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The central argument of this book is that getting people to work and getting them to stay there is a significant political achievement in its own right. ...[W]e may assume that in any social situation in which labour is experienced as a coercive aspect of daily life, work, or more accurately obtaining work effort, becomes problematical. Often it entails state intervention in a well-developed system of industrial relations that includes an important element of public policy. This book is a study of that element in Canadian industrial relations. Proceeding from this starting point, two central questions are posed throughout the remainder of this text: 1) What does the state do when it practices industrial relations; and 2) What are the implications of such practices on work and those groups that are brought together in labouring processes? --From introduction

The article reviews the book, "Images of Appalachian Coalfields," by Builder Levy.

Les auteurs présentent les données de deux études québécoises menées respectivement en 1983 et 1986 sur le harcèlement sexuel au travail. Les résultats sont présentés sous sept rubriques distinctes: 1) types de comportements harcelants; 2) caractéristiques de la personne harcelée; 3) caractéristiques du harceleur; 4) lien d'autorité (ou organisationnel) existant entre la personne harcelée et le harceleur; 5) réactions des personnes harcelées, des tiers et des harceleurs; 6) conséquences vécues par les personnes harcelées et les harceleurs et 7) caractéristiques des milieux du travail dans lesquels se trouvaient les personnes harcelées.

The radicalism of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) in the early 20th century placed it outside of the dominant, contemporary social ideology. At the same time, there were large numbers of unskilled, migrant, and largely immigrant workers employed in seasonal, labour-intensive industries, whose social and economic marginalization made them receptive to the IWW's radicalism, while the IWW was prepared for the radical step of attempting to organize them. This paper is a study of the IWW's efforts to organize the unemployed of Edmonton and Calgary during the depression of 1913-1915: most were transient and unskilled; many had just arrived from railway construction camps in the interior where the IWW had led massive strikes. The tactics used in the struggle included large demonstrations, the invasion of churches, and refusals to pay for restaurant meals. But the special nature of unemployment — which was caused by the economic system, threatened the men's integrity as workers, but was dealt with by the State — allows a careful examination of the practical effects of the IWW's ideology. Other Canadian cities saw protests by the unemployed, but only the IWW in Alberta asked for work at the best going rate for general labour, 30 cents an hour, and if they could not get that they demanded free food and accommodation. They tried to preserve the men's integrity as labourers, based on a belief that unemployment was not an inevitable experience to be passively endured, but a nefarious consequence of capitalism to be actively resisted. The IWW also fostered an inter-ethnic solidarity founded on a right to work, "regardless of race, color or nationality." However, the IWW's efforts also took place within very narrowly circumscribed limits: the workers they represented had little economic bargaining power and less still in a time of unemployment. when they were dependent on urban political authorities to whom most had no other connection. Their political force was only equal to their threat to public order and hungry men were no match for the police. Moreover, responsibility for their relief was thrust onto municipalities which could barely afford to care for the resident unemployed. In the end, the difficulty of achieving even short-term material gains must have discouraged most workers and doomed the organization to instability.

The article reviews the book, "Women, Work and the French State: Labour Protection and Social Patriarchy, 1879-1919," by Mary Lynn Stewart.

The article reviews the book, "The Canadian Pacific Railway and the Development of Western Canada, 1896-1914," by John A. Eagle.

The article reviews the book, "New Technology International Perspectives on Human Resources and Industrial Relations." by Greg J. Bamber and Russell D. Lansbury.

The article reviews the book "The Master Spirit of the Age: Canadian Engineers and the Politics of Professionalism," by J. Rodney Millard.

This article traces the number of legal cases concerning gender, race and other forms of discrimination in the US, Canada and Britain where there is now up to a quarter of a century's experience. Substantial differences in the extent to which the legislation is used across countries and by different groups within each country are revealed.

On the basis of a series of case studies, it is suggested that the influence of white-collar local unionism is often considerable. These case studies were carried out in environments where unions might not have been expected to exercise significant influence on the introduction of new technologies. Three interrelated propositions can be advanced arising out of the evidence: 1. There has been a growing emphasis on consultation and information procedures over the past decade alongside existing bargaining and grievance procedures. 2. The uncertainty that many employers feel about what to do with microprocessor-based technology and the awareness that a positive attitude from the workforce is probably crucial if new equipment and new processes are to produce positive results have made consultation almost a necessity to get new systems off the ground successfully. 3. Union-employee influence on work reorganization, through both bargaining and consultative channels, has been limited in its character.

