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Nonstandard Work in Developed Economies: Causes and Consequences, edited by Susan Houseman and Machiko Osawa, is reviewed.

In 1987-1988, a national debate erupted in Canada on the desirability of entering into a free trade agreement with the USA and its potential effect on Canadian culture, society, and national sovereignty-as well as its economy. A national coalition of labour unions and civil society groups emerged to oppose such an agreement with the USA, and later its expansion to Mexico as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The coalition was hailed by members as a groundbreaking alliance between labour unions and civil society, as well as a new grassroots challenge to the neo-liberal economic policies of the government at the time. The experience led to a longer-term pattern of collaboration between unions and NGOs in Canada, but the coalition also experienced difficulties in reconciling the different approaches and goals of participants, which were resolved with varying degrees of success. This paper discusses the coalition in relation to gendered attitudes and practices; issues of representation and accountability; different approaches to organisation, hierarchy, leadership, and decision making; resource conflicts; class-based versus new views of challenge and social movements; and views within the Canadian labour movement on coalition work with civil society groups.

Originally prepared to provide background information and analysis for a Canadian Labour Congress conference on rebuilding unions in the Fall of 2003, this article maps trends in union density i.e., the proportion of workers covered by a collective agreement. It provides a short overview of the period since the mid 1980s, and a much more detailed analysis of the period from 1997 to 2002 for which detailed data from Statistics Canada's Labour Force Survey are available. Union density has trended down in the private sector to below 20% more because of a density decline among male blue collar workers than because of deindustrialization per se. Union density has remained high in public and social services, including outside the direct public sector, and this mainly explains why union density has held up much better among women than men. Union density is low, but relatively stable, in private consumer and business services. Density has fallen proportionately less in the higher union density provinces, particularly Quebec, and has fallen to well below average levels among private sector workers in the fastest growing provinces of Ontario and Alberta.

The article reviews the book, "No Turning Back: The History of Feminism and the Future of Women," by Estelle B. Freedman.

This study focuses on the effectiveness of the federal Employment Equity Act (EEA). We assess the EEA with regard to visible minority employees using quantitative data from employer reports published under the provisions of the EEA and the Canadian Census. Data in this study cover the period 1987 to 1999. We find that large companies, and larger employment groups within companies, have higher levels of employment equity attainment. There are also considerable variations in employment equity attainment across industrial sectors, across provinces and across occupations. Overall, there has been general improvement in employment equity attainment over time. However, visible minorities continue to be disadvantaged in management, sales and service and technical positions. Several policy implications are drawn from these findings.

The article reviews the book, "Safe Haven: The Story of a Shelter for Homeless Women," by Rae Bridgman.

[This article analyzes the letters of Swedish immigrant Martin Johannson to his family in Sweden during the period 1928-34.] The letters provide glimpses into the contradictory and confusing experiences that shaped the working class during times of extreme distress, and inform on how immigrant workers in Canada perceived labour conditions and came to terms with new social circumstances. Important indications of how the depression hit the logging industry in the interior of BC more than a year before the crash of the Wall Street market in October 1929 are also conveyed. Martin felt frissons of panic as his savings dried up and he found himself competing for temporary, low-income jobs in isolated locations. Painfully aware that his failure to pay the loan instalments meant an extra burden for his grandfather, the Depression scarred Martin's faith in capitalism. His letters provide a unique insight into the complicated and ambiguous birth of a radical political consciousness. --Author's introduction

The article reviews the book, "Being Heard: The Experiences of Young Women in Prostitution," edited by Kelly Gorkoff and Jane Runner.

The article reviews and comments on Steve Hewitt's "Spying 101: The RCMP's Secret Activities at Canadian Universities, 1917-1997;" 'Whose National Security? Canadian State Surveillance and the Creation of Enemies," edited by Gary Kinsman, Dieter K. Buse, and Mercedes Steedman; and "Pepper in Our Eyes: The APEC Affair," edited by W. Wesley Pue. The latter two books deal with the controversial RCMP actions (including the use of pepper spray) against demonstrators at the Asia-Pacfic Economic Cooperation conference in Vancouver in November 1997 that sparked a public inquiry.

The article reviews the book, "Ralph Miliband and the Politics of the New Left," by Priscilla Metscher.

The article reviews the book, "Transcending Neoliberalism; Community-Based Development in Latin America," edited by Henry Veltmeyer and Anthony O'Malley.

The book, "International Trade and Labor Markets: Theory, Evidence and Policy," by Carl Davidson and Steven J. Matusz, is reviewed.

Unions exert a positive influence in child care workplaces and in the sector generally. Unionization is an important strategy for dealing with recruitment and retention, two of the biggest challenges facing the sector in Canada today. Overall, unionized child care workplaces contribute to higher quality programs and attract more experienced and more trained early childhood educators. Unions support a model of professionalism and workplace relationships that is inclusive, democratic and collective. They support professional development, affordable education and regulation of the service and the occupation. They are longstanding advocates for women’s equality, and a publicly funded child care system.

The article reviews the book, "Setting the Agenda: Jean Royce and the Shaping of Queen's University," by Roberta Hamilton.

The article reviews the book, "AIDS Activist: Michael Lynch and the Politics of Community," by Ann Silversides.

The article reviews the book, "Sojourning Sisters: The Lives and Letters of Jessie and Annie McQueen," by Jean Barman.

The article reviews the book, "Strikebreaking and Intimidation: Mercenaries and Masculinity in Twentieth-Century America," by Stephen H. Norwood.

The article reviews the book, "Hidden Academics: Contract Faculty in Canadian Universities," by Indhu Rajagopal.

The article reviews the book, "Harnessing Labour Confrontation: Shaping the Postwar Settlement in Canada, 1943-1950," by Peter S. McInnis.

The article reviews the book, "A World of Its Own: Race, Labor, and Citrus in the Making of Greater Los Angeles, 1900-1970," by Matt Garcia.