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Provides an introduction to an autobiographical account of the life of Joshua Gershman, a Jewish Communist (1903-1988). Follows his life and the development of his ideals, and discusses his thoughts on various events. Discusses the connections between Jewish labour and socialism. Examines the conflicts between Jewish labour and Communism. Discusses tensions within Communism. Gershman resigned from the Communist Party of Canada in October 1977.
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Examines the working conditions and employer-employee relationship in the mining camps of Cobalt, Ontario, following the discovery of silver in 1903. Discusses how the mine developed and the differences in lifestyle between the miners and the mine owners. Examines the miners’ working conditions and the actions that mine owners took in order to keep unions out.
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Discusses the quality of life amongst French-Canadians living in Lowell, Massachusetts in 1870. Explores the development of a working-class community in the mill town after the American Civil War, in particular the migration of French-Canadians into the community. Analyzes the occupations of the French-Canadian immigrants, concluding that the vast majority were working-class with low mobility potential. Examines the living conditions of working-class people at the time. Argues that life was difficult for French-Canadian immigrants in New England during this period.
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Examines the role that sailors played in moving cargo in Canadian timber ports of the nineteenth century. Discusses the behaviour of sailors during the period, specifically desertion. Analyzes the tension between sailors and ship labourers' unions due to competition for work. Concludes that the tension was ended by technological advances, notably the invention of the steamship.
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Discusses female workers in Quebec during the period between the two World Wars, 1919-1939. Analyzes the unique aspects of female labour in Quebec. Examines the living and working conditions and ideologies of femininity during this particular period. Concludes that the connection between waged work and the achievement of civil rights is a complex and indirect one. Argues that it is necessary to stop investigating women as a homogenous group, instead taking into account the differences between women.
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Examines the Locomotive Engineers strike of 1876-77 against the Grand Trunk Railway of Canada, the reaction of the company and the government. Argues that the strike set an important precedent for successful job action. Concludes that the polarizing nature of strikes forces people and governments to choose sides in labour conflicts.
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Examines labour relations at the Consolidated Mining and Smelting Company smelter in Trail, British Columbia, that resulted in unionization in 1916. Analyzes the issues that had prevented unionization earlier, including opposition from immigrants and the First World War. Discusses the events which led up to the 1917 strike, that lasted until 20 December 1917.
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Examines the connection between middle-class civil servants and trade union ideologies during the 1918-1928 period. Discusses the growing militancy of public sector employees after the First World War. Analyzes the tensions between white-collar workers and manual labourers, and white-collar workers' connections to the labour movement. Discusses the implications of the situation of middle-class workers with regards to the class struggle and proletarianization. Concludes that proletarianization is not an either/or process, and that there are opportunities for alliances between the salaried workers and the proletariat.
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Examines the life of William Lyon Mackenzie King, specifically the development of his ideas around class and democracy. Traces King's life from childhood to his election as prime minister in 1921. Discusses how various events in King's life contributed to his liberal corporatist ideas. Argues that King's ideas about corporatism were ahead of his time.
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To the historian, oral history is a useful tool; to the labour historian it is an essential one. Unlike his colleagues in political, diplomatic and business history, the historian of the labour movement has few written documents on which to rely. Few of the important decisions and events in the' history of the trade union movement in Canada were ever recorded in print, and those that were, soon were discarded: memories of those decisions and events remain the private preserve of the men and women who were integrally involved. Only the oral historian can unearth many of these recollections; only oral history can fill many of the gaps in the history of the Canadian labour movement. --Introduction