&#147There?s a lot of trailblazing happening here, and a keen labour story told. ? Upton?s style is simple and matter-of-fact, with short chapters lending themselves well to the pace of action and creating a sense of urgency and tension, particularly as the negotiations heat up in the story. &#148 Alison Manley, The Miramichi Reader

&#147Jim Upton’s page turning novel Maker is a fast paced look inside the anatomy of a bitter strike in Montreal’s aerospace industry. The author brilliantly captures the tensions and fears that run through the minds of every striking worker and the enormous pressure loaded onto the shoulders of every bargaining committee member. An excellent read!&#148 Sid Ryan, former President of the Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL)

&#147There are precious few Canadian novels about workers and work, and fewer still about industrial work in particular. Fictional accounts of strikes, viewed from the inside, are yet harder to find. In Maker, Jim Upton has crafted a fast-paced portrait of a woman who rises to lead her union through a hard-fought battle against a multinational determined to increase its profits on the backs of Quebec workers. With a light touch, he sets these events in the context of radical history and global realities. Maker is a vivid account of a contemporary labour struggle as seen and experienced by one exceptional ordinary woman. &#148 Elise Moser, author of What Milly Did: the Remarkable Pioneer of Plastics Recycling

&#147Maker is the inside story of life in the skilled trades from the point of view of a real person. It’s not the story of the company as told in the business section. It’s about the struggle for fairness by flesh and blood unionized people who work on the shop floor.&#148 Anne Lagacé Dowson