Resistance is Futile: On the Under-Representation of Unions in Science Fiction

This article surveys science fiction (SF) since 1980, and queries the conspicuous under-representation of recognizable images of unions in popular SF, which includes, in contrast, numerous images and narratives of corporate business. According to theories of unionism, science fiction studies and Mark Fisher’s theory of “capitalist realism,” the co-authors theorize this pattern of under-representation, and, in the process, identify and analyze a very small but diverse body of SF works from this period that do include images of unions, in ways that range from the symptomatic to the radically suggestive

The Regulatory Exclusion of Agricultural Workers in Alberta

The opportunity structure facing waged agricultural workers seeking basic statutory employment rights in the Canadian province of Alberta is hostile, reflecting the intertwined political and economic interests of farmers, the provincial government, and agribusiness. This article outlines the contours of the political opportunities and constraints facing labour groups and agricultural workers seeking legislative change. Analysis suggests there is little opportunity at present to alter this legislative exclusion

Understanding the Absence of Unionized Workers in Rural Alberta, Canada

This preliminary study spatially locates 333,881 unionized workers in the Canadian province of Alberta, identifying that a disproportionate percentage of unionized workers are located in urban centres and in bargaining units of greater than 100 members. Most unionized rural workers are found in large, public-sector bargaining units. Interviews with trade unionists suggest possible explanations for this pattern, including the unequal distribution of capital, rural workers’ spatial embeddedness, unions’ preference for large bargaining units, and the differentially and negative impact of weak labour laws on rural workers. Keywords: unions; rural; labor geography; Alberta; Canada ----------------------------------------------------- Cette étude préliminaire localise géographiquement 333 881 travailleurs syndiqués dans la province de l'Alberta, au Canada, identifiant qu'un pourcentage disproportionné de travailleurs syndiqués sont localisés dans les centres urbains et dans les centres de négociation. Des entrevues avec des syndicalistes suggèrent des explications possibles à ces tendances, incluant la répartition inégale du capital, l'intégration spatiale du travailleur rural, la préférence des syndicats pour de grandes unités de négociation, et les impacts différentiels et négatifs des lois du travail inadaptées aux travailleurs ruraux

Regulation of Child and Adolescent Employment in Alberta

As part of a broader assessment of how well the Government of Alberta’s labour programming contributes to fair and, to a lesser degree, safe workplaces, this study examines how effectively the government enforces the Employment Standards Code provisions regulating child and adolescent employment. Enforcement strategies appear to emphasize softer forms of regulation and thereby create little disincentive for violations. Preliminary research into the employment levels of children (age 9-11) suggests over 11,000 children are employed, some perhaps illegally, and that further inquiry into their employment experiences is warranted

Learner Motivation and Classroom Engagement during the COVID-19 Pandemic

紀要論文/Departmental Bulletin Paperdepartmental bulletin pape

Children Working Alone in Alberta: How Child Labour and Working Alone Regulations Interact

The Canadian province of Alberta does not effectively enforce its child labour laws. This non-enforcement interacts with the working-alone regulations in Alberta’s Occupational Health and Safety Act to deny workers under age 15 meaningful solo work protection. As a result, children and adolescents are exposed to the hazards adults face while working alone as well as hazards unique to children and adolescents working alone. This suggests that failing to enforce child labour laws has both obvious and subtle effects. The subtle effects are difficult to identify and remediate, in part because of the initial regulatory failure is politically difficult to acknowledge

No Right to be Safe: Justifying the Exclusion of Alberta Farm Workers from Health and Safety Legislations

Alberta remains the only Canadian province to exclude agricultural workers from the ambit of its occupational health and safety laws. Consequently, farm workers have no right to know about workplace safety hazards and no right to refuse unsafe work, thereby increasing their risk of a workplace injury. This study uses qualitative content analysis to identify three narratives used by government members of the legislative assembly between 2000 and 2010 to justify the continued exclusion of agricultural workers from basic health and safety rights. These narratives are: (1) education is better than regulation, (2) farms cannot be regulated, and (3) farmers don’t want and can’t afford regulation. Analysis of these narratives reveals them to be largely invalid, raising the question of why government members rely upon these narratives. The electoral rewards associated with maintaining this exclusion may comprise part of the explanation

The Validity of Alberta Safety Statistics

This study examines the validity of injury statistics used to monitor workplace safety in the Canadian province of Alberta. These indicators were found to significantly under-report the rate of injury and to be vulnerable to gaming by both employers and the workers’ compensation board. These threats to the validity of the measures should limit the inferences drawn from the measures. Injury-based statistics were also found to be inadequate proxies for the broader construct of workplace safety. The political feasibility of alternative measures is also discussed

Narratives Justifying Unregulated Child Labour in Agriculture

Canadian governments statutorily limit the employment of children under the age of 15. Nevertheless, child agricultural employment in the Province of Alberta is largely unregulated. This paper identifies and evaluates the narratives used to justify this exclusion. Analysis suggests these rationales are at once both deficient and robust and they draw attention away from the interplay between economic pressures facing agricultural operators and the limited social rights of children