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The early 1930s witnessed the deterioration of truck relationships between fishermen and merchants in Battle Harbour, a Newfoundland fishing community located on the coast of Labrador. By taking advantage of changes in the fishery, more prosperous fishermen began to deal with other firms, undercutting Baine, Johnston's domination of Battle Harbour. As Baine, Johnston withdrew winter credit, poorer fishermen threatened the firm with direct, violent action which neither the merchant nor the state were able to deal with except by granting relief. Such actions by Battle Harbour fishermen indicate that they were able to step outside the supposed limits of the culture of their kin-based villages, and confront directly the exploitation of merchant capital in the cod fishery.

The article reviews the book "Seafaring Labour: The Merchant Marine of Atlantic Canada, 1820-1914," by Eric W. Sager.

The article reviews the book, "Silver Islet: Striking It Rich in Lake Superior," by Elinor Barr.

Reviewed: Le Conflit de l'Autorité: Onze Mois de Grèves à Marine Industrie. Lamoureux, François.

This is a story about accidents of litigation. When people contend for control over principles, personality, identity, possessions, freedoms, power - it is not exceptional that they should seek resolution through «third party intervention»: a friend, a priest - even the legal system. It is inevitable that the process of intervention generates «spin-offs» which the contestants did not seek or want, but which nevertheless take on a life of their own. Such is the case with Paccar¹• The litigants wanted to know from the Labour Rela­tions Board of British Columbia whether the employer could make unilateral changes to terms and conditions of employment after the collec­tive agreement expired but before the employer recovered the right to lock out....

The article reviews the book, "Essays in the History of Canadian Medicine," by Wendy Mitchinson and Janice Dickin McGinnis.

The article reviews the book, " Industrial Relations In Japan, The Peripheral Workforce ," by Norma J. Chalmers.

A study investigated union and firm preferences for bargaining outcomes in the Canadian private sector. In a survey, firm and union respondents were asked to rate the absolute importance of obtaining 12 categories of bargaining outcomes, such as union security, overtime and premium pay, technological change, and fringe benefits, if they were to negotiate an entirely new collective bargaining agreement with their current union or firm. A conceptual model of the process of bargaining outcome determination was presented. The results showed that firms ranked wages and pay guarantees, employee security, worker-management relationship, and hours and days of work categories the highest. The highest ranked categories by unions were employee security, union security, and wages and pay guarantees. The exploratory regression results for the determinants of individual outcome rankings revealed that different variables determined the rankings of the parties. Union characteristics, such as gender composition of memberships and affiliation, had differential effects on the rankings of the outcomes.

This article studies the initial organization and development of the St John's Longshoremen's Protective Union in the years 1890 to 1914. Undoubtedly the city's most important union the LSPU organized all waterfront workers in the city, including the numerous boys who worked on the docks, and later extended the organization to include the city's sanitation workers. Through militancy and frequent strikes the LSPU established a permanent presence in St John's. The success of the LSPU is contrasted with the experience of longshoremen in Atlantic Canadian ports to raise questions about earlier interpretations of class solidarity within merchant capital.

The article reviews the book, "Histoire de la Clinique des citoyens de Saint-Jacques (1968-1988). Des comités de citoyens au CLSC du plateau Mont-Royal," by Robert Boivin.

Au Canada, l'apparente stabilité du mouvement syndical dissimule une tendance de fond au déclin du syndicalisme dans le secteur privé. En complément des hypothèses traditionnellement avancées pour expliquer le déclin dans les taux de syndicalisation, les auteurs ont eu l'idée de vérifier l'incidence du développement de la petite entreprise sur l'évolution des effectifs syndicaux dans quatre grands sous-secteurs du secteur privé de l'économie canadienne. Pour ce faire, ils ont eu recours à un modèle économétrique de détermination des effectifs syndicaux tenant compte de l'influence de l'emploi, du chômage, de la densité syndicale déjà atteinte et de la politique de contrôle des prix et des revenus. Dans un modèle dont le degré d'explication s'est avéré passablement élevé, l'influence du développement de la petite entreprise s'est montrée significative et telle qu'attendue, uniquement dans le sens où ce développement caractérise principalement une part importante et croissante des nouveaux emplois créés.

The article reviews the book, "The Modern Grievance Procedure in the United States," by David Lewin and Richard B. Peterson.

The article reviews the book, "Apartheid's Rebels: Inside South Africa's Hidden War," by Stephen M. Davis.

The article reviews the book, "The Irony of Victory: World War II and Lowell, Massachusetts," by Marc Scott Miller.

Privatization is either being implemented or investigated in over 100 countries and has become the plan of action for the government of British Columbia since October 1987. The goal of this project was to predict the effects of privatization on labor relations in British Columbia. The project specifically sought to understand how privatization might affect worker stability and wages, the structure and mechanisms for bargaining, the union's structure and size, and other issues. A delphi procedure was carried out in the fall of 1988 with 3 groups that represented union, management, and neutrals. The participants included some of the highest ranking labor relations practitioners in British Columbia. Based on the delphi prediction, the future of labor relations in British Columbia is one of short-term instability for job holders, lower wages, and fragmentation of management's approach to bargaining. The future also could include increases in costs for unions, more militancy, and more difficulty with improving labor relations.

A study examined the relationship between the climate of industrial relations and grievance outcomes. The grievance data were collected from 6 federal government organizations in western Canada. Climate questionnaires were distributed to the top management groups of all of the organizations, with 46 usable responses obtained. The results suggested that grievances are more likely to be granted under a positive industrial relations climate. The more cooperative and harmonious union-management climates are likely to increase the chances of grievances being granted or partially granted. The results showed that, in organizations that have relatively low scores on the various components of climate, grievances are more likely to be denied or withdrawn. The evidence also suggested that the industrial relations climate may be related to the levels at which grievances are granted. Under favorable climates, grievances are more likely to be granted at lower levels of the grievance process; they also are dealt with more quickly than in other situations.

The article reviews the book, "Discrimination sur le marché du travail et information imparfaite," by Jean-Michel Plassard.

The article reviews the book, "Les principes de l'équité salariale et les approches dans le secteur public québécois," published by Institut de recherche et d'information sur la rémunération (Montreal).