Book Review of Zachary Crispin. (2017). The Fundamentals of Students’ Unionism. Castlegar, Canada: Selkirk College Students’ Union.

Abstract

This review examines Zachary Crispin’s The Fundamentals of Students’ Unionism, an empirical assessment of student unions in Canada containing ideas as to how student union operations should be best conducted. The book contains two sections, the first consisting of organizing campaigns and developing political student movements, while the second examines legislative and financial requirements of student unions within federal, provincial, and institutional contexts. The book uses Canadian case studies and the author’s experiential knowledge to conclude that the Canadian student movement needs to be broadened, but biases in the argument’s premises in terms of political ideologies of ideal student leaders and acceptance of existing student union structures without critique impede upon the achievement of such a goal.

Keywords

• student union
• student unionism
• student movement
• collective decision-making
• Canadian Federation of Students
• Canadian Alliance of Student Associations