Cailean Gallagher
@caileangallagher.bsky.social
History of political economy | Platform worker resistance.
Coordinating workersobservatory.org | Editing scottishleftreview.scot |
Lecturing at St Andrews University
www.st-andrews.ac.uk/business-school/people/management/cg257/
Coordinating workersobservatory.org | Editing scottishleftreview.scot |
Lecturing at St Andrews University
www.st-andrews.ac.uk/business-school/people/management/cg257/
Reposted by Cailean Gallagher
With @workersobservatory.org today and listening to @bkarb.bsky.social talk about migrant workers' voting rights in Scotland.
January 29, 2026 at 10:38 AM
With @workersobservatory.org today and listening to @bkarb.bsky.social talk about migrant workers' voting rights in Scotland.
Another great workshop this week with food delivery riders using Workers Inquiry to build a political strategy ahead of the Scottish elections 🔭
🎯 Getting Gig Work on Scotland's Political Agenda
Food delivery workers joined the Workers' Observatory workshop this week to build political momentum towards fair and safe gig work in Scotland.
You can read the workers' principles and policy demands here: workersobservatory.org/documents/WO...
Food delivery workers joined the Workers' Observatory workshop this week to build political momentum towards fair and safe gig work in Scotland.
You can read the workers' principles and policy demands here: workersobservatory.org/documents/WO...
January 31, 2026 at 2:28 PM
Another great workshop this week with food delivery riders using Workers Inquiry to build a political strategy ahead of the Scottish elections 🔭
Reposted by Cailean Gallagher
🎯 Getting Gig Work on Scotland's Political Agenda
Food delivery workers joined the Workers' Observatory workshop this week to build political momentum towards fair and safe gig work in Scotland.
You can read the workers' principles and policy demands here: workersobservatory.org/documents/WO...
Food delivery workers joined the Workers' Observatory workshop this week to build political momentum towards fair and safe gig work in Scotland.
You can read the workers' principles and policy demands here: workersobservatory.org/documents/WO...
January 31, 2026 at 11:51 AM
🎯 Getting Gig Work on Scotland's Political Agenda
Food delivery workers joined the Workers' Observatory workshop this week to build political momentum towards fair and safe gig work in Scotland.
You can read the workers' principles and policy demands here: workersobservatory.org/documents/WO...
Food delivery workers joined the Workers' Observatory workshop this week to build political momentum towards fair and safe gig work in Scotland.
You can read the workers' principles and policy demands here: workersobservatory.org/documents/WO...
Reposted by Cailean Gallagher
New from @workersobservatory.org, who have launched a set of principles and policies to spur MSP candidates for May’s Scottish Parliament elections.
At their core is a demand for fair pay and workplace safety.
workersobservatory.org/news/gig-wor...
At their core is a demand for fair pay and workplace safety.
workersobservatory.org/news/gig-wor...
Gig Workers' Platform sets out Manifesto Demands
Food delivery workers in Edinburgh are asking candidates in the Scottish Parliament election to advance better working conditions in the gig economy.
workersobservatory.org
January 16, 2026 at 3:45 PM
New from @workersobservatory.org, who have launched a set of principles and policies to spur MSP candidates for May’s Scottish Parliament elections.
At their core is a demand for fair pay and workplace safety.
workersobservatory.org/news/gig-wor...
At their core is a demand for fair pay and workplace safety.
workersobservatory.org/news/gig-wor...
Reposted by Cailean Gallagher
The @workersobservatory.org is going into a new collaboration in 2026 and I'm really looking forward to seeing what develops here. Amazing work to date via @regenfuturesfund.bsky.social-- thank you!
Today, as we mark #InternationalMigrantsDay, we want to introduce Migrant Justice Edinburgh, a new project proving that migrants are not passive or invisible, but that through our stories, ideas, actions and decisions we can change our city for the better.
@regenfuturesfund.bsky.social
@regenfuturesfund.bsky.social
December 18, 2025 at 8:03 PM
The @workersobservatory.org is going into a new collaboration in 2026 and I'm really looking forward to seeing what develops here. Amazing work to date via @regenfuturesfund.bsky.social-- thank you!
