Studies in Canadian Military History Series: Published in Association with the Canadian War Museum: Labour Goes to War: the Cio and the Construction of a New Social Order, 1939-45

During the Second World War, the Congress of Industrial Organizations in Canada grew from a handful of members to more than a quarter-million. What was it about the'good war'that brought about this phenomenal growth? Labour Goes to War argues that both economic and cultural forces were at work. Labour shortages gave workers greater economic power in the workplace. But cultural factors � workers'patriotism, ties to those on active service, and allegiance to the'people's war'� also fueled the CIO's growth. The complex, often contradictory, motives of workers during this period left the Canadian labour movement with an ambivalent progressive/conservative legacy. "During the Second World War, the Congress of Industrial Organizations in Canada grew from a handful of members to more than a quarter-million and from political insignificance to a position of influence in the emergence of the welfare state. What was it about the "good war" that brought about this phenomenal growth? And how did this coming of age during the war affect the emerging CIO? Labour Goes to War analyzes the organizing strategies of the CIO during the war to show that both economic and cultural forces were behind its explosive growth. Labour shortages gave workers greater power in the workplace and increased their militancy. But workers' patriotism, their ties to those on active service, memories of the First World War, and allegiance to the "people's war" also contributed to the CIO's growth -- and to what it claimed for workers. At the same time, union organizers and workers influenced one another as the war changed lives, opinions, expectations -- and notions of women's rights. Drawing on an impressive array of archival material, Wendy Cuthbertson illuminates this complex wartime context. Her analysis shows how the war changed lives, opinions, and expectations. She also shows how the complex, often contradictory, motives of workers during this period left the Canadian labour movement with an ambivalent progressive/conservative legacy."--Publisher's website The World War II era was a pivotal period in Canadian labor history. This book is a wartime history of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) which formed in the U.S. in 1935, and by the end of the war, boasted 300,000 members in Canada. The war both strengthened and challenged union organizers as labor shortages were balanced against the increase in workforce diversity. In addition, increased militancy of workers had to be balanced against increased patriotism and the desire to support the war effort. Cuthbertson shows how the CIO addressed these issues using concepts such as democracy, equality, and freedom. It is well referenced and would be of interest to anyone studying this era in the history of labor, organizing, or the equal rights movement. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) This book examines the explosive growth of the CIO in Canada during the Second World War, showing how cultural as well as economic forces were at work in the gritty work of union organizing.