The Canadian Labour Movement: A Short History

by Craig Heron, Charles Smith (With)

In The Canadian Labour Movement , historian Craig Heron and political scientist Charles Smith tell the story of Canada's workers from the midnineteenth century through to today, painting a vivid picture of key developments, such as the birth of craft unionism, the breakthroughs of the fifties and sixties, and the setbacks of the early twenty-first century. The fourth edition of this book has been completely updated with a substantial new chapter that covers the period from the great recession of 2008 through to 2020. In this chapter, Smith describes the fallout of the financial crisis, how Stephen Harper's government restricted labour rights, the rise of the "gig economy" and precarious work, and the continued de-industrialization in the private sector. These pressures contributed to fracturing the movement, as when Unifor, the largest private sector union, split from the Canadian Labour Congress, the established "house of labour." Through it all, rank-and-file union members have fought for better conditions for all workers, including through campaigns like the fight for a $15 minimum wage. The Canadian Labour Movement is the definitive book for anyone interested in understanding the origins, achievements, and challenges of the labour and social justice movements in Canada.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Canada

286 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

Reviews

[Beetsobriety · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book gives a decent overview of the Canadian Labour Movement as defined by Heron (basically unioned, white, "working class" vs "middle class", anglophone, and male). If you want a quick resouce into the TLC or the CCL, check it out otherwise I wouldn't bother. His attempt with the second edition to interject some of the "others" is a half hearted, half-executed struggle to read and his historical timelines are outdated.

[Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this for a class. I don't think I would have picked this book up alone, but it is a good and succinct overview of Canada's labour movement. I kind of wish people had to read this before they could vote. I did learn many things. My only real complaint is that I thought the timeline jumped around too much. Otherwise, I'd love to have a conversation with the author.

[Nicholas Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Poorly written, no citations just "further readings" divided into "eras" and written from such a pro-communist standpoint that even the social democratic NDP are a centrist party to the author. I'm not exaggerating. Thankfully it was short.

[Patti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great, highly accessible, introductory survey, but infinitely more readable than a texbook.