Working People in Alberta A History

Working People in Alberta traces the history of labour in Alberta from the period of First Nations occupation to the present. Drawing on over two hundred interviews with labour leaders, activists, and ordinary working people, as well as on archival records, the volume gives voice to the people who have toiled in Alberta over the centuries. In so doing, it seeks to counter the view of Alberta as a one-class, one-party, one-ideology province, in which distinctions between those who work and those who own are irrelevant. Workers from across the generations tell another tale, of an ongoing collective struggle to improve their economic and social circumstances in the face of a dominant, exploitative elite. Their stories are set within a sequential analysis of provincial politics and economics, supplemented by chapters on women and the labour movement and on minority workers of colour and their quest for social justice.

Published on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Alberta Federation of Labour, Working People in Alberta contrasts the stories of workers who were union members and those who were not. In its depictions of union organizing drives, strikes, and working-class life in cities and towns, this lavishly illustrated volume creates a composite portrait of the men and women who have worked to build and sustain the province of Alberta.

With contributions by Jason Foster, Winston Gereluk, Jennifer Kelly and Dan Cui, James Muir, Joan Schiebelbein, Jim Selby, and Eric Strikwerda.

About the Author

Alvin Finkel is professor of Canadian history at Athabasca University, where he has taught since 1978. Best known as the co-author (with Margaret Conrad) of the two-volume History of the Canadian Peoples, his main areas of research and teaching are the history of social policy, labour history, and Western Canadian history.

Reviews

Working People in Alberta sheds light on the western end of working-class Canada and situates Alberta workers in a national context. … Finkel and the eight other contributors cover the headline-grabbing events from this history, but also strive to include the often voiceless members of the working class using direct quotes from First Nations workers, immigrant workers (particularly Ukrainians), and women workers.

Labour Studies Journal

… Three chapters stand out. Joan Scheibelbein’s provided an easy-to-grasp general history of the role of women in the Alberta workplace over the past 100 years. Jennifer Kelly and Dan Cui’s discussion of minority workers broadened my knowledge of this forgotten sector. Finkel’s concluding chapter explains how Alberta suffers from the highest worker fatality rate in Canada even while its laws remain consistently anti-labour.

Alberta Views

Beautifully designed and illustrated, Working People in Alberta is a model of public history that meets the needs of labour activists and working people for an informed knowledge of provincial history. … In times like these, history can be read with a purpose, and Working People in Alberta succeeds in achieving its goals. Union activists and their allies in all provinces will find this an instructive history, for this is a celebration not of any particular labour organization but of the vision of a more just distribution of our social and economic wealth that is shared by workers across Canada.

Our Times

[Union Power and Working People in Alberta] provide an excellent look into the history of labour in Canada and how it has changed over time. Most notably each is an important addition to the struggle to keep labour history in the public eye.

 

Canada’s History

Table of Contents

1. Acknowledgements
2. Introduction: Those Who Built Alberta / Alvin Finkel
3. 1. Millennia of Native Work / Alvin Finkel
4. 2. The Fur Trade and Early European Settlement / Alvin Finkel
5. 3. One Step Forward: Alberta Workers 1885-1914 / Jim Selby
6. 4. War, Repression, and Depression, 1914-1939 / Eric Strikwerda and Alvin Finkel
7. 5. Alberta Labour and Working-Class Life, 1940–1959 / James Muir
8. 6. The Boomers Become the Workers: Alberta, 1960-1980 / Alvin Finkel
9. 7. Alberta Labour in the 1980s / Winston Gereluk
10. 8. Revolution, Retrenchment, and the New Normal: The 1990s and Beyond / Jason Foster
11. 9. Women, Labour, and the Labour Movement / Joan Schiebelbein
12. 10. Racialization and Work / Jennifer Kelly and Dan Cui
13. Conclusion: A History to Build Upon / Alvin Finkel
14. Notes / Bibliography /  Index

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License (CC BY-NC-ND 2.5 CA). It may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes, provided that the original author is credited.