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The Amalgamated Mine Workers of Nova Scotia (AMW) was a Communist-led union of coal miners that broke away from the established United Mine Workers of America (UMW) in the early depression years, at a time when only Communists called for trade-union militance. The new union adopted principles of extreme rank-and-file democracy and radical resistance to company demands for wage cuts. It held the allegiance of the majority of miners in the province for several years, but its rival, the UMW, was supported by the coal company and the government. Moreover, the AMW never carried out its threats of a district strike to win recognition. After several years of the dual union situation, the miners saw the necessity of unity in confrontations with the company. In addition, the UMW was resurgent in the United States and had begun to take a more militant stance. Finally, changes in the policy of the Communist Party caused it to press for reunification. In rejoining the UMW, however, the miners were obliged to surrender many of their aspirations for district autonomy and inner-union democracy.

The article reviews the book, "E. C. Drury: Agrarian Idealist," by Charles M. Johnston.

The article reviews two books: "Prophetic Sons and Daughters: Female Preaching and Popular Religion in Industrial England," by Deborah M. Valenze, and "Independent Spirits: Spiritualism and English Plebeians, 1850-1960," by Logie Barrow.

The article reviews and comments on "Workers on the Edge: Work, Leisure, and Politics in industrializing Cincinnati, 1788-1890," by Steven J. Ross.

In the period following World War II, Alberta's Social Credit government passed several pieces of restrictive legislation which limited labour's ability to organize workers and to call strikes. The enforcement of labour law also reflected an anti-union bias. This article argues that Social Crediters, who had a penchant for conspiracy theories, believed that union militancy was the product of the manoeuverings of an international communist conspiracy. Their labour legislation was intended to foil the conspiracy's plans in Alberta and incidentally to reassure potential investors, particularly in the oil patch, of a good climate for profit-taking. But the path for such legislation was made smoother by the conservatism of one wing of the labour movement in the province and the fear of being tarnished with the communist brush by the other wing. On the whole, the Alberta experience casts a grim reflection on the theory that the post-war period provided a measure of industrial democracy for Canadian workers.

What role the law should play in encouraging the growth of trade unions is a matter of considerable controversy in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Limits to growth in other sectors of the economy coupled with heightened employer hostility to unionism have made the extension of collective bargaining to the tertiary sector the most pressing task for unions in the 1980s. In a limited way, the Canadian procedure for certifying and recognizing unions is being considered as a model for labour law reform. And there is much to recommend the Canadian system. It is far more efficient than its American counterpart. There are fewer delays, fewer unlawful interventions by employers, and a substantially higher likelihood that newly organized unions will be granted certification. Even so, unions have failed to break into the trade, finance, and services industries that are so critical to their future. Taken as a whole, Canadian labour law tends to block rather than promote the growth of unions in the unorganized sectors of the economy. The certification procedure is only one aspect of a legal regime that has as its primary purpose the preservation of industrial peace, not the encouragement of union growth. By shaping bargaining structure and regulating bargaining tactics, Canadian labour law tilts the balance of power in favour of employers. Small, fragmented unions are frequently pitted against large corporations and as there is nothing to stop antiunion employers from using their overwhelming strength to frustrate the collective bargaining process, efforts to organize the tertiary sector have failed.

This article reviews the book, "Strikes in Nova Scotia, 1970-1985," by C.H.J. Gilson.

The article reviews and comments on "British Coalminers in the Nineteenth Century: A Social History," by John Benson, "Independent Collier: The Coal Miner as Archetypal Proletarian Reconsidered," edited by Royden Harrison, "Keir Hardie: The Making of a Socialist," by Fred Reid, "By the Sweat of their Brow: Womee Workers at Victorian Coal Mines," by Angela John, "Work Relations in the Coal Industry: The Hand-Loading Era, 1880-1930," by Keith Dix, "The Miner's Freedom: A Study of the Working Life in a Changing Industry," by Carter Goodrich, "Life, Work, and Rebellion in the Coal Fields: The Southern West Virginia Miners, ,1880-1922," by David Corbin, and "Power and Powerlessness: Quiescence and Rebellion in an Appalachian Valley," by John Gaventa.

This article reviews the book, "Industrial Relations and New Technology," by Annette Davies.

The author examines how the participation scheme proposed by the Royal Commission on the Economie Union and Development Prospects for Canada (Macdonald Commission) can be made viable and enduring.

In February 1944 the Canadian federal government introduced Order in Council PC 1003, a system of compulsory collective bargaining which has been conventionally characterized as the culmination of the gradual evolution in federal labour relations policy towards the greater recognition of trade unions and collective bargaining. The issue addressed in this thesis is whether this characterization is accurate. As against the tendency to present federal intervention in collective bargaining as having developed towards some inevitable maturity, the account presented herein seeks to draw attention to the suppressed alternatives of history. Thus, the thesis begins with an examination of PC 1003'S historical antecedents dating back to 1900. This is followed by an examination of the developments during the Second World War. Instead of concentrating upon federal collective bargaining policy as a means of responding to wartime pressures by establishing a mechanism for mediating and resolving disputes between labour and capital, the thesis emphasizes the extent to which the policy was part of the large post-war settlement. By ignoring this, the conventional account has failed to provide any guidance for understanding either the actual provisions wheich were introduced or the longevity of PC 1003 as the dominant institutional model for Canadian labour relations. By contrast, if PC 1003 is understood as part of an attempt to forge a post-war settlement between labour and capital it is possible to identify the general thrust of the Order. Although it represented a fundamental shift in Canadian labour policy in that employers were compelled to recognize unions for the purpose of collective agreements, PC 1003 did not radically alter the balance of power to make it easier to organize or constrain managerial prerogatives. In fact, PC 1003 was consistent with the federal government's historical preoccupation with promoting responsible unions and attaining industrial peace and stability.

This article reviews the book, "Marxism, Wars and Revolutions: Essays From Four Decades," by Isaac Deutscher.

The article reviews the book, "Poor Labouring Men: Rural Radicalism in Norfolk, 1870-1923," by Alun Howkins.

This article reviews the book, "The Economy of British America, 1607-1789," by John J. McCusker & Russell R. Menard.

Changements dans les legislations du travail au Canada.

Changements dans les legislations du travail au Canada.

Changements dans les legislations du travail au Canada.

Changements dans les legislations du travail au Canada.

This article reviews the book, "Double Day, Double Burden: Women in the Garment Industry," by Charlene Gannagé.

This article reviews the book, "Strikes in Essential Services," by Gillian S. Morris.