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The article reviews the book, "Black Workers' Struggle for Equality in Birmingham," by Horace Huntley and David Montgomery.

Editorial introduction to the issue.

The article reviews the book, "Fight or Pay: Soldiers' Families in the Great War," by Diamond Morton.

This paper examines the recent arrival of neutrality agreements in Canada. These are agreements between unions and employers that define the conditions under which union organizing will take place at facilities controlled by the employer. The history of neutrality agreements in the U.S. is reviewed, as is the emergence of these agreements in Canada. Neutrality agreements are a model of private ordering that operate without direct guidance from the state, yet their form and application are influenced by state law. The author examines neutrality agreements from the perspective of decentred regulatory theory, in which regulation is used by the state to steer the private creation of norms that are consistent with state policy. Using Ontario's labour laws as an example, the author explores the role of law in the emergence, form, and likely contribution of neutrality agreements to Canadian industrial relations.

The article introduces eight documents on reporting of the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 by the Toronto Daily Star's William Plewman. Also included are transcripts of 1972 interviews with Plewman's brother, Charles, who was also in Winnipeg at the time, as well as with William Plewman's son, Richard. Broadly sympathetic to labour issues, the Star's coverage of the strike was considered the most comprehensive and impartial.

Unions in the current environment are facing renewed pressures to demonstrate internal democracy and accountability. In this context, the Public Review Board (PRB) of the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) deserves attention. The PRB is a unique institution within the Canadian labour movement: a body outside the union which has the power to make final and binding decisions on issues raised by union members. This paper considers the contribution of the PRB as a support for democratic renewal. The evolution ofthe PRB, from its origin in 1950s America to its current Canadian embodiment, is described. The decisions of the PRB over its two-decade history in Canada are analyzed and assessed. While recognizing the lasting influence of the narrow, procedural vision charted by the PRB early in its history, the author concludes that the CAW's PRB is an innovation that merits wider recognition.

The article reviews the book, "Paths to Union Renewal: Canadian Experiences," edited by Pradeep Kumar and Christopher Schenk.

The article briefly reviews "Union Women: Forging Feminism in the United Steelworkers of America," by Mary Margaret Fonow, "Women, Power, and AT&T: Winning Rights in the Workplace," by Lois Kathryn Herr, "Reforming the Chicago Teamsters: The Story of Local 705," by Robert Bruno, "The Open Method of Co-ordination in Action: The European Employment and Social Inclusion Strategies," edited by Jonathan Zeitlin and Philippe Pochet, eds., with Lars Magnusson, "Rebuilding Germany: The Creation of the Social Market Economy, 1945-1957," by James C. Van Hook, "Poverty and Charity inthe Jewish Community of Medieval Egypt" and "The Voice of the Poor in the Middle Ages: An Anthology of Documents from the Cairo Geniza," by Mark R. Cohen.

The article reviews the book, "Tending the Gardens of Citizenship: Child Saving in Toronto, 1880s-1920s," by Xiaobei Chen.

Twenty-two private sector trade union locals in the manufacturing, service and technology sectors in Canada were surveyed by telephone in 2002/2003. The objective was to determine union locals' understanding of the impact globalization was having on their operations, and to identify the contextual factors affecting their responses. The data were analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. The locals associated globalization with plant closures, reduced production, and the elimination of or transfer of jobs and equipment out of the country. Seventeen of the locals reported being affected to a moderate to high degree. Their main responses were lobbying, educating members and the public, and organizing. The important contextual factors identified included local size, industry sector, levels of support available to and accessed by the locals, and the perceived need for and ability to adapt successfully to change.

This paper examines the relationship between participation, performance and the external labour market, using data from the 1998 British Workplace Employment Relations Survey. Our results show that participation can have positive productivity effects, particularly when practices are implemented alongside individual and organizational supports. Yet, we also find that the effects of participation are sensitive to external labour market conditions. In establishments adopting participation in a relatively piece meal fashion, the positive association between participation and productivity depends upon the presence of relatively high unemployment, suggesting that 'fear' and 'threat' play an important role in generating high productivity in these establishments. The results do not rule out the possibility that some of the gains from participation stem from higher work intensity, rather than simply increased levels of commitment.

The article reviews the book, "United Apart: Gender and the Rise of Craft Unionism," by Ileen A. DeVault.

The article reviews the book, "High Comedy in American Movies: Class and Humour from the 1920s to the Present," by Steve Vineberg.

The article reviews the book, "Syndicats : lendemains de crise ?," by Jean-Marie Pernot.

The countersummit of the Americas, held in Quebec City in April 2001under the auspices of the Hemispheric Social Alliance (HSA) and in opposition to the creation of the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA), promised to be a prelude to a new phase in how trade unions handle the issue of globalization. There was hope that trade unions would truly take charge of this issue. In terms of political organization, logistics, and the number ofactive participants, Quebec trade union organizations dominated the event....This article addresses two central questions. First, does the mobilization of Quebec trade unions against neoliberal globalization represent a break, both quantitative and qualitative, in their approach to international trade union relations? Second, what does the Quebec example tell us about the sociohistorical dynamics of international trade union relations in the Americas, and even beyond? We have attempted to investigate thoroughly how relations between trade unions have been conducted internationally before and after April 2001. For the most part, this study was undertaken at the end of 2002 and the beginning of 2003, with some updates made in 2004. --From introduction

The article reviews the book, "La méthode des cas. Recueil de cas en gestion des ressources humaines et en relations du travail," by Roch Laflamme.

The article reviews the book, "Modernisation de l’État et gestion des ressources humaines," edited by Louise Lemire, Denis Proulx and Luc Cooremans.