Public Sector Unions in the Age of Austerity
For decades, public sector unions in Canada have been plagued by austerity, privatization, taxpayer backlash and restrictions on union rights. In recent years, the intensity of state-led attacks against public sector workers has reached a fevered pitch, raising the question of the role of public sector unions in protecting their members and the broader public interest.
Public Sector Unions in the Age of Austerity examines the unique characteristics of public sector unionism in a Canadian context. Contributors to this multi-disciplinary collection explore both the strategic possibilities and challenges facing public sector unions that are intent on resisting austerity, enhancing their power and connecting their interests as workers with those of citizens who desire a more just and equitable public sphere.
Buy the Book
Contents
An Introduction (Stephanie Ross & Larry Savage)
Part I: Contextualizing Public Sector Unions
Bryan Evans – When Your Boss Is the State
Leo Panitch & Donald Swartz – The Continuing Assault on Public Sector Unions
Part II: Public Sector Unions and Political Power
Larry Savage & Charles W. Smith – Public Sector Unions and Electoral Politics in Canada
Stephanie Ross – Social Unionism and Union Power in Public Sector Unions
David Camfield – Renewing Public Sector Unions
Part III: Sectoral Perspectives on Public Sector Unions
Donna Baines – Unions in the Nonprofit Social Services Sector
Linda Briskin – In the Public Interest: Nurses on Strike
Andy Hanson – Teachers’ Unions, Collective Bargaining and Neoliberal Education Reform
Larry Savage & Michelle Webber – Unions of Professionals in the Public Sector
Rosemary Warskett – Federal Public Sector Unions in Times of Austerity
Bibliography
Photo: Ontario Federation of Labour
PRAISE
“Public Sector Unions in the Age of Austerity is one of the most significant contributions to debates about union renewal in quite some time. The editors and authors have produced a very valuable collection that will likely be discussed widely in classrooms and union meetings, and by researchers, students, and laypersons alike.”
Carlo Fanelli
Read full review at Fernwood Publishing
“This book would be a valuable read for anyone interested in the issue of how public-sector unions should respond to the challenges of neoliberalism, regardless of where you live.”
Matthew Glasson, University of Iowa
Read full review at Fernwood Publishing
“…a broad historical perspective within which to assess the age of austerity, while critically reflecting on more than three decades of public sector unions’ resistance and struggles for a just, equitable and progressive public sphere.”
Sébastien Rioux, University of British Columbia for Work, Employment and Society 29(1) Feb 2015
Read full review at Fernwood Publishing