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This anthology consists largely of eyewitness accounts of - and often by - the working men, women, and children of Canada. Beyond the institutional history of trade unions and labour partiees are massive changes in patterns of thought, economic life, standards of living, and conditions of work. In these primary sources, we may glimpse these changes, see their impact in human terms, and hear the voices of the unorganized, the unemployed, and the oppressed, as well as those of union officials and skilled workers with hopes of rapid upward mobility. Most significantly, these documents suggest not only new directions for the student of Canadian social history, but also major revisions of some traditional assumptions of the historian. These readings - most taken from rare, out-of-print, or previously unavailable documents -- tell of life and work in an industrializing, expanding Canada; of conditions in mines, factories, farms and lumber camps; of the cruel exploitation of women and immigrant workers; and of the great migration in these years from country to city. They represent almost all the provinces and range over conditions in Victorian times to those faced today by field labour and immigrant men and women in modern sweatshops. In their own words, describing their dailly confrtontation with life, we can listen to a Calgary charwoman, a Japanese fisherman, a Cape Breton miner, a Jewish ragpicker, an Italian railroad worker, a Quebec garment worker, a Ukrainian farm-boy, and scores of others. Here is the most vivid account yet of the problem faced by Canadian workers, both native and immigrant; of their distinctive attitudes and traditions; and, above all, of their courage and bitter struggle for equality and a better life. The book as a whole is an important contribution to the movement in recent years to deepen and broaden our labour history. -- Publisher's description. Partial contents note: Introduction (pages 1-2) -- Working conditions, 1900-1918 (pages 3- 75) -- Poverty, home life, and leisure (pages 76-150) -- Women's work (pages 151- 215) -- Working conditions and the rise of the CIO (pages 216-306) -- Bibliographical note (pages 307-310).

This is the story of the One Big Union--the people who built and those who tore it down. The tale is well known in its broad outlines to many people with an interest in Canadian history, but because it was a failure--and history is generally about winners--few have a clear idea of what the OBU was, why it was created and the reasons for its rapid demise. I have long believed the story should be told in full, because it carries with it an explanation of what happened to the spirit of radicalism and revolt that motivated many working people in the west prior to 1920. Sometimes the explanation of a failure is more revealing than the description of a success. --Author's preface

Study of trends in the labour force participation of woman workers and their economic role in the labour market of Canada since 1901 - likens female underemployment and disguised unemployment to that of a reserve army of labour with cheap wages; denounces sexual division of labour as a form of sex discrimination; examines changing industrial structures and occupational structures; notes increasing need for labour force participation of married women to maintain standard of living within the family. Bibliography. --Summary, WorldCat catalogue record

L'auteur cherche à présenter "l'autre" Montréal, celui des travailleurs et de leur famille, par opposition au Montréal industriel en pleine expansion à cette époque. Il s'attache particulièrement à ce secteur de Montréal situé au pied de la montagne, à la classe ouvrière qui y vit, ses revenus, son éducation, au travail des femmes et des enfants, à l'habitation, à la santé publique, aux conflits ouvriers. Deux appendices complètent cette étude fondamentale : un sur des budgets familiaux typiques, un autre sur la conclusion d'une enquête du gouvernement québécois d'alors sur le taux élevé de mortalité par tuberculose (1909). --Sommaire de l'éditeur

John Crispo reviews the latest trends in industrial democracy in Western Europe. The book is based upon his earlier work in this area and a recently completed 10-month tour of the countries involved, which he spent interviewing labour and management representatives and other interested individuals throughout Western Europe. The result is an up-to-date and comparative account of the dynamic field of industrial democracy, which is defined to embrace union and worker influence in decision-making in all levels of society. Although the book focuses on Western Europe, it has been written in a manner to highlight the relevance of what is taking place there for industrial relations in North America. --Publisher's description

