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The history of farm labour in Canada has been profoundly shaped by questions of inclusion and exclusion – especially at the border. Drawing on transnational research on Ontario’s tobacco workforce and looking in particular at migrations from the southern United States and the Caribbean, this talk will demonstrate how often-racist immigration policies and labour practices determined not only who could enter the Canadian farm labour market, but also the conditions of workers’ participation and their ability to attain a decent livelihood. Edward Dunsworth is an Assistant Professor in the Department of History and Classical Studies at McGill University. A historian of migration, labour, and Canada in the world, his current book project uses a case study of Ontario’s tobacco sector to advance a significant reinterpretation of the histories of farm labour and temporary foreign worker programs in Canada. This talk was delivered Sept. 18 [2020] as the first talk in the 2020 Shannon Lecture series; the theme for this year's series is 'Human Rights in the History of Canada'.
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This animated film examines the organization of labour unions today. While the narrator in all seriousness outlines the structure of a union and the larger bodies to which it is affiliated, the animator ad-libs his own views with gay abandon. Examples are given to illustrate the functioning of a union at its various levels, from union local to the national body to labour congress. [The film was produced in 1955, with music by Eldon Rathburn.] --Publisher's description.
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For the past 40 years, membership in unions in Canada has been on a steady decline. While the labour movement is seeking to expand its influence into social justice causes, it is confronted by automation, the gig economy, and the outsourcing of manufacturing jobs to foreign countries. The Agenda discusses the relevance of unions today and what the way forward looks like. [Participants: Steve Pakin (host), Tiffany Balducci (Durham Regional Labour Council), Dan Kelly (Canadian Federation of Independent Business), Stephanie Ross (Professor, McMaster University), and Ivan Ostos (bicycle courier and union organizer).] --Website description.
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The Great Depression was a time of widespread poverty and suffering in Newfoundland and Labrador. Steadily declining cod prices made it almost impossible for fishers to make a living, while wage cuts and layoffs plagued the forestry and mining industries. With thousands of men and women newly unemployed, the government was forced to spend heavily on relief programs. These, however, were often inadequate and left many people without enough food, clothing, and other necessities to properly support their families. Malnutrition became rampant and facilitated the spread of beriberi, tuberculosis and other diseases. --Introduction to accompanying article on website.
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Mohawk high steel workers have a special place in North American history. The iconic New York skyline - with its great monuments to modernity - is the fruit of their labour. While the men were scraping the skies, the women had their feet firmly on the ground - sustaining a vibrant Mohawk community in the heart of Brooklyn. Little Caughnawaga evokes the neighbourhood's heyday - from the 1920s through to the 60s - and salutes the spirited women who kept the culture alive. The Brooklyn Mohawks were mostly from Kahnawake, a community long associated with the dangerous world of high steel. In 1907 the small town lost 33 men in the Quebec Bridge disaster, an event that still looms large in collective memory. Moving back and forth between Brooklyn and Kahnawake, director Reaghan Tarbell crafts an affectionate portrait of Little Caughnawaga ad a heartfelt tribute to the cultural resilience of her people.
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This documentary by acclaimed filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin introduces us to Randy Horne, a high steel worker from the Mohawk community of Kahnawake, near Montreal. As a defender of his people's culture and traditions, he was known as "Spudwrench" during the 1990 Oka crisis. Offering a unique look behind the barricades at one man's impassioned defense of sacred territory, the film is both a portrait of Horne and the generations of daring Mohawk construction workers that have preceded him. [The third film in Obomsawin's series on the events of 1990.]--Website description
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A fact-based award-winning movie telling the history and Truck Drivers' Union-involvement of the first-ever woman elected to the International Brotherhood of Teamsters' General Executive Board in 1991.
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As Friend and Foe, a National Film Board short film from 1980, is a brief look at the Canadian federal government’s relationship to workers: “as friend and foe” in shaping the architecture of Canada’s labour relations from 1900 to 1980. The film ends by observing that after 1975, the federal and provincial governments have ordered striking workers back-to-work on numerous occasions, concluding that “what the government gives, it can also take away.” --Website description
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This short documentary offers a dizzying view of the Mohawk of Kahnawake who work in Manhattan erecting the steel frames of skyscrapers. Famed for their skill in working with steel, the Mohawks demonstrate their nimble abilities in the sky. As a counterbalance, the viewer is also allowed a peek at their quieter community life on the Kahnawake Reserve, in Quebec. --Website description
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