This is a collection of commissioned essays that are purposively eclectic, but that address themes of importance in understanding labour's significance and history over the course of the last century, as well as suggesting how labour will inevitably face changing circumstances.
The work of Bryan D. Palmer, one of North America’s leading historians, has influenced the fields of labour history, social history, discourse analysis, communist history, and Canadian history, as well as the theoretical frameworks surrounding them. Palmer’s work reveals a life dedicated to dissent and the difficult task of imagining alternatives by understanding the past in all of its contradictions, victories, and failures. Dissenting Traditions gathers Palmer’s contemporaries, students, and sometimes critics to examine and expand on the topics and themes that have defined Palmer’s career, from labour history to Marxism and communist politics. Paying attention to Palmer’s participation in key debates, contributors demonstrate that class analysis, labour history, building institutions, and engaging the public are vital for social change. In this moment of increasing precarity and growing class inequality, Palmer’s politically engaged scholarship offers a useful roadmap for scholars and activists alike and underlines the importance of working-class history. With contributions by Alan Campbell, Alvin Finkel, Sam Gindin, Gregory S. Kealey, John McIlroy, Kirk Niegarth, Bryan D. Palmer, Leo Panitch, Chad Pearson, Sean Purdy, and Nicholas Rogers.
Labouring Canada: Class, Gender, and Race in Canadian Working-Class History is a collection of 28 classic and contemporary essays exploring the complex interactions of class, gender, and race in the working lives of Canadians from the late eighteenth century to the present. The older classics lay the groundwork for the field of labour history in general, while the more recent contributions focus more specifically on issues of race, class, and gender. The range of topics examined is broad: from class relations in the fur trade, Aboriginal longshoremen in British Columbia, and racial discrimination against CNR porters to the negotiation of class in mid-1800s Nova Scotia, the Montreal teachers' strike of 1949, burlesque workers in 1970s BC, and the nature of the unpaid work performed by women in the home. Designed as a core text for undergraduate courses in labour history, this diverse collection provides an engaging and comprehensive introduction to the field. Readings are organized chronologically and thematically in eleven sections. Each section begins with an introduction that outlines the necessary historical context. Each section introduction includes a list of related resources. All essays have been edited and abridged to make them more accessible to undergraduate readers. Book jacket.
On February 6, 1920, a small group of public service employees met for the first time to form a professional association. A century later, the Professional Institute of the Public Service Canada (PIPSC) is a bargaining agent representing close to 60,000 public sector workers, whose collective efforts for the public good have touched the lives of every Canadian. Published on the centennial of PIPSC’s founding, Leading Progress is the definitive account of its evolution from then to now—and a rare glimpse into an under-studied corner of North American labour history. Researcher Dr. Jason Russell draws on a rich collection of sources, including archival material and oral history interviews with dozens of current and past PIPSC members. The story that unfolds is a complex one, filled with success and struggle, told with clarity and even-handedness. After decades of demographic and generational shifts, economic booms and busts, and political sea change, PIPSC looks toward its next hundred years with its mission as strong as ever: to advocate for social and economic justice that benefits all Canadians.
This directory is a unique reference tool that gathers information on significant alternative presses--126 U.S. presses, 19 Canadian, and 18 international presses having either a North American address or distributor. Thirty-three presses are new to this edition.