Power, Politics, and Principles: Mackenzie King and Labour, 1935-1948

by Taylor Hollander

Overview

Set against the backdrop of the U.S. experience, Power, Politics, and Principles uses a transnational perspective to understand the passage and long-term implications of a pivotal labour law in Canada. Utilizing a wide array of primary materials and secondary sources, Hollander gets to the root of the policy-making process, revealing how the making of P.C. 1003 in 1944, a wartime order that forced employers to the collective bargaining table, involved real people with conflicting personalities and competing agendas.

Each chapter of Power, Politics, and Principles begins with a quasi-fictional vignette to help the reader visualize historical context. Hollander pays particular attention to the central role that Mackenzie King played in the creation of P.C. 1003. Although most scholars describe the Prime Minister’s approach to policy decisions as calculating and opportunistic, Power, Politics, and Principles argues that Mackenzie King’s adherence to moderate principles resulted in a less hostile legal environment in Canada for workers and their unions in the long run, than a more far-reaching collective bargaining law in the United States.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781487515140
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press
Publication date:	06/12/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	416
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Taylor Hollander is a Middle School History Teacher at Orchard House School in Richmond Virginia.

Table of Contents

Illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction

1. The Unity of Our Country, Fall 1935-Fall 1939
   The Prime Minister
   The Labour Movement
   The Employers
   Other Groups
2. The Breastplate of Righteousness, Fall 1939-Fall 1941
   More of the Same
   Incongruities
   Fine-Tuning
   Plant Committees
3. The Task that Lies Ahead, Fall 1941-Fall 1942
   The Campaign
   Intransigence
   Respect and Dignity
   Adherence
4. A Code of Labour Relations, Fall 1942-Spring 1944
   The Impetus
   The Experts
   The Code
5. A Fine Conclusion, Spring 1944-Summer 1948
   Tempering
   The Rand Formula
   Postwar Tumult
   The Middle of the Road

Afterword
Reference
Index

What People are Saying About This

Marcel Martel

"Lively, engaging, and accessible, Power, Politics, and Principles centres on King and the pivotal role played by his cabinet, particularly in the development of labour policies during the Second World War and the implementation of PC 1003."

Paul Craven

"The real strength of Power, Politics, and Principles is in its account of wartime and immediate postwar Dominion labour policy, especially in the context of contestation within the labour movement. While various aspects of this are covered in other works with different foci, Taylor Hollander provides an excellent summation with instructive detail."

Peter McInnis

"Power, Politics, and Principles is carefully researched and written in lively prose. It covers a period in the history of Canadian industrial relations and labour history that remains essential for scholars to appreciate."

Editorial Reviews

"Lively, engaging, and accessible, Power, Politics, and Principles centres on King and the pivotal role played by his cabinet, particularly in the development of labour policies during the Second World War and the implementation of PC 1003."

—Marcel Martel, Department of History, York University

" Power, Politics, and Principles is carefully researched and written in lively prose. It covers a period in the history of Canadian industrial relations and labour history that remains essential for scholars to appreciate."

—Peter McInnis, Department of History, St. Francis Xavier University

"The real strength of Power, Politics, and Principles is in its account of wartime and immediate postwar Dominion labour policy, especially in the context of contestation within the labour movement. While various aspects of this are covered in other works with different foci, Taylor Hollander provides an excellent summation with instructive detail."

—Paul Craven, Professor Emeritus, Socio-Legal Studies, York University

From the Publisher