Union women in the garment industry respond to new managerial strategies

This paper, based on case studies of unionized factories, examines industrial restructuring and shop floor politics in the Canadian garment industry. It briefly describes the international context for conducting business. While the Canadian state has historically protected its domestic industry, more recently it has set the stage for the transition to an export promotion policy. On the shop floor, new managerial strategies have been directed at reorganizing work by combining different forms of managerial control with the demand for greater employee flexibility. This paper shows how union women in the sportswear industry respond to the restructuring of their work. Their resistance, often led by union shop stewards, sheds light on the relationship between managerial control and the ''effort bargain.''