Building a Better World : An Introduction to Trade Unionism in Canada

by Unknown

• ISBN13: 9781552662601
• ISBN10: 1552662608
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2008-09-01
• Publisher: Fernwood Publishing Co., Ltd.

Summary

Going far beyond the basic study of union history and structure, this accessible introductory text emphasizes how the values, objectives, and activities of unions are shaped in the face of modern challenges such as employer resistance and hostile governments. The fully updated study looks at why workers form unions, explores the power of collective bargaining and grievances, and chronicles the gains that unions have achieved both for their members and for all working people. It also examines the difficulties confronting unions that fail to live up to their egalitarian ideals in the face of rapid economic and technological change, the rise of neoliberalism, and the increasingly unpredictable character of the labor force.

Author Biography

Errol Black is a former teacher of economics at Brandon University. He has been an active participant in the Brandon Labour Council since 1978, a member of Brandon City Council since 1998, and an occasional board member of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives–Manitoba since 1997. He lives in Brandon, Manitoba. Jim Silver is a professor and chair of the Politics Department at the University of Winnipeg. He is a founding and board member of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives–Manitoba and is the author of In Their Own Voices and Thin Ice. He lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. 7
Introduction	p. 8
Workplace Citizenship: Union Roles and Structures	p. 14
The Movement in Theory	p. 15
Revolutionary Theories	p. 15
Accommodationist Theories	p. 18
A Multiplicity of Roles	p. 20
Roles and Functions	p. 20
Unions as Agents for their Members	p. 21
Establishing Industrial Citizenship in the Workplace	p. 21
Giving Workers a Political Voice	p. 22
Labour Legislation and Law	p. 23
The Movement Structure	p. 33
Parent Unions	p. 37
Union Centrals	p. 39
The Role of the Canadian Labour Congress	p. 41
Union Democracy	p. 44
The Challenge of Racialized Labour Forces, Racialized Workplaces, and Racialized Communities	p. 49
Notes	p. 54
Acting for Members, Acting for Society	p. 55
Building the Movement	p. 55
Representing Members: Collective Bargaining	p. 68
Representing Members: Grievance Procedures	p. 77
Representing Members: Strikes	p. 82
The Results of Collective Bargaining	p. 86
How Have Unions Fared in Collective Bargaining in Recent Years?	p. 86
Notes	p. 91
Creative Organizing and Determined Militancy: A Brief History of Trade Unions in Canada	p. 93
Craft Unions	p. 93
Knights of Labour	p. 95
Monopoly Capitalism	p. 95
Workers' Revolt and the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike	p. 102
The 1920s: Labour's Low Point	p. 104
The Workers' Unity League	p. 105
The CIO	p. 107
The Second World War	p. 110
The Postwar Compromise	p. 111
Women and the Postwar Compromise	p. 112
The Costs of the Postwar Compromise	p. 113
Communist Purge	p. 114
A Certain Complacency	p. 114
The End of the Long Boom, and Renewed Labour Militancy	p. 115
Quebec	p. 116
Public-Sector Unionism	p. 119
A New Union Movement	p. 119
Women and Labour	p. 120
Canadianization	p. 121
The Economic Crisis and an Assault on Labour	p. 122
Capitalist Solidarity and the Lean State	p. 125
The Changing Structure of the Labour Force	p. 129
Free Trade	p. 130
Labour's Response to the Transformation of Canada	p. 133
Mergers and Canadianization	p. 136
Acting Politically	p. 138
Partyism	p. 139
Labourism	p. 140
Syndicalism	p. 140
Socialism	p. 142
The 1919 Strikes	p. 143
The Communist Party of Canada: 1921-35	p. 144
The Emergence of the CCF	p. 145
CPC versus CCF: The Battle for Labour's Allegiance	p. 149
Communist Purge	p. 151
Merger and the New Party	p. 152
The Waffle	p. 154
Union Politics in the Neo-Liberal Era	p. 157
Popular Movements	p. 157
Women and Labour	p. 159
The Struggle against Free Trade	p. 163
The Rae Government and the Social Contract	p. 165
Political Quandary	p. 168
Facing the Twenty-First Century	p. 171
The Challenges of Globalization	p. 172
Organizing a New Labour Force	p. 176
Education, Mobilization, and Democratization	p. 181
Building Inclusive and Representative Unions	p. 184
Labour in Politics	p. 187
References	p. 193
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