Sean O'Brady
@sobrady.bsky.social
Assistant Professor, McMaster University | Interested in helping workers boost their wages, obtain data rights, and build collective power
Reposted by Sean O'Brady
Today's AI #EGgrantee spotlight features @vdoellgast.bsky.social, @cornellilr.bsky.social prof John McCarthy & @sobrady.bsky.social.
Their research focuses on how telecommunications & video game development companies apply AI in service & technical occupations.
equitablegrowth.org/grants/ai-in...
Their research focuses on how telecommunications & video game development companies apply AI in service & technical occupations.
equitablegrowth.org/grants/ai-in...
September 24, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Today's AI #EGgrantee spotlight features @vdoellgast.bsky.social, @cornellilr.bsky.social prof John McCarthy & @sobrady.bsky.social.
Their research focuses on how telecommunications & video game development companies apply AI in service & technical occupations.
equitablegrowth.org/grants/ai-in...
Their research focuses on how telecommunications & video game development companies apply AI in service & technical occupations.
equitablegrowth.org/grants/ai-in...
“Union leaders are fiercely criticizing the federal government’s back-to-work order, with one calling it “a misuse of government power.”
thetyee.ca/News/2025/08...
thetyee.ca/News/2025/08...
As Air Canada Strike Ends, Ottawa Accused of Anti-Union Bias | The Tyee
Labour groups are angry over frequent use of power to end walkouts.
thetyee.ca
August 21, 2025 at 10:27 PM
“Union leaders are fiercely criticizing the federal government’s back-to-work order, with one calling it “a misuse of government power.”
thetyee.ca/News/2025/08...
thetyee.ca/News/2025/08...
"A Gartner report predicts that by 2028, regulations in the EU may mandate the "right to talk to a human," emphasizing the enduring demand for human interaction...Rather than making call centers obsolete, AI is set to redefine the role of human agents."
www.forbes.com/councils/for...
www.forbes.com/councils/for...
How Will AI Impact Call Center Jobs?
Will AI make call center jobs obsolete? While this may sound revolutionary, it’s far from the reality businesses face today—and, in my opinion, in the foreseeable future.
www.forbes.com
May 14, 2025 at 5:49 PM
"A Gartner report predicts that by 2028, regulations in the EU may mandate the "right to talk to a human," emphasizing the enduring demand for human interaction...Rather than making call centers obsolete, AI is set to redefine the role of human agents."
www.forbes.com/councils/for...
www.forbes.com/councils/for...
"We find that rising income inequality increases the likelihood of radical right support – most pronouncedly among individuals with high subjective social status and lower-middle incomes."
www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1... #economy #politics
www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1... #economy #politics
The threat of social decline: income inequality and radical right support
Income inequality and radical right parties have both been on the rise in Western democracies, yet few studies explore the linkages between the two – despite prominent arguments about voters feelin...
www.tandfonline.com
May 11, 2025 at 1:04 PM
"We find that rising income inequality increases the likelihood of radical right support – most pronouncedly among individuals with high subjective social status and lower-middle incomes."
www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1... #economy #politics
www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1... #economy #politics
What piece can I use to introduce undergraduate students to international HRM and employment relations? The ideal is for it to be interesting and thought provoking.
April 15, 2025 at 6:52 PM
What piece can I use to introduce undergraduate students to international HRM and employment relations? The ideal is for it to be interesting and thought provoking.
Postsecondary education institutions are among the most trusted institutions in Canada. Virtually tied with the military, and more trusted than banks, hospitals, and the police. According to research from the @caut.bsky.social.
www.caut.ca/bulletin/202... #cdnpoli #canpoli
www.caut.ca/bulletin/202... #cdnpoli #canpoli
Public opinion / New CAUT poll: Post-secondary education enjoys high
By Brad Lavigne This May, the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) asked Counsel Public Affairs to do a deep dive into Canadian opinions and attitudes on post-seconda
www.caut.ca
April 15, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Postsecondary education institutions are among the most trusted institutions in Canada. Virtually tied with the military, and more trusted than banks, hospitals, and the police. According to research from the @caut.bsky.social.
