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Introduces and presents a selection of messages posted during the Solidarity Network's "electronic conference" on Canadian labour education that was moderated by Athabasca University from October to December 1992. The 68 registrants included labour educators from across Canada (including some working overseas), two US academics, and a range of union reps with CUPE being in the majority. Topics included the relationship between postsecondary education institutions and trade unions, technology, gender in labour education, pedagogy, and courses/programs taught by unions/colleges/universities. Concludes that this type of computer conference would be an exciting application for distance education.

This paper deals with the Needle Trades Industrial Union (NTIU) organization drive in the garment industry of the cities of Montréal, Toronto, and Winnipeg. I argue that the relative success of this branch of the Workers Unity League (WUL) in unionizing the female workforce originates in part from the union's internal representation structure. Women's work was isolated from men's by the sharp gender division of work, which characterized the garment trade. A union structure adopted to overcome this division of work, one based on the place of work (and not on the industrial branch) favoured women's participation to unionism.

This paper centres on the struggles over job ownership between labour and management that have been integral to the shaping and reshaping of the Canadian steel industry over the course of the 20th century. In the first phase of industry development (1900-1940s), management had virtual control over the structuring of jobs. The second phase (1940s-1970s) saw the arrival of industrial unionism and the establishment of seniority and grievance systems which gave workers employment security and, over time, a sense of job ownership. The third phase (1980s) has been a period of crisis in which steel management in Canada has embarked on a restructuring campaign -- a critical feature of which is their determination to recapture job ownership through the introduction of new technologies, job amalgamations, and the implementation of teams. If steel management succeeds in wresting job ownership back from its workers, the paper concludes, then conditions will return to the pre-union period where management created and destroyed jobs as they desired.

Examines the values of work and employment in federal and provincial policy papers on regional development versus those in Newfoundland's popular culture, as expressed in the heroic, masculine ideals of its folksong tradition. Argues that Newfoundlanders seeming resistance to change stems from this conflict in values. Concludes that long-term policy development of viable alternatives to the traditional, resource-based occupations should focus on the elements of status, autonomy, and identity that comprise meaningful work.

The article reviews the book, "Notes of a Red Guard," by Eduard M. Dune and edited by Diane P. Koenker and S. A. Smith.

The article reviews the book, "From Plant to Politics: The Autoworkers Union in Postwar Canada," by Charlotte Yates.

Unions and employers are no doubt aware that retaining legal cousel necessitates a more expensive and less expeditious grievance arbitration process. However, if a party's prospects for success are enhanced by legal representation, the additional delay and expense may be justified. Does legal representation affect grievance outcomes? Most arbitrators are lawyers. Does an arbitrator's legal training affect the outcome of a grievance? In an effort to answer these questions, all discipline or discharge grievance arbitration awards decided in the Canadian province of Newfoundland during the period 1980-1992 were analyzed. The results suggest that legal representation does not affect grievance outcomes, nor do lawyer-arbitrators decide cases any differently than their lay colleagues.

The article reviews and comments on the books "Visions of the People: Industrial England and the Question of Class, 1814-1914," by Patrick Joyce and "Politics and the People: A Study in English Political Culture c. 1815-1867," by James Vernon.

Cette étude cherche à identifier les déterminants de la rémunération des employés manuels à l'échelle du secteur municipal québécois. L'examen de 60 municipalités réparties selon une stratification basée sur la population révèle que la rémunération est plus fortement reliée à la taille qu'à la capacité de payer. L'éloignement des centres urbains, l'ancienneté et le salaire régional moyen exercent également une influence indépendante sur la rémunération de ces employés municipaux. Le modèle permet d'expliquer jusqu'à 47 % des variations du salaire de base et 35 % des variations de l'enveloppe des avantages sociaux.

This article is part of a larger study of Canadian labor law before the advent of statutory collective bargaining, which questions the traditional periodization and the meanings of the categories. It is often an un-articulated premise that the exercise by employers of their superior economic power, as imparted and structured through the law of property and contract, is not coercion. Rather, the analysis is restricted to direct state coercion, exercised through the criminal law, the police, and the injunction. This framework produces a partial view of the role of law and interferes with an analysis of the strategic choices made by workers and employers. By bringing 'normal' market relations back in, we can more fully examine the nuances of coercion and consent at a given time.

The article reviews the book, "Work and Health," by M. Quinlan.

The article reviews the book, "Pride and Solidarity: A History of the Plumbers and Pipefitters of Columbus, Ohio, 1889-1989," by Richard Schneirov.

The article reviews the book, "Such Hardworking People: Italian Immigrants in Postwar Toronto," by Franca Iacovetta.

The article reviews the book, "Travail plus. Le travail et vos droits," by Hélène Ouimet and Pierre Laporte.

The articles reviews the book, "Sweatshop Strife: Class, Ethnicity and Gender in the Jewish Labour Movement of Toronto, 1900-1939," by Ruth A. Frager.

The article reviews the book, "Through Jaundiced Eyes : How the Media View Organized Labor," by William J. Puette.

The article reviews the book, "Les Bâtisseuses de la Cité," by Evelyne Tardy et al.

Restructuring and the associated political program have thrown British unions onto the defensive. Structural employment shifts have created an imperative for recruitment in previously unorganized areas and, although employers have tended not to reject an established union presence, moves to decentralize bargaining have rendered inappropriate some forms of union organization. In broad terms, 3 interlinked tensions will effect future policy development with each union. They concern: 1. administration and support, 2. individualism and collectivism, and 3. participative and parliamentary forms of representation. A review of policy initiatives since 1979 identifies several shortcomings and suggests that attempts to establish a new agenda have only just begun.

The article reviews the book, "Shades of Right: Nativist and Fascist Politics in Canada, 1920-1940," by Martin Robin.

The article reviews the book, "The New Politics of British Trade Unionism: Union Power and the Thatcher Legacy," by David Marsh.