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Le 1 Mai 1952 les 1200 travailleurs du grand magasin et du comptoir postal de Dupuis Frères à Montréal, ont vote en faveur de la grève. D'une durée de trois mois, l'interruption du travail oppose une locale de la Confédération des travailleurs catholiques du Canada [CTCC] à une puissante entreprise commerciale et symbole national de l'économie canadienne-française (Dupuis Fréres). L'historiographie de l'après-guerre n'accorde pas une grande place à ce conflit, qui, à l'encontre d'aurres conflits mieux connus — telle la grève de l'amiante (1949) et la grève de Murdochville (1957), s'est solde par une éclatante victoire du syndicat. L'article examine d'abord le contexte général et les conditions spécifiques qui ont entraîné le déclenchement de la grève. Il analyse ensuite l'enchaînement des événements, qui se sont déroulés en quatre phases ou séries de faits dans le temps. Il importe de prendre le temps de reconsidérer les événements dans l'ordre, car il ressort de l'exercice une perspective nous permettant d'appréhender l'enjeu fort thé àtralisé du conflit qui se deroule dans une conjoncture de croissance économique et d'effervescence syndicale. Nous offrons un canevas preliminaire, que d'autres pourront compléter à leur manière, le but de I'exercice étant, dans un premier temps, de faire ressortir cette grève des boules à mites de l'Histoire.

This paper is concerned with workplace accommodation and the extent to which people feel able to disclose disabilities at work. Disclosure is central to accommodation in the sense that workers must feel comfortable describing their needs to employers. Where this is not the case, for example, where workers are concerned about the precariousness of their position and the fact that disclosure may result in dismissal, legal requirements for accommodation can be ineffective. To explore this issue, the paper uses qualitative data from interviews with fifty-nine people with physical, learning, psychiatric and sensory disabilities in the Hamilton labour market. Analysis indicates that most respondents viewed disclosure as a risky endeavour, and a significant minority did not disclose due to concerns about not being hired or being dismissed. The conclusion discusses the need for accommodating workplaces and the implications for the labour movement.

[E]xamines the ways in which union organizing gender-baised and highlights possible union strategies to overcome the bias and improve organizing success. ...The paper draws on the survey of union organizers in Ontario and British Columbia conducted by the authors in 2000 and 2001. --Editors' introduction

The article reviews the book, "When Women Come First: Gender and Class in Transnational Migration,"Sheba Mariam George.

The article reviews the book, "Minding the Machine: Languages of Class in Early Industrial America," by Stephen P. Rice.

It's the second oldest profession in the world. Until recently, a society without them was considered inconceivable. Yet they are one of the most invisible and silent groups of people in Canadian history: the servants. The maid, the butler, the footman, the coachman, the groom, the nurse, the laundress: most of them were either illiterate or too busy to have left a record of their lives. The literati hardly mentioned them. They were part of the furniture. In fact, artists lavished more attention on the furniture. --Introduction

Analyzes the conflicted terrain of the Canadian labour movement as a result of neoliberal restructuring of the economy and the frayed relationship with the social democratic NDP. Compares union densities in Canada and the US. Concludes that transformative union renewal must include the political rebuilding of a worker-based socialist movement.

English/French abstracts of the articles in the current issue.

English/French abstracts of articles in the Spring 2015 issue.

The article reviews the book, "Taking Back the Streets: Women, Youth, and Direct Democracy," by Temma Kaplan.

The central focus of this article is the effort by Canadian unions to organize Wal-Mart. Organizing the world's largest corporation is considered to be critical because the company's business "template" calls for wages and benefits considerably inferior to those of unionized workers. To date, although a few bargaining units have been certified, Wal-Mart has managed to thwart all attempts to negotiate collective agreements. However, because the United Food and Commercial Workers have certified units in a few provinces with first contract arbitration, the achievement, eventually, of a collective agreement appears to be likely.