www.caut.ca/bulletin/202... #cdnpoli #canpoli
www.caut.ca/bulletin/202... #cdnpoli #canpoli
New study! We find that unions and works councils nudge managers towards less abusive monitoring and discipline, and more developmental coaching in remote work. Focus is call centers in N America and Germany.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.... #industrialrelations #work #RemoteWork #economy
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.... #industrialrelations #work #RemoteWork #economy
Worker Voice and Mutual Gains From Remote Performance Management: Evidence From Digitalized Services in North America and Germany
You have to enable JavaScript in your browser's settings in order to use the eReader.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
April 7, 2025 at 2:39 PM
New study! We find that unions and works councils nudge managers towards less abusive monitoring and discipline, and more developmental coaching in remote work. Focus is call centers in N America and Germany.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.... #industrialrelations #work #RemoteWork #economy
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.... #industrialrelations #work #RemoteWork #economy
Reposted by Sean O'Brady
This morning, FACULTY UNIONS led by @aaup.bsky.social sued the Trump administration over the unlawful funding cuts at Columbia. We will not let the federal government use coercion to rob us of academic freedom and critical research!
So proud of my union!
protectdemocracy.org/wp-content/u...
So proud of my union!
protectdemocracy.org/wp-content/u...
protectdemocracy.org
March 25, 2025 at 2:20 PM
This morning, FACULTY UNIONS led by @aaup.bsky.social sued the Trump administration over the unlawful funding cuts at Columbia. We will not let the federal government use coercion to rob us of academic freedom and critical research!
So proud of my union!
protectdemocracy.org/wp-content/u...
So proud of my union!
protectdemocracy.org/wp-content/u...
Our study finds that universities that rely more on international student tuition for revenue imposed more job insecurity on workers during covid + casual workers were most vulnerable. Co-authors: @gregbamber.bsky.social and Brian Cooper. Check it out!
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Academic Capitalism and Precarity in the Neoliberal University: Job Insecurity and Stress in Two Liberal Market Economies
This study analyses the relationship between academic capitalism and employment precarity. Drawing on two cross-national sources of survey data, we compare academics' experiences with job insecurity ...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
April 2, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Our study finds that universities that rely more on international student tuition for revenue imposed more job insecurity on workers during covid + casual workers were most vulnerable. Co-authors: @gregbamber.bsky.social and Brian Cooper. Check it out!
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
Proposed Conservative tax cuts would cost $12.2 billion, Liberal tax cuts would cost $5.4 billion. Turns out few poor people will benefit, and that benefit will be low. The cuts will mainly benefit wealthier Canadians.
- @davidmacdonald.bsky.social
thetyee.ca/Analysis/202... #cdnpoli #cdnecon
- @davidmacdonald.bsky.social
thetyee.ca/Analysis/202... #cdnpoli #cdnecon
Election Fact Check: Winners and Losers from the Tax-Cut Promises | The Tyee
The Liberals and Conservatives are both promising income tax cuts. But 9.6 million low-income Canadians won’t benefit.
thetyee.ca
March 30, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Proposed Conservative tax cuts would cost $12.2 billion, Liberal tax cuts would cost $5.4 billion. Turns out few poor people will benefit, and that benefit will be low. The cuts will mainly benefit wealthier Canadians.
- @davidmacdonald.bsky.social
thetyee.ca/Analysis/202... #cdnpoli #cdnecon
- @davidmacdonald.bsky.social
thetyee.ca/Analysis/202... #cdnpoli #cdnecon
"If real after-tax incomes for the bottom 50% had kept up with economic growth, 15 million Canadians would have had, on average, $6,450 more in their pocket in 2022"
www.taxfairness.ca/en/resources... #cdnecon #economy
www.taxfairness.ca/en/resources... #cdnecon #economy
Canada's affordability divide: How the 1%'s rise left millions behind
Affordability and neoliberalism
www.taxfairness.ca
March 15, 2025 at 1:33 PM
"If real after-tax incomes for the bottom 50% had kept up with economic growth, 15 million Canadians would have had, on average, $6,450 more in their pocket in 2022"
www.taxfairness.ca/en/resources... #cdnecon #economy
www.taxfairness.ca/en/resources... #cdnecon #economy
Quebec's gov. is trying to crush the right to strike. They want binding arbitration to replace many strikes, since arbitrators agree "that workers’ job, wages, and working conditions should be conditional on bumper profits for the bosses and investors."
