Winson, A. and B. Leach (2002). Contingent work, disrupted lives: labour and community in the new rural economy. Toronto, University of Toronto Press.
Contingent Work, Disrupted Lives examines the devastating impacts of economic restructuring on individuals and communities within five manufacturing-dependent rural towns in Ontario, Canada. Drawing on in-depth interviews with residents and blue-collar workers in the five different communities, the authors argue that semi-skilled and unskilled workers can no longer expect a lifetime of steady employment with high wages, benefits and security, but instead they face the trauma of job loss, the insecurity of the new labour market, lower-paid jobs, longer commutes and fewer benefits. The authors also explore the negative impact of economic restructuring on the development of social relationships within the workplace, showing how manufacturing workers lose old friendships and have difficulty finding solidarities with other workers in the new economic context. The authors also show differences between older and younger workers and between men and women in coping with insecurity and change.