More with Less: Work Reorganization in the Canadian Mining Industry

The massive changes under way in capitalist commodity production include the transition from a traditional or Fordist approach to a post-Fordist one, involving practices such as employee involvement, continuous improvement, and gainsharing. In this research monograph, Bob Russell explores the changing character of industrial relations and labour processes in two staple industries: potash and uranium mining.

Using an innovative case-analytic approach, Russell compares the managerial strategies used by five transnational firms. As indicated by his title, More with Less, he sees the shift toward post-Fordism as having more to do with the intensification of labour, accomplished in part through the creation of multitasked positions, than with worker empowerment and the transcendence of class conflict. Russell combines extensive empirical analysis with a review of contemporary writing on work relations and labour processes to provide this intensive political-economic perspective on the capital-labour relation. His meticulous research will interest scholars and professionals in Canada, the United States, Britain, Europe, and Australia.