www.wsws.org/en/articles/... #canlab #cdnpoli
www.wsws.org/en/articles/... #canlab #cdnpoli
Quebec government moves to eviscerate the right to strike
Bill 89, as Quebec’s CAQ government readily admits, was inspired by the actions of the federal Trudeau government, which in the last six months of 2024 repeatedly used a newly cooked-up reinterpretati...
www.wsws.org
March 15, 2025 at 2:48 AM
Quebec's gov. is trying to crush the right to strike. They want binding arbitration to replace many strikes, since arbitrators agree "that workers’ job, wages, and working conditions should be conditional on bumper profits for the bosses and investors."
www.wsws.org/en/articles/... #canlab #cdnpoli
www.wsws.org/en/articles/... #canlab #cdnpoli
Amazon clearly wants stop union momentum in the industry. Strong legislative supports for sectoral bargaining would be one way to combat these tactics. If all warehouses were covered by a master agreement, it wouldn't matter who's operating it.
montreal.citynews.ca/2025/01/22/s... #canlab
montreal.citynews.ca/2025/01/22/s... #canlab
Amazon closing Quebec warehouses, laying off 1,700 employees
Amazon is moving to a third-party delivery and in turn closing its seven warehouses in Quebec — with 1,700 regular employees set to be laid off between now and March. Amazon has warehouses in Laval, L...
montreal.citynews.ca
January 23, 2025 at 3:02 AM
Amazon clearly wants stop union momentum in the industry. Strong legislative supports for sectoral bargaining would be one way to combat these tactics. If all warehouses were covered by a master agreement, it wouldn't matter who's operating it.
montreal.citynews.ca/2025/01/22/s... #canlab
montreal.citynews.ca/2025/01/22/s... #canlab
What happens after a strike? How do management actions during strikes impact labour relations when the strike is over? I was asked these questions in an interview with the Canadian HR Reporter. Check out the article below:
www.hrreporter.com/focus-areas/...
#canlab #cdnpoli
www.hrreporter.com/focus-areas/...
#canlab #cdnpoli
The strike is over – now what?
'You can't buy back a relationship': When disputes like that involving Canada Post subside, the hard work continues, say three experts
www.hrreporter.com
January 9, 2025 at 4:28 PM
What happens after a strike? How do management actions during strikes impact labour relations when the strike is over? I was asked these questions in an interview with the Canadian HR Reporter. Check out the article below:
www.hrreporter.com/focus-areas/...
#canlab #cdnpoli
www.hrreporter.com/focus-areas/...
#canlab #cdnpoli
Reposted by Sean O'Brady
Ho-ho-ho, solidarité!
The Teamsters will launch the largest strike against Amazon in U.S. history beginning at 6 a.m. EST on Thurs., Dec. 19. The nationwide action follows Amazon’s repeated refusal to follow the law and bargain with the thousands of Amazon workers who organized with the Teamsters.
Let's fucking go! 🔥
Let's fucking go! 🔥
December 19, 2024 at 9:38 PM
Ho-ho-ho, solidarité!
Permanent exceptionalism continues for the regulation of labour conflict in Canada. The last suite of federal back-to-work orders are consistent with decades of neoliberal labour policies suppressing the rights of Canada's working class.
www.cbc.ca/news/politic... #cdnpoli #canlab
www.cbc.ca/news/politic... #cdnpoli #canlab
Labour minister asks Canada Industrial Relations Board to step into Canada Post contract dispute | CBC News
Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon is sending the labour dispute between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) to the Canada Industrial Relations Board.
www.cbc.ca
December 13, 2024 at 7:08 PM
Permanent exceptionalism continues for the regulation of labour conflict in Canada. The last suite of federal back-to-work orders are consistent with decades of neoliberal labour policies suppressing the rights of Canada's working class.
www.cbc.ca/news/politic... #cdnpoli #canlab
www.cbc.ca/news/politic... #cdnpoli #canlab
Reposted by Sean O'Brady
Explore Jeonghun Kim's @cornellilr.bsky.social review of Debbie Goldman's new book 'Disconnected' @illinoispress.bsky.social that documents how call center #workers exercised their collective agency and protected their working conditions under #neoliberal pressure.
December 9, 2024 at 3:09 PM
Explore Jeonghun Kim's @cornellilr.bsky.social review of Debbie Goldman's new book 'Disconnected' @illinoispress.bsky.social that documents how call center #workers exercised their collective agency and protected their working conditions under #neoliberal pressure.
