Closing Sysco presents a history of deindustrialization and working-class resistance in the Cape Breton steel industry between 1945 and 2001. The Sydney Steel Works is at the heart of this story, having existed in tandem with Cape Breton’s larger coal operations since the early twentieth century. The book explores the multifaceted nature of deindustrialization; the internal politics of the steelworkers’ union; the successful efforts to nationalize the mill in 1967; the years in transition under public ownership; and the confrontations over health, safety, and environmental degradation in the 1990s and 2000s. Closing Sysco moves beyond the moment of closure to trace the cultural, historical, and political ramifications of deindustrialization that continue to play out in post-industrial Cape Breton Island. A significant intervention into the international literature on deindustrialization, this study pushes scholarship beyond the bounds of political economy and cultural change to begin tackling issues of bodily health, environment, and historical memory in post-industrial places.

The experiences of the men and women who were displaced by the decline and closure of Sydney Steel are central to this book. Featuring interviews with former steelworkers, office employees, managers, politicians, and community activists, these one-on-one conversations reveal both the human cost of industrial closure and the lingering after-effects of deindustrialization.

Lachlan MacKinnon is the Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in Post-industrial Communities and an associate professor of History at Cape Breton University. He is an active member of the Deindustrialization and the Politics of Our Time research partnership, and has published extensively on topics related to deindustrialization, labour history, and historical memory. His recent book, Closing Sysco: Industrial Decline in Atlantic Canada’s Steel City, examined the structural decline of the steel industry in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

Lachlan MacKinnon's profile page

"Closing Sysco provides something more for those interested in our present environmental moment. Its analysis of deindustrialization raises important questions about what we mean when we talk about a "just transition" away from our current dependence on fossil fuels.3 It invites us to listen carefully to the voices of fossil fuel workers and communities in that discussion, to ensure that the shape of this industrial transition is less devastating and more just and equitable than what unfolded on Cape Breton in the second half of the twentieth century."

<em>Network in Canadian History and Environment</em>

"The book's major strength is unpacking the impact of cultures of resistance and representation on local experiences of industrial decline. Ultimately, Closing Sysco represents a significant contribution to the growing literature on deindustrialisation."

<em>Scottish Labour History</em>