The Challenge of Restructuring

In this volume, political scientists, sociologists, lawyers, specialists in labor relations, economists, and unionists from Canada and the United States discuss the future of labor-management relations in two economies that are undergoing fundamental economic change. The Challenge of Restructuring discusses how labor should respond to restructuring. While sometimes used as a euphemism for the economic squeeze on workers for givebacks to avoid plant closings or for business efforts to weaken unions, restructuring also signifies the ongoing processes of change in response to new economic conditions in national and international economies. This collection of essays is unique in the depth of its comparisons between the labor movements of the United States, English-speaking Canada, and Quebec. For instance, two authors examine the U.S. and Canadian auto workers unions as they negotiate contracts in different political and union environments. Another essay contrasts the handling of unfair labor practice cases in the United States and Canada. (Canada has a workable system where the burden of proof is on business and where the system better protects its workers.). Other essays examine the rules of collective bargaining, the structure of the labor market, and the principles guiding economic and social policy formation. Contributors also discuss the needs of working mothers, unions in the private sector, labor and politics, and capitalist restructuring. Collectively, the essays address a restructuring process that is increasingly throwing Canadian and American workers together even as nationalism reinforces differences in strategic orientation and organization.