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In the winter of 2012, the Canadian federal Conservative government introduced back-to-work legislation prohibiting work stoppages at Canada’s largest airline, Air Canada. In the following weeks, wildcat strikes by baggage handlers, ground crew, and even pilots rattled the company. These disputes were preceded in 2011 by another instance of back-to-work legislation and threats of legislation against Air Canada’s customer service workers and flight attendants, respectively. In all cases, the union leadership was legally forced to police their membership and order their members to cease job actions when they erupted. This article situates the Conservative government’s coercive measures to deal with labor unrest at Air Canada within a broader anti-union context, highlighting the continued decline of industrial pluralism in Canada and questioning whether the repeated use and threat of federal back-to-work legislation will open up space for civil disobedience as a new norm in Canadian industrial relations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In the digital age, journalists are becoming more susceptible to the packaged visuals of politicians that image handlers are pushing electronically in an attempt to circumvent and influence the mainstream media. These managed photos and videos communicate officialdom, voyeurism, and pseudo-events, ranging from routine government business to a personal side of political leaders. They are designed to frame the subject in a positive light and to promote a strategic image. This article submits that demand for digital handouts of visuals, or “image bytes,” is stimulated by economics and institutional accommodation, including the constant need for Web content and journalists’ eroding access to government officials. A profile of the image management of Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper illustrates the jockeying between politicians, PR staff, and journalists over news selection, pseudo-events, framing and gatekeeping. Insights from 32 interviews with Canadian journalists and Conservative party insiders suggests that a two-tier media system is emerging between the small news operations that welcome digital handouts and the mainstream journalists who are opposed. Theoretical themes for international research include examining the implications of political image bytes such as the possible priming effect on journalists who are exposed to constant visual e-communication pushed by political offices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]