The work of women has been hidden and undervalued as a contribution to the provincial economy. Within this framework, a major case study will address women's work in care-giving with a particular focus on the work of nurses and their professional and union activities.

Our features on this theme include the following:

• The Nurses vs. McKenna, 1991-1992: By the 1990s, nurses had been officially unionized since 1978 when the New Brunswick Nurses Union (NBNU) was formed. This feature continues the story of nurses' activism that began in the 1960s and continued through the 1970s and 1980s as nurses campaigned not only for better wages and working conditions but also to ensure good patient care during times of government cutbacks. [ more ]
• How Nurses Learned to Wear Two Hats: Professionals and Unionists: Nursing traditionally has been a women's profession built around ideals of service and subordination. In New Brunswick beginning in the 1960s nurses began to question poor pay and working conditions, thus beginning a process that would result in the creation of the New Brunswick Nurses Union in 1978. [ more ]