Reposted by Cailean Gallagher
Today, as we mark #InternationalMigrantsDay, we want to introduce Migrant Justice Edinburgh, a new project proving that migrants are not passive or invisible, but that through our stories, ideas, actions and decisions we can change our city for the better.
@regenfuturesfund.bsky.social
@regenfuturesfund.bsky.social
December 18, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Today, as we mark #InternationalMigrantsDay, we want to introduce Migrant Justice Edinburgh, a new project proving that migrants are not passive or invisible, but that through our stories, ideas, actions and decisions we can change our city for the better.
@regenfuturesfund.bsky.social
@regenfuturesfund.bsky.social
A phenomenal team, a prescient and urgent project, and it's a privilege to be working with them through the @workersobservatory.org #InternationalMigrantsDay
Today, as we mark #InternationalMigrantsDay, we want to introduce Migrant Justice Edinburgh, a new project proving that migrants are not passive or invisible, but that through our stories, ideas, actions and decisions we can change our city for the better.
@regenfuturesfund.bsky.social
@regenfuturesfund.bsky.social
December 18, 2025 at 9:15 PM
A phenomenal team, a prescient and urgent project, and it's a privilege to be working with them through the @workersobservatory.org #InternationalMigrantsDay
Reposted by Cailean Gallagher
@caileangallagher.bsky.social , a great issue. Keep up the good work, well done. ✊🏻
December 10, 2025 at 6:47 PM
@caileangallagher.bsky.social , a great issue. Keep up the good work, well done. ✊🏻
Reposted by Cailean Gallagher
Looking forward to speaking here tomorrow:
www.gameoftech.eu/eventi/winte...
www.gameoftech.eu/eventi/winte...
Walking through the platform – Winter school 2025
Register here! Call for participation – Walking through the platform: a winter school on method, imagination, and praxis While certainly timing in many research fields, digital platforms studies often...
www.gameoftech.eu
November 25, 2025 at 6:48 AM
Looking forward to speaking here tomorrow:
www.gameoftech.eu/eventi/winte...
www.gameoftech.eu/eventi/winte...
Reposted by Cailean Gallagher
Building the Craigmillar & Niddrie of the Future: Migrant-Led Change in Action workersobservatory.org/building-the... @workersobservatory.org
workersobservatory.org
November 21, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Building the Craigmillar & Niddrie of the Future: Migrant-Led Change in Action workersobservatory.org/building-the... @workersobservatory.org
Reposted by Cailean Gallagher
Yes, we have been a bit missing over here for the last two months!
We´ve been busy connecting with workers and migrant communities in Craigmillar and Niddrie, and we want to share with you more about this journey.
✒️Full article here: workersobservatory.org/building-the...
#Craigmillar #gigwork
We´ve been busy connecting with workers and migrant communities in Craigmillar and Niddrie, and we want to share with you more about this journey.
✒️Full article here: workersobservatory.org/building-the...
#Craigmillar #gigwork
November 21, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Yes, we have been a bit missing over here for the last two months!
We´ve been busy connecting with workers and migrant communities in Craigmillar and Niddrie, and we want to share with you more about this journey.
✒️Full article here: workersobservatory.org/building-the...
#Craigmillar #gigwork
We´ve been busy connecting with workers and migrant communities in Craigmillar and Niddrie, and we want to share with you more about this journey.
✒️Full article here: workersobservatory.org/building-the...
#Craigmillar #gigwork
Reposted by Cailean Gallagher
Great to see @caileangallagher.bsky.social and @workersobservatory.org here:
New book alert!📘
Our book on workers talking about their experiences of workers inquiry research, and working with academic workers to build power! with the Capacitor Collective
Our book on workers talking about their experiences of workers inquiry research, and working with academic workers to build power! with the Capacitor Collective
NOTES TOWARD A DIGITAL WORKERS' INQUIRY by The Capacitor Collective delivers first-hand accounts from the tech sector’s burgeoning labor movement.