Textbook on the system of labour relations in Canada - covers the nature of Canada's constitutional and legal system, the role of employers organizations, trade unions and employees associations, the labour movement (including Its history), collective bargaining and inflation, and comments on standards of labour legislation, labour disputes and dispute settlement, [and] future trends. Flow charts and references. --Google Books description

C'est au cours des années 1880 que le problème de l'industrialisation s'est posé dans toute son ampleur au Canada et au Québec. À l'approche des élections de 1887, le gouvernement conservateur de J.A. Macdonald crut trouver une solution en instituant une commission royale chargée d'enquêter sur «les relations entre le capital et le travail». Les commissionaires ne se doutaient pas qu'ils s'attaquaient à un au-dessus de leur force. Au terme de leur travaux, ils rédigèrent deux maigre rapports sans grande inspiration et n'offrant aucune vision d'ensemble cohérente. Pourtant la «Commission du travail» présente un intérêt tout à fait exceptionnel. Les procès-verbaux des témoinages recueillis par les commissionaires constitutent sans doute le plus important document oral qui nous soit parvenu sur la condition ouvrière au moment où le Québec entre dans la revolution industrielle. La société québécoise connait alors une véritable mutation qui se manifeste tant au niveau de la technique et de l'économie qu'à celui de la organisation sociale et de la culture. Fernand Harvey analyse ici les diverses composantes de cette mutation en s'appuyant sur une étude fouillée les travaux de la Commission du travail et les conditions générales de l'époche. --Résumé de l'éditeur

[E]xamines in detail five important strikes in Canadian labour history to illustrate the dynamics underlying disruption and shows how direct action is often more effective than collective bargaining and State intervention. --Publisher's description

Chronicles Russell's rise to become one of the "Red Five" leaders of the Winnipeg General Strike as well as his instrumental role in founding the One Big Union. Also describes Winnipeg in the early 20th century and the labour movement's struggle to improve the conditions of the working class. Intended for secondary school students, the abundantly illustrated book includes suggestions for skits and debates about unions and issues that surround labour-management confrontations.

Pour rédiger cet ouvrage sur la pensée et l'action de Monseigneur Eugène Lapointe, l'auteur a puisé abondamment dans les archives de la Société historique du Saguenay. Il s'en tient exclusivement au domaine syndical. Rappelons que Mgr Lapointe est à l'origine de la Fédération ouvrière mutuelle du Nord, remplacée plus tard par la Fédération catholique des employés de pulperies et papeteries du Canada. --Résumé de l'éditeur

Contents: The working man in a frontier town, Hamilton, 1820-1850 ; The railway city, 1850-1870 / John Weaver -- Researching the Hamilton working class, 1870-1900 / Bryan Palmer -- The working class of Hamilton, 1900-1930 / Craig Heron -- The labour movement of Hamilton, 1930-1956 -- Selected bibliography of Hamilton labour, 1956-1977 / Charlotte A. Stewart.

Canada is the only country in the world whose unions have headquarters in a foreign country. More than two-thirds of Canadian workers in the private sector pay dues to "international" head offices in the United States. Canadian Workers, American Unions continues the historical account begun in the first volume of Trade Unions and Imperialism in America, "Yankee Unions, Go Home!: How the AFL Helped the U.S. Build an Empire in Latin America." --Publisher's description

[The author] introduces some of Canada's most extraordinary trade unionists. We encounter nine Ottawa mandarins who pave the way for the destruction of Canada's merchant navy, ship building industry, and 50,000 jobs. We meet certain employers whose greed was boundless and who were prone to violence and lawlessness. And we view the antics of politicians who turn out to be considerably less than honourable. Mr. Stanton tells the shameful story of the union's death from, as he says, "employer intransigence, government corruption, judicial bias, and American thuggery." It took a commission of inquiry, a government-imposed Administratioin, and almost a generation to clear up the mess left by U.S. gangsters. They had been brought into the shipping industry by ruthless employers unrestrained by the Mackenzie King government. For, as Mr. Stanton demonstrates, Mackenzie King was "an employer's man, first, last and always." --Publisher's description

Poetry chapbook.