Unions, Equity, and the Path to Renewal

An important contribution to the union debate that highlights the work of women and equity advocates over the past several decades ... and provides possible solutions. Canadian Dimension

The subject that this book takes up is critical, as trade unions are now moving away from their traditional support base – white, working class men. With half the female population over age fifteen working outside the home, there is a new constituency for unions. Looking at race and women in the trade union movement, Unions, Equity, and the Path to Renewal will appeal to those both inside the academy, and out. Judith Haiven, author of “Union Response to Pay Equity: A Cautionary Tale,” in Equity, Diversity and Canadian Labour, edited by Gerald Hunt and David Rayside

This is an important book on a timely topic. It asks readers to consider pathways to renewal within the union movement as well as at its margins – contributors illustrate that internal dynamics are as important to scrutinize as external ones. In this way, it highlights the importance of history at the same time as mapping the evolution of core debates in two areas of inquiry – equity organizing and union renewal – that, despite their clear relationship, are rarely bridged. Unions, Equity, and the Path to Renewal will be of great interest to scholars and students of industrial relations, labour studies, political science, and women’s studies. Leah Vosko, author of Managing the Margins: Gender, Citizenship and the International Regulation of Precarious Employment