University of British Columbia Press
Unions, Equity, and the Path to Renewal
Distributed for University of British Columbia Press
Unions, Equity, and the Path to Renewal
Trade unions in Canada are losing their traditional support base, and membership numbers could sink to US levels unless unions recapture their power. Unions, Equity, and the Path to Renewal brings together a distinguished group of union activists and equity scholars who trace how traditional union cultures, practices, and structures have eroded solidarity and activism and created an equity deficit in Canadian unions. Informed by a feminist vision of unions as instruments of social justice, the contributors argue that equity within unions is not simply one possible path to union renewal – it is the only way to reposition organized labour as a central institution in workers’ lives.
Table of Contents
Introduction / Janice Foley
Part 1: The Equity Struggle – Past and Future
1 Gendering Union Renewal: Women’s Contributions to Labour Movement Revitalization / Jan Kainer
2 Too Bad, You Were Too Late Coming In! / Marie-Josée Legault
Part 2: The Equity Struggle – Black Trade Unionists Speak Out
3 Confronting Racism in the Canadian Labour Movement: An Intergenerational Assessment / Miriam Edelson
4 Equity in Unions: Political Correctness or Necessity for Survival? / Carol Wall
5 Are We There Yet? The Struggle for Equity in Canadian Unions / Marie Clarke Walker
Part 3: Equity, Solidarity, and Union Renewal
6 Bargaining for Economic Equality: A Path to Union Renewal, Then and Now / Anne Forrest
7 Developing a Conceptual Model of Equity Progress in Unions / Janice Foley
8 Cross-Constituency Organizing: A Vehicle for Union Renewal / Linda Briskin
Part 4: International Perspectives on Equity and Union Renewal
9 Gender Politics in Australian Unions: Gender Equity Meets the Struggle for Union Survival / Barbara Pocock and Karen Brown
10 Sites for Renewal: Women’s Activism in Male-Dominated Unions in Australia, Canada, and the United States / Mary Margaret Fonow and Suzanne Franzway
11 The Representation of Women and the Trade Union Merger Process / Anne McBride and Jeremy Waddington
12 Old Tracks, New Maps? The Meaning of Women’s Groups for Trade Union Revival in Britain / Jane Parker
Index