From Consent to Coercion: The Continuing Assault on Labour, Fourth Edition

"This new edition of From Consent to Coercion, the most widely read labour studies text of the 1980s, contains much new material on austerity and authoritarianism in the context of ongoing capitalist crises of the early twentieth century. Nothing less than a crucial starting point for all those committed to understanding what workers confront in our current times, it should contribute to the task of rebuilding the labour movement to be the fighting force needed in Canada today. Read it and encourage others to do the same!"

Bryan D. Palmer, co-author of Toronto’s Poor: A Rebellious History

"From Consent to Coercion is essential reading for understanding the current labour situation in Canada. A vivid account of the state’s attack on working people’s rights to bargain collectively and to strike, it takes us from the origins of the assault in the 1980s to its most recent incarnation and evaluates the lure of legalized politics. Urging unions to embrace a new democratic form of politics that makes capital accountable to people, this book is a tour de force."

Judy Fudge, LIUNA Enrico Henry Mancinelli Chair in Global Labour Issues, McMaster University

"The 4th fourth edition of From Consent to Coercion is a much-needed update to Panitch and Swartz’ seminal text. Incorporating events of the past two decades including the Great Recession and the COVID pandemic, the authors demonstrate how Canadian governments shifted the burden of economic crisis onto workers in a one-two punch of austerity budgets and highly-interventionist labour policy. A must-read for anyone interested in the intersection of labour policy and political economy."

Alison Braley-Rattai, Associate Professor of Labour Studies, Brock University

"This book is a classic tour de force delivering a detailed historical account of the plight and struggles of Canadian labour in the face of an increasingly coercive state apparatus, woven throughout by an inspired critical political-economy analysis of class relations and the shifting character of hegemony in Canada, and beyond. Standing upon the towering work of their forbearers, Evans and Fanelli successfully extend their analysis forwards through to the context of the decade of the 2020s. They provide a new generation with an increasingly accessible and far-reaching account of this crucial history and theoretical development, culminating in a bold call for a particular form of union renewal with its eye more firmly on the prize of moving beyond the limits of social democracy."

Tim Bartkiw, Ted Rogers School of Management and Lincoln Alexander School of Law, Toronto Metropolitan University