Here is the story of how mass production came to Canada and what it meant for Canadian workers. Craig Heron's Working in Steel takes the reader inside the huge new steel plants that were built in Sydney, New Glasgow/Trenton, Hamilton, and Sault Ste. Marie at the turn of the century. Amid massive fire-breathing machines, we meet the steelworkers, many of them migrants from southern and eastern European villages or Newfoundland outports, who braved the smoke, noise, and heat in gruelling twelve-hour days, seven days a week. And we watch the inevitable conflicts that developed when these workers began to make demands on their bosses.Professor Heron presents a stimulating new analysis of the Canadian working class in the early twentieth century, emphasizing the importance of changes in the work world for the larger patterns of working-class life. He examines the impact of new technology in Canada's Second Industrial Revolution, but challenges the popular notion that mass-production workers lost all skill, power, and pride in the work process. He shifts the explanation of managerial control in these plants from machines to the blunt authoritarianism and shrewd paternalism of corporate management. His discussion of Canada's first steelworkers sheds new light on the uneven, unpredictable, and conflict-ridden process of technological change in industrial capitalist society.

Working in Steel (Oxford) (Canadian Social History Series)

History

Heron, Craig

Americas

MCCLELLAND STEWART

The essays in this volume enhance our understanding of Canadians on the job. Focusing on specific industries and kinds of work, from logging and longshoring to restaurant work and the needle trades, the contributors consider such issues as job skill, mass production, and the transformation of resource industries. They raise questions about how particular jobs are structured and changed over time, the role of workers' resistance and trade unions in shaping the lives of workers, and the impact of technology. Together these essays clarify a fundamental characteristic shared by all labour processes: they are shaped and conditioned by the social, economic, and political struggles of labour and capital both inside and outside the workplace. They argue that technological change, as well as all the transformations in the workplace, must become a social process that we all control.

On the Job: Confronting the Labour Process in Canada

Business & Money

Storey, Robert

Economics

McGill-Queen's University Press

In this indispensable study of Canadian industrialization, Craig Heron examines the huge steel plants that were built at the turn of the twentieth century in Sydney and New Glasgow, Nova Scotia, and Trenton, Hamilton, and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Presenting a stimulating analysis of the Canadian working class in the early twentieth century, Working in Steel emphasizes the importance of changes in the work world for the larger patterns of working-class life.Heron's examination of the impact of new technology in Canada's Second Industrial Revolution challenges the popular notion that mass-production workers lost all skill, power, and pride in the work process. He shifts the explanation of managerial control in these plants from machines to the blunt authoritarianism and shrewd paternalism of corporate management. His discussion of Canada's first steelworkers illuminates the uneven, unpredictable, and conflict-ridden process of technological change in industrial capitalist society. As engaging today as when first published in 1988, Working in Steel remains an essential work in Canadian history.

Working in Steel: The Early Years in Canada, 1883-1935 (Canadian Social History Series)

Job Hunting & Careers

University of Toronto Press

In The Canadian Labour Movement, historian Craig Heron tells the story of Canada's workers from the mid-nineteenth 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.
 This new edition has been completely updated, including a substantial new chapter that covers the period from 1995 to 2011. In this chapter, Heron describes the rise of globalization and the restructuring of the private sector that began in the nineties and continues today. The results have been catastrophic for Canadian working people as plants closed and union activities were curtailed. As the political right succeeded in dominating public debate during this period, workers suffered ever greater losses: fewer and more precarious jobs, rising unemployment, stagnating wages, and increases in poverty. Only with the crash of 2008 and the Occupy Wall Street movement has space for the political left and labour begun to open up once again.
 The Canadian Labour Movement is the definitive book for anyone who is interested in understanding the origins, achievements, and challenges of labour and social justice movements in Canada.

The Canadian Labour Movement: A Short History: Third Edition

Lorimer

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.

The Canadian Labour Movement: A Short History

Working Lives: Essays in Canadian Working-Class History

The Canadian Labour Movement: A Short History: First Edition

This concise history recounts the story of Canadian labour from the nineteenth century to the present day. First published in 1989, it has been updated to include new developments in the world of labour up to 1995. Heron depicts the major events and trends in labour's history, and assesses the current state and direction of the labour movement.This masterful overview provides a broad and accessible introduction to Canadian labour.Contents:1 The Craftmen's Challenge2 The Workers' Revolt3 The Giant Tamed4 The New Resistance5 The Counter-Attack6 Rebuilding the House of Labour7 A New Agenda for Labour

The Canadian Labour Movement: A Short History: Second Edition

This concise history recounts the story of Canadian labour from the nineteenth century to the present day. First published in 1989, it has been updated to include new developments in the world of labour up to 1995. Heron depicts the major events and trends in labour's history, and assesses the current state and direction of the labour movement. This masterful overview provides a broad and accessible introduction to Canadian labour. Contents: 1 The Craftmen's Challenge 2 The Workers' Revolt 3 The Giant Tamed 4 The New Resistance 5 The Counter-Attack 6 Rebuilding the House of Labour 7 A New Agenda for Labour

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Heron, Craig. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Heron, Craig

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Heron, Craig. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Working in Steel (Oxford) (Canadian Social History Series)

On the Job: Confronting the Labour Process in Canada

Working in Steel: The Early Years in Canada, 1883-1935 (Canadian Social History Series)

The Canadian Labour Movement: A Short History: Third Edition

The Canadian Labour Movement: A Short History

Working Lives: Essays in Canadian Working-Class History

The Canadian Labour Movement: A Short History: First Edition

The Canadian Labour Movement: A Short History: First Edition

The Canadian Labour Movement: A Short History: Second Edition

The Canadian Labour Movement: A Short History: Second Edition