Preorders save a couple bucks and get a free zine on the history of workers' inquiries! Checkout with coupon code DIGITALWORKERS: buff.ly/9Li5A3U
Preorders save a couple bucks and get a free zine on the history of workers' inquiries! Checkout with coupon code DIGITALWORKERS: buff.ly/9Li5A3U
November 8, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Great to see @caileangallagher.bsky.social and @workersobservatory.org here:
Reposted by Cailean Gallagher
A new piece from @caileangallagher.bsky.social at the @workersobservatory.org 🔔
"That’s why we’re calling for this type of work to placed at the centre of the Scottish Government’s Fair Work agenda."
www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...
"That’s why we’re calling for this type of work to placed at the centre of the Scottish Government’s Fair Work agenda."
www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...
Time to stop the rough ride for food delivery workers
Food delivery workers and other ‘platform’ workers are sitting in a dangerous blind spot of British employment law
www.scotsman.com
August 27, 2025 at 9:18 AM
A new piece from @caileangallagher.bsky.social at the @workersobservatory.org 🔔
"That’s why we’re calling for this type of work to placed at the centre of the Scottish Government’s Fair Work agenda."
www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...
"That’s why we’re calling for this type of work to placed at the centre of the Scottish Government’s Fair Work agenda."
www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...
The @workersobservatory.org will bring two key principles to our roundtable with Edinburgh Council and the Scottish Government today:
1. everyone should get home safe.
2. platform work should be fair work.
I argue why these matter in today's @scotsman.com
www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...
1. everyone should get home safe.
2. platform work should be fair work.
I argue why these matter in today's @scotsman.com
www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...
Time to stop the rough ride for food delivery workers
Food delivery workers and other ‘platform’ workers are sitting in a dangerous blind spot of British employment law
www.scotsman.com
August 27, 2025 at 9:19 AM
The @workersobservatory.org will bring two key principles to our roundtable with Edinburgh Council and the Scottish Government today:
1. everyone should get home safe.
2. platform work should be fair work.
I argue why these matter in today's @scotsman.com
www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...
1. everyone should get home safe.
2. platform work should be fair work.
I argue why these matter in today's @scotsman.com
www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...
Reposted by Cailean Gallagher
New article by Cailean Gallagher: The Jacobite groundwork of James Steuart’s Political Economy www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
The Jacobite Groundwork of James Steuart’s Political Economy | Modern Intellectual History | Cambridge Core
The Jacobite Groundwork of James Steuart’s Political Economy
www.cambridge.org
July 26, 2025 at 12:07 PM
New article by Cailean Gallagher: The Jacobite groundwork of James Steuart’s Political Economy www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Reposted by Cailean Gallagher
You can now follow The Workers Observatory on Bluesky:
bsky.app/profile/work...
And see more here:
workersobservatory.org
bsky.app/profile/work...
And see more here:
workersobservatory.org
Workers Observatory — We See The City
The Workers’ Observatory is an Edinburgh-based project run by workers to monitor new forms of work in the city and develop tools and tactics to take advantage of them
workersobservatory.org
July 24, 2025 at 8:32 PM
You can now follow The Workers Observatory on Bluesky:
bsky.app/profile/work...
And see more here:
workersobservatory.org
bsky.app/profile/work...
And see more here:
workersobservatory.org
Reposted by Cailean Gallagher
I've written about James Steuart, one of Marx's favourite economists, and his journey from drafting Jacobite manifestos to devising radical plans for state intervention.
Now on FirstView: A political economy of state intervention and public good? Cailean Gallagher uncovers the French and Jacobite origins of James Steuart’s political economy which troubled Smith and influenced French revolutionaries, Hegel, and Marx
The Jacobite Groundwork of James Steuart’s Political Economy | Modern Intellectual History | Cambridge Core
The Jacobite Groundwork of James Steuart’s Political Economy
bit.ly
July 9, 2025 at 8:56 AM
I've written about James Steuart, one of Marx's favourite economists, and his journey from drafting Jacobite manifestos to devising radical plans for state intervention.
