This history of the Canadian Congress of Labour and of the CIO in Canada traces the evolution of industrial unionism in Canada from the depression years of the 1930s to the 1950s. This is not simply a historical survey. Rather it is the dramatic story of the bitter, bloody, but successful struggle to create an industrial union movement in Canada and the equally fascinating story of the fierce but less successful battle to build a national union movement. It describes the Canadian Congress of Labour’s attempts to establish itself as an autonomous labour organization independent of American control and details the efforts of the co and its Canadian affiliates to limit that autonomy. The author raises many significant questions concerning the presence of American unions in Canada and the crucial role played by the Communist party in the history of the Canadian labour movement. He rejects many of the standard interpretations of the history of the trade union movement and presents important new evidence to support his position. This study, based on archival sources that have never before been used – the files of the Canadian Congress of Labour and its affiliates – and supplemented by dozens of inter-views, should stand as the definitive work on the growth of industrial and international unionism in Canada.

Nationalism, Communism and Canadian Labour: The CIO, the Communist Party and the Canadian Congress of Labour, 1935-1956 (Canadian University Paperbooks, 119)

Nationalism, Communism and Canadian Labour: The CIO, the Communist Party and the Canadian Congress of Labour, 1935-1956 (Canadian University Paperbooks, 119) PDF

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