Chris Schenk – författare

This new 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.

This is the second of two volumes of original research undertaken by Canadian trade unionists (the first volume was published in 1995). The research (known as the Technology Adjustment Research Program, or TARP, of the Ontario Federation of Labour), was unique because, for the first time, government provided resources for workers, rather than just academics and corporations. TARP was established under the Ontario Liberals in 1990, renewed by the NDP government, and subsequently cancelled in 1995 by the newly elected Tory government. Nevertheless, new research has been added to this volume. This book will contribute to a better understanding of workplace change, the role of new technologies, the debate on lean production and empowerment of the workforce, the information highway, work and the environment, and the possibilities of shorter work hours. Despite the cancellation of government funding for further research, Re Shaping Work 2 sheds new light on crucial issues of the changing nature of work and technology. Re Shaping Work 2 is a book of great interest to students of workplace change, labour studies, and industrial relations, as well as trade unionists.