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Edited transcript of a conversation between a Halifax dockworker and a Dartmouth construction worker. The conversation was recorded in 1975 for a study of Nova Scotian language use. Recent writings in labour history, such as Irving Abella's Nationalism, Communism, and Canadian Labour (1973), are discussed by the two workers, revealing a knowledge of labour history outside of the academic sphere. Provides insight into how workers view and discuss Canadian labour history.
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Examines the connections between the Socialist Party of Canada and the labour movement in the West. Worker unrest and dedicated party members led to the temporary success of the Socialist Party in Canada. The author analyzes how the Party affected the events of spring 1919, including secessions from the Trades and Labour Congress, the establishment of the One Big Union, and a strike wave.
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Argues that skilled workers in the nineteenth century had more control than was previously realized. Examines three Toronto unions active from the 1860s to the 1890s: the Coopers International Union, Ontario No. 3; the International Typographical Union No. 91; and the Iron Molders International Union No. 28. Analyzes various incidents that demonstrated the power of the skilled workers’ unions. Concludes by discussing the arrival of new threats to workers' control: scientific management, the rise of large corporations, and the expansion of labour-saving machinery.
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Examines the conditions of workers in Quebec from 1896 and 1914. Provides a broad definition of “worker” in order to gain a general understanding of their overall situation. Concludes that workers were largely subject to monotonous working conditions and that compensation was poor.
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Provides an analysis of craftsmen throughout history and their connections to social and political radicalism. Examines the influence of skilled craftsmen on the trade union movement as well as the shifts the craft culture underwent over time. Argues that the craft tradition had a significant influence on the labour movement. Concludes by calling upon more historians to appreciate the social and cultural lives of these men and women, so as to uncover their hidden or unrecognized contributions to the modern world.
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Examines trade unionism among skilled building trade workers in Toronto during the period, 1896-1914. The author analyzes trades such as carpentry, ironworking, and stonemasonry to challenge traditional conceptions of building trade unions. Fragmentation amongst the trades severely impacted the ability of the workers to generate significant change. The author concludes that further analysis is needed of the role of building trade workers in the labour movement.
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The article examines the landmark 1902 meeting of the Trades and Labour Congress of Canada, that took place in Berlin (now Kitchener). The Congress is an organization of labour unions, which during this 1902 meeting became an organization of exclusively international unions. This resulted from a long battle between international unions (like the Knights of Labor) and their rivals, such as the Conseil central des Métiers et du Travail de Montréal, which originated in Quebec. The 1902 Congress reinforced pre-existing structures that ensured international unions’ dominance in Canada.
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Examines the Industrial Council at the Toronto Massey-Harris plant from 1919-1929. Argues that the council played a critical role for management in communicating with workers, but did not contribute to any management concessions to workers. Suggests that the council symbolized management's good-will towards the workers, but was never a truly democratic institution. Concludes that industrial councils contributed to a decade of relative labour peace by making minor concessions to workers.
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This study investigates the relationships among Company satisfaction, company commitment and work involvement for a sample of blue-collar workers drawn from packaging, power distribution and manufacturing industries in Canada. Guttman scaling, factor analysis and correlational analysis are the statistical techniques employed to analyze the data. The results confirms the hypothesized positive relationship among the three attitudes.