Continental Crucible, 2nd Edition

Big Business, Workers and Unions in the Transformation of North America

By Richard Roman and Edur Velasco Arregui  Preface by Mel Watkins  Foreword by Steve Early  

Paperback $19.95

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The crucible of North American neoliberal transformation is heating up, but its outcome is far from clear. Examining the clash between the corporate offensive and the forces of resistance from both pan-continental and class-struggle perspectives, the authors argue that the failure of traditional labour responses has led workers to explore new strategies of struggle, including a continental labour movement.

This expanded edition examines developments in the offensive of North American big business, especially the blitzkrieg of constitutional reforms in Mexico in 2013–14. This crisis and its implications for the North American left and labour movements are explored in greater depth. This edition also includes new material from Leo Panitch and Steve Early, as well as the original preface by Mel Watkins.

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Contents

  • Preface
  • Foreward
  • Introduction: The Crucible of North American Transformation
  • Part 1: The Big Business Offensive — The North American Corporate Offensive: The United States
  • The North American Corporate Offensive: Canada
  • The North American Corporate Offensive: Mexico
  • The North American Corporate Offensive: NAFTA
  • Part 2: The Two Binationalisms — Mexican Immigration and the U.S. Labour Market
  • Continental Integration from Below: The History of Transnational Labour Markets and Labour Movements in North America
  • Part 3: Workers and Unions — Fighting Back: Workers, Unions, and Continental Solidarity
  • Fighting Back: The Mexican Spark?
  • Fighting Back: The Seeds of Worker Continentalism
  • References
  • Index

Authors

  • Richard Roman

    Richard Roman is associate professor emeritus of sociology at the University of Toronto and a fellow of the Centre for Research on Latin America and the Caribbean at York University.

  • Edur Velasco Arregui

    Edur Velasco Arregui is a professor of law and labour economics at the Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana in Mexico City.

  • Mel Watkins

    Professor Emeritus of Economics and Political Science, University of Toronto and Adjunct Research Professor, Institute of Political Economy, Carleton University.

  • Steve Early

    Former International Representative for the Communications Workers of America and author of Save Our Unions: Dispatches from a Movement in Distress

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