why iron and steel unionism persisted at Lithgow rather than Sydney and focuses on the factors of the state, the ethnic diversity of the workforce, management, and community or locality.

Ce mémoire porte sur le syndicalisme québécois dans les années 1960 et 1970 alors qu’il traverse une phase de bouleversement et qu’il radicalise son idéologie. Nous nous penchons plus particulièrement sur le cas de la CSN qui affermit sa critique du capitalisme avec la publication de textes d’orientation socialiste tels que Il n'y a plus d’avenir pour le Québec dans le système actuel et Ne comptons que sur nos propres moyens. Parmi les instances de la centrale, il y a les conseils centraux régionaux dont celui de Montréal, le plus imposant en terme d’effectifs (près de 60 000 en 1968). Rassemblant la frange la plus militante de la centrale, il a pour rôle l’éducation et l’action politique des membres. Le Conseil central des syndicats nationaux de Montréal (CCSNM) se trouve au centre de la tourmente sociale et nationale au cours de ces deux décennies alors qu’il est dirigé par la figure imposante et colorée de Michel Chartrand, président de 1968 à 1978. Dans l’historiographie, le Conseil central de Montréal est souvent considéré comme un haut lieu de la radicalisation syndicale. En analysant son discours et ses actions, nous démontrons qu’il prend effectivement des positions radicales et qu’il défend des opinions nationalistes. Malgré le fait qu’il tente de passer à l’action politique et milite pour la création d’un parti de travailleurs, le Conseil se caractérise principalement par son discours contestataire et sa critique acerbe du capitalisme. Nous verrons qu’il développe une position nationaliste indépendante au cours de la période, en se dissociant du projet du Parti québécois, qu’il juge bourgeois. Bien que les relations entre la CSN et le Conseil soient tendues, ce dernier a tout de même un impact important sur la CSN, particulièrement au niveau de la protection de la langue française et sur la position adoptée par la centrale au référendum de 1980. Le Conseil constitue donc un acteur important de la radicalisation de la société québécoise des années 1960 et 1970 en influençant la CSN, le mouvement syndical ainsi que les milieux de gauche à Montréal.