This is what happens in the absence of a strong labour movement that can force companies to share their wealth.
December 12, 2024 at 7:24 PM
This is what happens in the absence of a strong labour movement that can force companies to share their wealth.
Reposted by Sean O'Brady
@sasemeeting.bsky.social is on bluesky! Submit your abstracts for SASE 2025 in Montreal: to networks on comparative capitalism, digital economy, finance and society, global value chains, postcolonialism and more…
Friendly reminder. this year's Montreal's conference deadlines are earlier than previous years - Dec 16!
For more information: sase.org/event/2025-m...
#SASE #SASE2025 #SASEMontreal2025
For more information: sase.org/event/2025-m...
#SASE #SASE2025 #SASEMontreal2025
2025 – Montréal - SASE
SASE is delighted to announce that its 37th annual conference will be hosted at the Palais des Congrès, Montréal from 9-12 July 2025.
sase.org
November 28, 2024 at 1:32 PM
@sasemeeting.bsky.social is on bluesky! Submit your abstracts for SASE 2025 in Montreal: to networks on comparative capitalism, digital economy, finance and society, global value chains, postcolonialism and more…
Reposted by Sean O'Brady
New @etui.bsky.social book, 'Experimenting for union renewal: challenges, illustrations and lessons' - Mélanie Laroche & Gregor Murray, eds. @kurtvandaele.bsky.social www.etui.org/publications...
www.etui.org
November 29, 2024 at 3:06 PM
New @etui.bsky.social book, 'Experimenting for union renewal: challenges, illustrations and lessons' - Mélanie Laroche & Gregor Murray, eds. @kurtvandaele.bsky.social www.etui.org/publications...
Reposted by Sean O'Brady
As @parismarx.com writes, the @cupwsttp.bsky.social strike raises the question of “not just what we want the future of Canada Post to be, but also what kind of society we want to live in.”
canadiandimension.com/articles/vie...
canadiandimension.com/articles/vie...
Planning the obsolescence of Canada Post
There is an unwillingness to entertain a future in which Canada Post’s role can evolve to serve the needs of Canadians. The degradation of delivery work by Amazon is accepted as a fait accompli, inste...
canadiandimension.com
December 3, 2024 at 1:31 AM
As @parismarx.com writes, the @cupwsttp.bsky.social strike raises the question of “not just what we want the future of Canada Post to be, but also what kind of society we want to live in.”
canadiandimension.com/articles/vie...
canadiandimension.com/articles/vie...
Reposted by Sean O'Brady
"The HIAL storm: Resisting the technological transformation of air traffic control".
In this newly published article, @huwthomas.bsky.social & Peter Turnbull demonstrate how different power resources can complement, but also compromise workers' interests.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
In this newly published article, @huwthomas.bsky.social & Peter Turnbull demonstrate how different power resources can complement, but also compromise workers' interests.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
The HIAL storm: Resisting the technological transformation of air traffic control
Whether and under what conditions the implementation of technology can be resisted hinges on how labour can mobilise structural, associational, institutional, coalitional and ideational power resourc...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 26, 2024 at 12:25 PM
"The HIAL storm: Resisting the technological transformation of air traffic control".
In this newly published article, @huwthomas.bsky.social & Peter Turnbull demonstrate how different power resources can complement, but also compromise workers' interests.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
In this newly published article, @huwthomas.bsky.social & Peter Turnbull demonstrate how different power resources can complement, but also compromise workers' interests.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Reposted by Sean O'Brady
So far, the federal government is signalling it will not intervene to end the Canada Post strike because the issues on the table need to be negotiated, not arbitrated
#canlab #cdnpoli
ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/212...
#canlab #cdnpoli
ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/212...
Grève à Postes Canada : pas de retour au travail en vue, dit le ministre du Travail
Le conflit pourrait encore durer plusieurs jours, selon le ministre fédéral du Travail Steven MacKinnon.
ici.radio-canada.ca
November 25, 2024 at 5:45 PM
So far, the federal government is signalling it will not intervene to end the Canada Post strike because the issues on the table need to be negotiated, not arbitrated
#canlab #cdnpoli
ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/212...
#canlab #cdnpoli
ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/212...