Reposted by Cailean Gallagher
"Marx came from eighteenth century Scotland, obviously not literally, but he drew on Adam Smith and David Hume directly" - not to mention James Steuart, who Marx said avoided Smith's simple-mindedness and understood history, and who I write about here:
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
July 17, 2025 at 1:10 PM
"Marx came from eighteenth century Scotland, obviously not literally, but he drew on Adam Smith and David Hume directly" - not to mention James Steuart, who Marx said avoided Smith's simple-mindedness and understood history, and who I write about here:
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Reposted by Cailean Gallagher
"Why Keir Starmer won't win his new war against food delivery cyclists" - a piece by Cailean Gallagher from @workersobservatory.org
www.thenational.scot/politics/253...
www.thenational.scot/politics/253...
Why Keir Starmer won't win his new war against food delivery cyclists
The UK Government seems to be cooking up a nasty new slogan: stop the bikes.
www.thenational.scot
July 23, 2025 at 8:28 PM
"Why Keir Starmer won't win his new war against food delivery cyclists" - a piece by Cailean Gallagher from @workersobservatory.org
www.thenational.scot/politics/253...
www.thenational.scot/politics/253...
Reposted by Cailean Gallagher
"Sudden suspension or expulsion of account-holders from platforms they depend on for their income is like the wild west hire-and-fire of old, with one difference: It is automated."
www.thenational.scot/politics/25336972.keir-starmer-wont-win-deliveroo-riders/
from @caileangallagher.bsky.social
www.thenational.scot/politics/25336972.keir-starmer-wont-win-deliveroo-riders/
from @caileangallagher.bsky.social
Why Keir Starmer won't win his new war against food delivery cyclists
The UK Government seems to be cooking up a nasty new slogan: stop the bikes.
www.thenational.scot
July 23, 2025 at 8:39 PM
"Sudden suspension or expulsion of account-holders from platforms they depend on for their income is like the wild west hire-and-fire of old, with one difference: It is automated."
www.thenational.scot/politics/25336972.keir-starmer-wont-win-deliveroo-riders/
from @caileangallagher.bsky.social
www.thenational.scot/politics/25336972.keir-starmer-wont-win-deliveroo-riders/
from @caileangallagher.bsky.social
Reposted by Cailean Gallagher
Looking forward to publication of this book on countering digital capitalism, which includes an interview with me on the @workersobservatory.bsky.social and research on Digital Worker Inquiry with @karengregory.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
July 22, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Looking forward to publication of this book on countering digital capitalism, which includes an interview with me on the @workersobservatory.bsky.social and research on Digital Worker Inquiry with @karengregory.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by Cailean Gallagher
Have a read of my new article on James Steuart's Jacobite groundwork! It found some fans over on the other site, but I guess Scottish political history hasn't migrated here just yet.
July 23, 2025 at 8:31 AM
Have a read of my new article on James Steuart's Jacobite groundwork! It found some fans over on the other site, but I guess Scottish political history hasn't migrated here just yet.
Reposted by Cailean Gallagher
It features interviews w organizers from across the tech value chain, including @alexhanna.bsky.social, @krystalkauffman.bsky.social, @katejsim.bsky.social, @caileangallagher.bsky.social & others working w/ orgs like @techworkerscoalition.org, Rideshare Drivers United, & @turkopticon.bsky.
July 17, 2025 at 7:21 PM
It features interviews w organizers from across the tech value chain, including @alexhanna.bsky.social, @krystalkauffman.bsky.social, @katejsim.bsky.social, @caileangallagher.bsky.social & others working w/ orgs like @techworkerscoalition.org, Rideshare Drivers United, & @turkopticon.bsky.
Reposted by Cailean Gallagher
Proofs are in! Notes Toward a Digital Workers’ Inquiry will be published by @commonnotions.bsky.social this fall. It describes/theorizes/circulates experiences of research that feeds into labour organizing within & against digital capitalism.
www.commonnotions.org/notes-toward...
www.commonnotions.org/notes-toward...
July 17, 2025 at 7:21 PM
Proofs are in! Notes Toward a Digital Workers’ Inquiry will be published by @commonnotions.bsky.social this fall. It describes/theorizes/circulates experiences of research that feeds into labour organizing within & against digital capitalism.
www.commonnotions.org/notes-toward...
www.commonnotions.org/notes-toward...