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The article reviews and comments on the books "Race and Labor in Western Copper: The Fight for Equality, 1896-1918," by Philip J. Mellinger and "Copper Crucible: How the Arizona Miners' Strike of 1983 Recast Labor-Management Relations in America," by Jonathan D. Rosenblum.

Research into an industrial sector reflecting principles of the emergent network model of production indicates that organized labor can play a positive role in post-Fordist system of industrial governance. Within the dynamic motion picture industry of British Columbia (B.C.), organized labor was the key organizational factor in the birth and rapid expansion of the agglomeration of small, specialized film production firms. In this process, B.C. film unions have become the dominant actors in forging collaborative relations between local production companies, between the sector and the state, and between the district and other film centers, so critical to the success of the network model.

The article reviews several books including "Red Flags and Red Tape: The Making of a Labour Bureaucracy," by Mark Leier and "Making Vancouver: Class, Status and Social Boundaries," by Robert A. J. McDonald.

Examines the roles of organized labour, the employer, the government, and the First Nations community with regard to the protracted labour dispute at the Muckamuck Restaurant in Vancouver, BC that ended in 1983 with the restaurant's closure. The case study draws on archival materials in addition to the author's recollections as a former union organizer and picketer during the strike. Concludes that although the strike had a downside, including the state's failure to protect the all-female First Nations workers from the employer's discriminatory and illegal practices, it was nevertheless significant in several respects.

The article reviews the book, "Imperial Leather: Race, Gender and Sexuality in the Colonial Contest," by Anne McClintock.

The article reviews the book, "Quelques arpents d'Amérique. Population, économie, famille au Saguenay, 1838-1971," by Gérard Bouchard.

The article reviews the book, "Ireland Before and After the Famine: Explorations in Economic History, 1800-1925," by Cormac O'Grada.

The article briefly reviews "Free Books for All: The Public Library Movement in Ontario, 1850-1930," by Lome Bruce, "The Wages of Slavery: From Chattel Slavery to Wage Labour in Africa, the Caribbean and England ," edited by Michael Twaddle, "Progress Without People: New Technology, Unemployment, and the Message of Resistance," by David F. Noble, "The Workers of Nations: Industrial Relations in a Global Economy," edited by Sanford M. Jacoby, "Labour's High Noon: The Government and the Economy, 1945-1951," edited by Jim Fyrth, "Can Europe Work? Germany and the Reconstruction of Postcommunist Societies," edited by Stephen E. Hanson and Willfried Spohn, "Biographical Dictionary of European Labor Leaders," edited by Thomas Lane, "Peasant Metropolis: Social Identities in Moscow, 1929-1941," by David L. Hoffmann, "Catching the Wave: Workplace Reform in Australia," by John Mathews, and "Everyday Forms of State Formation: Revolution and Negotiation of Rule in Modern Mexico," edited by Gilbert M. Joseph and Daniel Nugent.

The article briefly reviews "Possible Worlds: Experiments in British Columbia," by AH Brown, "The Crest of the Mountain: The Rise of CUPE Local Five in Hamilton," by Ed Thomas, "Free to All: Carnegie Libraries and American Culture, 1890-1920," by Abigail A. Van Slyck, "North American Auto Unions in Crisis: Lean Production as Contested Terrain," edited by William C. Green and Ernest J. Yanaretla, "Trade Union Politics: American Unions and Economic Change 1960s-1990s," edited by Glenn Perusek and Kent Worcester, "Social Work in Practice," by Gerald A.J. de Montigny, "Engineering Labour: Technical Workers in Comparative Perspective," edited by Peter Meiksins and Chris Smith, "Miners, Unions, and Politics, 1910-1947," edited by lan Campbell, Nina Fishman and David Howell, "Gender and Class in Modern Europe," edited by Laura L. Frader and Sonya O. Rose.

The article reviews the book, "What Do We Need A Union For? The TWUA in the South, 1945-1955," by Timothy J. Minchin.

Introduces "The Big Sleep" by Jack Timmerman (1915-1953), an unpublished, graphic account of the Malartic Mine Fire of 1947 that resuled in the deaths of 12 miners at the gold mine in northwestern Quebec. Provides a biography of Timmerman, who was working at the mine at the time, as well as framing the disaster in terms of the persistence and frequency of such events.

Critiques the British Labour Party's abandonment of its long-standing commitment to "parliamentary socialism" and the electoral platform of the incoming "New Labour" government of Tony Blair. Concludes that new forms of socialist organization are necessary since the path forward does not lie in transforming the Labour Party.

The article reviews the book, "Local and Regional Response to Global Pressure : The Case of Italy and its Industrial Districts," edited by Francesco Cossentino, Frank Pike and Werner Sengenberger.

The article reviews the book, "La sécurité d'emploi dans le secteur public, Essai," by Louis Borgeat.

Documents the exposure of Jack Esselwein, also known as Sergeant John Leopold, who, as an undercover operative of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, joined the Communist Party of Canada. His identity was revealed after a series of police raids on August 11, 1931, which led to the arrest of a number of leading Communists, including Tim Buck. Esselwein testified at the trial in November 1931 whereby the Communists were convicted and sentenced to penitentiary terms under the notorious section 98 of the criminal code. They had already discovered that Esselwein was a police spy. The Toronto Daily Star report (published November 13, 1931) on Esselwein's unmasking is included in the article.

The article reviews the book, "In Search of the Working Class: Essays in American Labor History and Political Culture," by Leon Fink.

The article reviews the book, "Reluctant Host: Canada's Response to Immigrant Workers, 1896-1994," by Donald H. Avery.

Cette étude a pour objectif la mise en relief des formes et caractéristiques que revêt la flexibilité — du travail principalement — du système productif de l'agglomération de Thessalonique, région connue pour son potentiel et la souplesse de ses structures de production et de travail. La première partie traite des concepts de flexibilité numérique et de flexibilité fonctionnelle dans le cadre de l'entreprise flexible, ainsi que des diverses interprétations qui en ont été faites. Nous utilisons ensuite ces concepts, dans la deuxième partie, pour étudier les caractéristiques de la flexibilité du système de production de l'agglomération de Thessalonique dans ses branches les plus dynamiques, à savoir l'habillement et le textile. L'enquête sur le terrain permet de préciser les traits distinctifs et de dégager la forme de flexibilité qui semble fonder le dynamisme de ce système productif.

The features and objectives of privatization in the UK are examined. The centrality of labor management and industrial relations objectives to the program are outlined, with particular attention to the capacity of privatization to reduce political influences on pay determination and to encourage labor-shedding improvements in efficiency. The paper than considers the available evidence of the effects of privatization on pay and employment. It is found that pay levels have registered above-average increases since privatization. The evidence on employment reductions is more mixed. It is argued that greater product and labor market competition are necessary if the predicted effects of privatization are to be fully realized.

A study reports the results of a cross-sectional mail survey sent to top officials of union and employer confederations in 21 industrialized market economies in Western Europe, North America, and Japan. The results regarding their assessment of the current labor relations situation in their own country show some significant differences related to employer vs. union side and by economic groupings. It is concluded that the relatively stable labor-management relationships during the 1960s and 1970s has apparently given way to greater divergence among the major industrial nations in recent years.