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Citizenship in work is a continuous process of sustaining and fighting for just social rights. The argument here is that currently a major impediment to this democratic process at work is the practical and ideological imposition of economic liberal policy, conceived for and by dominant class interests. This article discusses the idea of citizenship, its antithesis economic liberalism and its synthesis Keynesianism and the welfare state. Then it asks what these and other ideas bring to the debate about citizenship and work in a global society?

The article reviews the book, "New Jersey Dreaming: Capital, Culture, and the Class of '58. Ortner, Sherry B.

Dave Kashtan, who was born in 1912, reminisces about his life and times in as a young Communist activist in Montreal in the late 1920s and 1930s, during which he visited the Soviet Union and was also jailed for a year for allegedly seditious remarks made at a public meeting in Montreal. Published posthumously, Kashtan's memoir (entitled "Living in One's Time") is introduced and edited by Kirk Niergarth.

Globalization has been accompanied by a decline in unionization; however, while globalization presents extremely serious challenges to unions, globalization does not necessarily result in weakened unions. It is important for unions to identify and utilize ways to increase and leverage union power that are responsive to the pressures of globalization. Companies frequently introduce training during restructuring efforts aimed at remaining competitive in a global environment. This paper describes a joint union-management training program which offers an example of a pro-active union approach to joint training initiatives. The training took place in early 2004 in a typical paper mill in central Wisconsin. While the training was designed and undertaken in response to various competitive pressures, the content of the training was primarily determined by employee focus groups. The training design is examined against criteria for successful union involvement in joint ventures. The paper argues that, while joint ventures typically address management's production concerns at the expense of labor, a pro-active union can work to ensure that benefits also accrue to the union. Recent literature on union power in a globalized economy suggests that this training model could be used in other industries to enhance union knowledge and power.

The article discusses communism in Canada. The study of communism is stated to have generated less new work and little controversy. Issues concerning bureaucratism of Comintern, Stalinization and transformation of the Left in 1920s are explored by comparing the political histories of Maurice Spector and James P. Cannon. In late 1928, Spector and Cannon abandoned Stalinism and embraced Trotskyism. The efforts made by Spector and Cannon to keep alive the revolutionary potential of Bolshevism highlights the importance of the subjective realm in the construction of a left opposition.

Le travail atypique se caractérise par d’importantes disparités de traitements entre les personnes effectuant, au sein d’une même entreprise, des tâches semblables mais ayant des statuts d’emploi différents. Le présent article tente d’établir si le statut d’emploi peut être considéré comme un élément constitutif de la condition sociale au sens de l’article 10 de la Charte des droits et libertés de la personne. Pour ce faire, nous analyserons l’évolution jurisprudentielle de la notion de condition sociale en nous penchant tant sur l’interprétation des tribunaux de droit commun que sur celle du Tribunal des droits de la personne, nous identifierons les éléments objectifs et subjectifs du travail précaire et nous questionnerons l’interprétation de la notion de condition sociale proposée par la Commission des droits de la personne.

The article reviews the book, "Making Men, Making Class: The YMCA and Workingmen, 1877-1920," by Thomas Winter.

The article reviews the book, "Keeping Up with the Dow Joneses: Debt, Prison, Workfare," by Vijay Prashad.

While there is a strong logic favouring co-operation, it faces a central problem: the "free rider" or "cheat." Collectives find ways of promoting norms of solidarity and seek regulation to prevent free riding. Around two-fifths of Australian employees covered by collective agreements are free-riding non-members. Evidence suggests that the recent growth of free riding reflects institutional changes and not the decline of co-operative values and the ascendancy of individualism. The Canadian solution to the cheating problem, which is the Rand formula, inspired Australian unions to introduce (excessive) "agency fees" into collective agreements. These were eventually stopped by the state. Alternative models include "social obligation fees" - provisions for employees covered by the agreement to make a contribution to a voluntary organization of their choice.

This paper examines the implementation of a model of systematic individualisation of the employment relationship by a large multinational corporation in Australia, operating with the support of a pro-corporate state, and the nature and effects of resistance. Principally through interviews with affected workers, we show how the symbolic and the real effects of employment practices, relational practices and informational practices were all aimed at removing freedom of association and replacing it with uncontested, union-free managerial control. We consider how workers and their families were affected by these strategies and how they and their union responded. // Cet article examine la mise en place d'un modèle systématique d'individualisation de la relation d'emploi par une grande multinationale australienne, cela avec le support d'un gouvernement partialement favorable au patronat. La nature et l'impact de la résistance des travailleurs syndiqués sont également mis à jour. Nous montrons, principalement à l'appui des témoignages des travailleurs en cause, comment les effets réels ou symboliques des pratiques d'emploi, ceux des pratiques relationnelles et informationnelles ont été utilisés de concert pour dénier la liberté d'association et la remplacer par un contrôle gestionnaire incontestable et exempt de présence syndicale. Nous relatons comment les travailleurs et leurs familles ont souffert de ces stratégies patronales et comment leur syndicat a rétorqué.

The article reviews the book, "La face cachée de l’organisation : groupes, cliques et clans," by Luc Brunet and André Savoie.

When the Berlin Wall came down in 1989, symbolically ending the Cold War, few imagined that the resulting shockwaves that toppled the Soviet Union would also reach a perpetually dark and quiet microfilm reading room on the third floor of Library and Archives Canada in Ottawa. But this is what occurred. The disintegration of the Communist order in Russia loosened rigid Soviet control of state archives and made available to Western researchers material which had been inaccessible for the length of the Cold War. This included tens of thousands of documents pertaining to the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War—foreign volunteers, including roughly 1,600 Canadians, who had been recruited and sent to Spain by the Communist International to fight a fascist rebellion lead by General Francisco Franco. ...In 1993 and 1994, George Bolotenko, an archivist at Library and Archives Canada, visited the Centre for the Preservation and Study of Records of Contemporary History in Moscow, also known as the Comintern Archives, to purchase microfilmed copies of some 10,000 pages of documents on Canadians in the International Brigades. Although the impact of this material on historical scholarship has thus far been light, it has the potential to irrevocably change scholarship on Canadians in the Spanish Civil War. --Author's introduction

Walking the Union Walk: Stories from CEP’s First Ten Years, by Jamie Swift, is reviewed.

While the relationships between intellectual research and political commitment, and indeed political engagement, have been identified amongst social, labour, and Marxist historians, such as the Communist Party of Great Britain’s Historians’ Group, there are few, if any, examinations of the rhetorical and communications process by which such public intellectual activity is made: i.e., the “how” of political interventions. This paper addresses this important area in examining the means by which [Eric] Hobsbawm was able to intervene effectively in public debates, having a direct impact on the Labour Party’s future trajectory. Hobsbawm exercised considerable influence in the highly public political infighting within the Labour Party [i.e., Old Left and New Labour], even though he was a member of the Communist Party of Great Britain, and he was able to effect changes through his contributions to debates which affected both political parties simultaneously. --From author's introduction

The article reviews the book, "The Red Man's on the Warpath: The Image of the "Indian" and the Second World War," by R. Scott Sheffield.

The article reviews the book, "Money in Their Own Name: The Feminist Voice in Poverty Debate in Canada, 1970-1995," by Wendy McKeen.

The article reviews the book, "Weapons of Mass Persuasion: Marketing the War against Iraq," by Paul Rutherford.

The article reviews the book, "Culture and Resistance: Conversations with Edward W. Said," by David Barsamian and Edward W. Said.

A Troublemaker's Handbook 2: How To Fight Back Where You Work - And WIN!, by Jane Slaughter, is reviewed.