Building cleaners are increasingly portrayed in pop culture. This article seeks to provide reasons for their increased visibility, and then examines precisely how they are constructed. The analysis reveals three overriding themes of representation: (1) cleaners as a discourse for Americanism; (2) cleaners as stand ins for the rehabilitation of ‘whiteness’; and (3) cleaners as endure the neoliberal workplace.

The article reviews the book, "The Montreal Massacre: A Story of Membership Categorization Analysis," by Peter Eglin and Stephen Hester.

The article reviews the book, "Industrial Sunset: The Making of North America's Rust Belt, 1969-1984." by Steven C. High.

Describes the strikes in the textile mills of Montreal, Valleyfield and Lachute that were led by Madeleine Parent and Kent Rowley in the post-World War II period, and the anti-communist purge of US-based unions that resulted in their dismissal from the United Textile Workers of America in 1952.

The article reviews the book, "Training the Excluded for Work: Access and Equity for Women, Immigrants, First Nations, Youth, and People with Low Income," edited by Marjorie Griffin Cohen.

The article reviews and comments on "The Clash of Fundamentalisms: Crusades, Jihads and Modernity" by Tariq Ali, "The Clash of Barbarisms: September 11 and the Making of the New World Disorder" by Gilbert Achcar , "Welcome to the Desert of the Real" by Slavoj Zizek's, "The New Rulers of the World" by John Pilger, and "The New Mandarins of American Power" by Alex Callinicos.

The article reviews the book, "Caetana Says No: Women's Stories from a Brazilian Slave Society," by Sandra Lauderdale Graham.

Le domaine de la gestion stratégique des ressources humaines manque d’encadrement théorique en ce qui concerne le caractère unique de l’architecture de ressources humaines (RH). L’article propose une réflexion théorique sur cette notion et ses deux dimensions principales : l’alignement vertical et la cohérence horizontale. L’exposé explique comment et pourquoi les organisations de même type possèdent sensiblement la même architecture RH. L’importance du rôle des contingences internes et des conditions de réalisation des objectifs RH est abordée. L’auteur explore le caractère unique de la GRH au niveau de la cohérence des pratiques et la complexité des liens avec l’alignement vertical. Un modèle combinant les deux dimensions de l’architecture RH propose des pistes de réflexion quant à leur effet interactif sur la performance organisationnelle. Des hypothèses et stratégies de recherche pour mesurer la présence et l’impact de la cohérence horizontale sur la performance organisationnelle sont suggérées.

This dissertation inquires into the relationship between labour law and union organizing and related dynamics. Following a critical review of alternative theoretical perspectives on the relationship between labour law and union growth, it is argued first that there remains significant space for an institutionalist perspective and second that that this debate is at least partly dependant upon underlying models of union behaviour. Such existing models are then critically assessed, and a model of union organizing behaviour based upon bounded rationality is developed. Following a description of why the province of Ontario comprises a good "case" for examining this question, hypotheses about the relationship between labour law and various indicators of new union organizing are derived and tested through quantitative analysis of data from the Ontario Labour Relations Board. The impact of labour law upon other related phenomena such as "raiding" activities, "Unfair Labour Practice" complaint activity, and "Duty of Fair Representation" complaint activity is also tested in this manner. As an additional test of the model and hypotheses derived, qualitative case studies are performed of the organizing behaviour of two large general unions in Ontario: the Canadian Auto Workers union and the United Food and Commercial Workers union. Much of the quantitative evidence and certain of the qualitative evidence is interpreted as providing qualified support for the importance of the timing of labour law shifts, and of bounded rationality, in explaining union organizing dynamics in Ontario in recent decades. However, certain qualitative evidence contrary to the theoretical framework suggests the competing importance of alternative models of strategic/moral union behaviour. Overall, the evidence is interpreted as providing qualified support to the conclusion that labour law remains a policy instrument with significant capacity to affect aggregate union organizing behaviour over time.