Not Talking Union: An Oral History of North American Mennonites and Labour - Softcover

Thiessen, Janis

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0773547533 ISBN 13: 9780773547537

Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2016

Synopsis

How does one write a labour history of a people who have not been involved in the labour movement in significant numbers and, historically, have opposed union membership? While North American Mennonites have traditionally been associated with rural life, in light of the adjustments demanded by post-1945 urbanization and industrialization, they in fact became very involved in the workforce at a time of important labour foment. Drawing on over a hundred interviews, Janis Thiessen explores Mennonite responses to labour movements such as Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers, as well as Mennonite involvement in conscientious objection to unions. This innovative study of the Mennonites - a people at once united by an ethnic and religious identity, yet also shaped by differences in geography, immigration histories, denomination, and class position - provides insights into how and why they have resisted involvement in organized labour. Not Talking Union adds a unique perspective to the history of labour, exploring how people negotiate tensions between their commitments to faith and conscience and the demands of their employment. Not Talking Union breaks new methodological ground in its close analysis of the oral narratives of North American Mennonites. Reflecting on both oral and archival sources, Thiessen shows why Mennonite labour history matters, and reveals the role of power and inequality in that history.

About this title

Review

“Not Talking Union makes an original contribution to the study of North American labour and religious history. The book breaks new methodological ground in the author’s close attention to the oral narratives of North American Mennonites. It represents oral history at its analytical best.” - Steven High, Concordia University

"In Not Talking Union, Thiessen seeks to use oral history to end the “silence among Mennonites on labour issues”. She has also written a book that demonstrates the strengths, limitations, and complexities of oral history, which she readily acknowledges and analyzes to the benefit of the reader. Indeed, this would be a wonderful book for an oral history class.” The American Historical Review

From the Author

Janis Thiessen is associate professor of history at the University of Winnipeg.

About this edition

• Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 0773547533
• ISBN 13: 9780773547537
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 248