We’re delighted to invite you to join us for the workshop Workers Governing Technologies: Collective Strategies Across Contexts, which will take place at the University of Toronto on September 25 and 26. This will be an in-person only event with limited capacity, so if you plan to join us, we strongly encourage you to register as soon as possible.
The workshop will bring together 20 invited speakers from Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Spain, and the United States to exchange insights on worker-led governance of digital technologies—including platforms, data, and AI—through collective bargaining, co-op formation, and policy reform. It will feature roundtables on key themes such as collective bargaining, co-op formation, and policy reform in industries including culture, technology, delivery, and media. The format of the event is designed to be more collective and conversational, with the goal of collectively publishing a policy brief as one of the outcomes of the workshop.
Schedule
Thursday, September 25
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 9:00 am | Welcome
M.E. Luka (University of Toronto) Rafael Grohmann (University of Toronto) |
| 9:20 am | Introductions |
| 10:00 am | Roundtable
Collective Bargaining: Generative AI, Mobilizing and Organizing Katie Tibaldi (Writers Guild of America & @WGAStrikeUnite) Neal McDougall (The Writers Guild of Canada) Axel Gonzalez (Arte es Etica) Roseli Figaro (University of Sao Paulo) Juan Manuel Ottaviano (National University of San Martín) Simon Prefontaine (Communication Workers of America Canada & Bethesda Game Studios Montreal) Declan Ingham (Canadian Union of Public Employees, CUPE) Moderator: Hannah Johnston (York University) |
| 12:00 am | Collective Reflections |
| 12:30 pm | Lunch |
| 1:30 pm | Roundtable
Co-operative Formation: Technology, Platforms and Production Nuria Soto (Mensakas) Austin Robey (Subvert) David Ng (Seize the Means of Production) Gabriel Simeone (Tech Sector of the Homeless Worker Movement in Brazil) Victoria Hernandez (Factorial) Jason Wiener (Stocksy United) Colin Clark (Lichen) Luca Zuñiga Brenes (Alternativa Laboral Trans, ALT) Moderator: Greig de Peuter (Wilfrid Laurier University) |
| 3:30 pm | Break |
| 4:00 pm | Collective Reflections |
| 5:00 pm | End of Day 1 |
Friday, September 26
| Time | Event |
|---|---|
| 9:00 am | Sharing reflections from yesterday
Facilitated by Rafael Grohmann (University of Toronto) Opening Remarks by Alison Mountz (University of Toronto) |
| 9:30 am | Roundtable
Policy Reform: Responsive Labour Regulation for Digital Economy Krystal Kauffman (Distributed AI Research, DAIR) Cecilia Munoz Cancela (Argentine Federation of Tech Co-ops, FACTTIC) Ricard Espelt (Open University of Catalonia) Paula Montagner (Ministry of Labour, Brazilian Government) Lucas Milanez (University of Sao Paulo & DigiLabour) Jennifer Scott (Gig Workers United) Clarissa Ribeiro Schinestsck (Labour Prosecution Office, Brazil) Moderator: Asmita Bhutani (York University) |
| 11:30 am | Collective Reflections |
| 12:00 am | Lunch |
| 1:00 pm | Walking Tour: The Ma Moosh Ka Win Valley Trail |
| 2:30 pm | Discussing and Writing
Collaboratively Drafting Directions for a Policy Brief Facilitators: Julia Parke (University of Toronto) and Ashique Ali Thuppilikkat (University of Toronto) |
| 5:00 pm | Closing |
| 8:00 pm | A Collective Celebration!
Amigos da Dundas Bar, 1570 Dundas St W |
This workshop is co-funded by the SSHRC Connection Program, the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC), the Creative Labour and Critical Futures project (CLCF/ UTSC), the Brazilian Institute of Science and Technology / Informational Sovereignty and Disputes (INCT/DSI), the Institute for Inclusive Economies and Sustainable Livelihoods (IIESL/ UTSC), the Centre for Learning, Social Economy & Work at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto (CLSEW/ OISE/UofT), the Knowledge Media Design Institute (KMDI/ UofT) and Data Privacy Brasil Research.
Organizing Committee
Rafael Grohmann (University of Toronto)
Asmita Bhutani (York University)
Hannah Johnston (York University)
Vera Khovanskaya (University of Toronto)
Greig de Peuter (Wilfrid Laurier University)
Ashique Ali Thuppilikkat (University of Toronto)
Daphne Idiz (University of Toronto)
Julia Parke (University of Toronto)
CLCF Co-Director & Assistant Professor
Rafael Grohmann is a Co-lead and Co-Director of the Creative Labour and Critical Futures (CLCF) cluster and an Assistant Professor of Media Studies (Critical Platform Studies) at the University of Toronto. Rafael is the leader of the DigiLabour initiative and founding editor of the Platforms & Society journal.
