Regular price £22.96 GBP
Regular price Sale price £22.96 GBP
Sale Sold out
Free UK Shipping

Freshly Printed - allow 7 days lead

Paths to Union Renewal
Canadian Experiences

Pradeep Kumar (Edited by), Chris Schenk (Edited by)

9781551930589

Paperback / softback, published 1 November 2005

336 pages
22.8 x 15.3 x 1.7 cm, 0.46 kg

This book focuses on the efforts and progress of union revitalization and organizing, and documents the renewal initiatives undertaken by unions in Canada. Unions, separately or in coalition with other unions or social groups, have begun to re-examine the basis of their organization and activity in the face of a harsher economic and political climate. Signs of union renewal include increased rank-and-file participation in the life of the union, increased democratic decision-making, evidence of new horizontal union structures, the development of a worker-centred societal vision, and a new emphasis on organizing both internally and externally.

Paths to Union Renewal addresses a subject of considerable political and social importance about which there have been a number of debates. A key impetus for this re-examination has originated in the United States where decades-long union decline has engendered new ideas adopted by a number of unions and the national central labour body the AFL-CIO. This in turn has led to debates on renewal strategies in Western Europe and Anglo-Saxon countries from Britain to Australia.

Despite this, little detailed research of the processes, structures, and implications of union renewal has been undertaken across Canada. Paths to Union Renewal fills this gap by critically examining union renewal in a variety of unions, providing a basis for informed discussion and debate on the role and place of trade unions in contemporary society.

List of Figures and Tables
Contributors
Acknowledgements

Introduction
Pradeep Kumar and Christopher Schenk

Part I: Union Renewal and the State of Unions in Canada

Chapter 1: Union Renewal and Organizational Change: A Review of the Literature
Pradeep Kumar and Christopher Schenk

Chapter 2: Rowing Against the Tide: The Struggle to Raise Union Density in a Hostile Environment
Andrew Jackson

Chapter 3: Innovation in Canadian Unions: Patterns, Causes and Consequences
Pradeep Kumar and Gregor Murray

Chapter 4: Women are Key to Union Renewal: Lessons from the Canadian Labour Movement
Charlotte Yates

Chapter 5: Globalization and Union Renewal: Perspectives from the Quebec Labour Movement
Christian Levesque and Gregor Murray

Part II: Case Studies on Union Renewal

Chapter 6: The BCGEU: The Road to Renewal
Gary Steeves

Chapter 7: Union Renewal and CUPE
Jane Stinson and Morna Ballantyne

Chapter 8: Union Resistance and Union Renewal in the CAW
David Robertson and Bill Murninghan

Chapter 9: Rank-and-File Involvement in Policy-Making at the CEP
Keith R. Newman

Chapter 10: Mobilizing Young People: A Case Study of UFCW Canada Youth Programs and Initiatives
Anna Liu and Christopher O'Halloran

Chapter 11: Renewal from Different Directions: The Case of UNITE-HERE Local 75 
Steven Tufts

Chapter 12: Building Capacity for Global Action: Steelworkers' Humanity Fund 
Judith Marshall and Jorge Garcia-Orgales

Part III: Unions and Community: Campaigns and Organizing

Chapter 13: Community Unionism and Labour Movement Renewal: Organizing for Fair Employment
Cynthia J. Cranford, Mary Gellatly, Deena Ladd, and Leah F. Vosko

Chapter 14: The Workers' Organizing and Resource Centre in Winnipeg
Geoff Bickerton and Catherine Stearns          

Chapter 15: A Community Coalition in Defense of Public Medicare 
Natalie Mehra

Chapter 16: Organizing Call Centres: The Steelworkers' Experience 
Julie Guard, Jorge Garcia-Orgales, Mercedes Steedman, and D’Arcy Martin

Part IV: Leadership Development and Education

Chapter 17: Increasing Inter-Union Cooperation and Co-ordination: The BC Federation of Labour Organizing Institute
John Weir

Chapter 18: Union Education, Union Leadership and Union Renewal: The Role of PEL 
Johanna Weststar

Index

View full details