A couple of Brock professors associated with the Centre for Labour Studies at the University are launching two new books.

One of them looks at various important labour struggles in the Niagara region, and the other examines employment discrimination during wartime Canada, 1939-1945.

Carmela Patrias (professor, History and Labour Studies) and Larry Savage (associate professor, Political Science and Labour Studies) will launch the books at an event happening at the Niagara Artists Centre (354 St. Paul St.) in downtown St. Catharines on Thursday, June 14 at 7 p.m.

The book launch will feature short talks by both authors.

This public event is free and copies of both books will be available for purchase.

Union Power: Solidarity and Struggle in Niagara

By: Carmela Patrias and Larry Savage

From factory workers in Welland to retail workers in St. Catharines, from hospitality workers in Niagara Falls to migrant farm workers in Niagara-On-The-Lake, Union Power showcases the role of working people in the Niagara region. Charting the development of the region’s labour movement from the early nineteenth century to the present, Patrias and Savage illustrate how workers from this highly diversified economy struggled to improve their lives both inside and outside the workplace.

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Jobs and Justice: Fighting Discrimination in Wartime Canada, 1939-1945

By: Carmela Patrias

Despite acute labour shortages during the Second World War, Canadian employers – with the complicity of state officials – discriminated against workers of African, Asian, and Eastern and Southern European origin, excluding them from both white collar and skilled jobs. Jobs and Justice argues that, while the war intensified hostility and suspicion toward minority workers, the urgent need for their contributions and the egalitarian rhetoric used to mobilize the war effort also created an opportunity for minority activists and their English Canadian allies to challenge discrimination.