The article reviews the book, "Intimate Matters: A History of Sexuality in America," by John D'Emilio and Estelle B. Freedman.

The article reviews the book, "Lady Inspectors: The Campaign for a Better Workplace, 1893-1921," by Mary Drake McFeely.

Several environmental factors have been proposed to account for union decline in the US, some of which apply to Canada as well. An attempt is made to: 1. link a new union paradigm with a new union strategy by suggesting that unions should engage in strategic planning, 2. present union resources as important constructs in predicting a union's likelihood to engage in strategic planning, 3. propose relevant research hypotheses for analyzing the union resource-strategic planning relationship, and 4. ground the research hypotheses by offering an illustrative example focusing on the Communications Workers of America (CWA), Local 7800. Union leaders must begin to act as strategic planners outside the structure of corporate management if they are to move from a new paradigm to a new action orientation. As illustrated by the case of CWA Local 7800, the presence of certain elements seems necessary in order for strategic planning to occur.

By the 1920s child labour and school attendance legislation had almost eliminated the full-time labour of those under fifteen. However, interview data show that both middle- and working-class Canadian children continued to do a great deal of work in their households. Many young boys and girls also worked at regular and irregular part-time paying jobs. The earnings of working-class children often stood between their families and real economic hardship, while those of middle-class youngsters reduced pressure on tight family budgets. In addition to its contribution to family economies, children's work played a considerable role in developing the gender identities of both girls and boys.

The article reviews the book "Canadian Union Movement in the 1980s: Perspectives From Union Leaders," edited by Pradeep Kumar and Dennis Ryan.

Max Swerdlow's life as labour organizer and educator began in Depression-era Winnipeg and carried him to national and international prominence in the Trades and Labour Congress, the Canadian Labour Congress, and the International Labour Organization. In this lively memoir, Swerdlow recaptures the persons and events of his life in the Labour movement. --Publisher's description

An attempt is made to empirically address the issue of whether promotions of female clerical employees are less likely when education and other qualifications are held constant. A model was developed for the probability of promotion. The data were drawn from a large public employer and covered the period of the early 1980s. Questionnaires were sent to all employees, with a 75% response rate. The questionnaires supplemented employer records. Results of the study demonstrated that female clerks were not treated in the same way as their male counterparts in regard to promotions to junior levels of management. The regressions predicted that, if females had been subject to the male criteria, their success in obtaining the promotions would have been almost double its actual value and higher than the actual success of males. The results also indicated a prima facie case of discrimination in promotion. The results were especially important since most discussion of affirmative action focuses on increasing the number of women in upper levels of management.

This article reviews the book, "Union-Management Relations in Canada," 2nd ed., by John C. Anderson, Morley Gunderson, and Allen Ponak.

The article reviews the book, "Reproducing Families: The Political Economy of English Population History," by David Levine.

For Ontario workers during the industrial revolution the workplace was often an environment of terrible danger. Injuries and illness from unsafe working conditions were commonplace. Over time these conditions spurred efforts for reform from activists, legislators, and the courts. But change was slow in coming. To understand the impact of industrial revolution on the health and safety of workers generally, and on women and children in particular, tucker uses their testimony before various commissions, newspapers, and reported court cases. Initial efforts to effect change were made through the courts; they were largely unsuccessful. When the judiciary refused to regulate the risk-creating conduct of employers, through either the civil or the criminal law, workers and Victorian reformers found common ground in successfully promoting factory legislation. By prescribing and enforcing minimum standards, a measure of regulatory responsibility for the health of workers generally and women and children in particular was shifted from the market to the state. Class interest and gender ideology played a substantial role in this process. But the legislation's implementation belied its promise. The government was unwilling to provide adequate enforcement resources and inspectors accepted the conventional wisdom that workers had to adjust to the 'normal' hazards of industry, which were reasonable and, therefore, legal. Even when the accident rate began to soar as a result of the 'second industrial revolution, ' the authorities remained complacent. Tucker says that in industrial capitalist social formation, the nature and degree of hazards to which workers are exposed are determined largely by the employer-worker balance of power. Their respective power resources both shape and are shaped by the ideological, legal, political, and administrative environment in which they are deployed. Throughout the last half of the nineteenth century and up to the First World War, state regulation of occupational health and safety was substantially subordinated to market-driven forces; it still is today