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I am Bir Bahadur Ale, and I graduated with my Post Graduate Diploma's degree in Labour and Globalization from Berlin School of Economics and Law (The Global Labour University Network) in 2012. I am currently the Coordinator of the Amnesty International Nepal Labour Group. I am also the Director for Free Forum for Rights (FFR) Nepal an NGO advocating, campaigning for human rights, social justice and doing research in those fields. Since 2005, I have been working as correspondent for Labourstart a UK based labour news and campaigning website of the international trade union movement.
Alexander Banaag is a National Representative and Organizer for The United Food and Commercial Workers Canada Union and VP and Board member of UFCW Minority Coalition. He received his BSAH, DVSM in Central Luzon State University, Philippines. In 1998, Alex migrated to Canada and worked 2 jobs. His employment in Maple Lodge farms allowed him to be recognized by his local union on his service to his co -workers as a Union steward and Organizing skills as a Special Projects Union Representative. During his time at UPS Canada, he was included as part of Health and safety committee. With his dedication in helping the Filipino community in labor and social justice issues, he was hired as an organizer at UFCW Canada. Through this job, Alex reaches many Filipinos and educates them on workers’ rights and labour laws. He is also a member of the Filipino Workers Network Steering Committee under the Toronto -York labour Council. Recently, Alex has been recognized by MPP Doly Begum and was awarded the Good Neighbours Award for his efforts in making Filipino Heritage month a reality in Ontario along with his service and dedication to the Filipino Canadian community during the pandemic.
Robert Buchanan worked for 35 years in the labour movement, first on the shop floor, on the local executive, and then on the staff for three unions in Canada. His experience is unique because he worked in both public and private sector unions, representing workers in both public and private workplaces. He worked as a researcher, negotiator, and arbitration specialist. Robert has personally been responsible for some precedent-setting awards in both interest and rights arbitrations. In 1996, he worked on negotiating the largest pay equity plan in the broader public sector. Some 30 years ago, Robert was a student in York University's Labour Studies program, and the first York student to go to Sweden on an exchange program. He would like nothing more than to share his experiences with the students at York.
Angelo DiCaro is Director of Research with Unifor, Canada’s largest private sector union. Angelo oversees a variety of research files, including international trade policy as well as sector work in auto, auto parts and retail. A labour activist prior to coming on staff with the union, Angelo held a number of elected union positions as a member of Unifor Local 414, including shop steward and bargaining committee representative, while working as a part-time meat clerk at Dominion Stores (now Metro Stores) in Toronto. He holds a Masters of Industrial Relations degree from the University of Toronto as well as degrees in Labour Studies and Sociology from York University. Angelo has been on staff with Unifor (formerly the Canadian Auto Workers union) since 2006. You can follow him on twitter @sindicato9.
Mary Gellatly is Community Legal Worker, Workers’ Rights Division at Parkdale Community Legal Services. Mary has extensive experience in the area of workers’ rights and community outreach and organization. She was one of the co-founders of the Workers’ Action Centre. Mary conducts community action research with the Workers’ Action Centre and develops labour policy. She has also published several articles and policy reports including Still Working on the Edge: building decent jobs from the ground up [PDF](Workers’ Action Centre 2015); Unpaid Wages, Unprotected Workers: A Survey of Employment Standards Violations (Workers’ Action Centre, 2011); and, Working on the Edge [PDF](Workers’ Action Centre, 2007).
Pablo Godoy is Regional Director, Western Canada of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW).
Ali Rıza Güngen is a political scientist whose research focuses on dependent financialization, state transformations and public banks in the Global South. His articles appeared in The Journal of Peasant Studies and New Political Economy and he published extensively on the political economy of the emerging economies. Dr. Güngen co-edited the 2019 book The Political Economy of Financial Transformation in Turkey, published by Routledge, and is the co-author of Financialization, Debt Crisis and Collapse: The Future of Global Capitalism (in Turkish). His new book Politics of Debt: Financial Inclusion in Turkey was published in 2021 (in Turkish). Dr. Güngen has served as a member of the executive board of Turkish Social Sciences Association. He sits at the editorial board of social sciences journal Praksis and is currently Middle East Studies Association Global Academy Fellow. His recent research inquires the limits and possibilities of the uses of public banks for an equity-oriented post-pandemic recovery in the global South.
Guio Jacinto is an economic researcher with the United Steelworkers in the Department of Research, Collective Bargaining and Public Policy. Guio provides bargaining and economic/financial analysis support to various locals, particularly in the mining and long term care sectors. His main research interests are in the areas of macroeconomics, monetary and fiscal policy, labor economics and the economics of trade unions. Prior to joining the Union as a staff member, Guio worked in the steel industry and was a member of USW local 14162, where he was a member of the bargaining committee and Trustee for the local. He holds a BA in Political Science from McMaster University and an MA in Political Science from York University where he is also a PhD candidate.
Luna Li is an articling law student at Whitten & Lublin. Luna recently graduated from Osgoode Hall Law School, where she earned the Dean’s Gold Key Award for academic leadership and community involvement, and the Law of Work Award for her demonstrated interest and efforts in practicing employment and labour law.
Once a human resources professional, Luna found her passion for dispute resolution from her first-hand experience in workforce reorganization, compensation analytics and employee/labour relations management. On the other side, her hands-on experience supporting individuals with their human rights claims at the Ontario Human Rights Legal Support Centre gained her true understanding of workers’ needs for access to justice. In her law practice career, Luna aims to become a strategic negotiator and a results-driven litigator to help individuals and organizations go through their challenging times, to contribute to a better workplace, and to support clients with transition in their meaningful careers. In her spare time, she likes researching technology's impacts on the workplace as well as individuals' financial independence. She enjoys attending research conferences while travelling and meeting people.
Luna speaks fluent Mandarin and has been actively involved in the Asian Canadian communities for years through her volunteer work in newcomer programs and charity events.
Manzur Malik works for the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) as a Research Officer. He has been with OPSEU for over a decade. Prior to OPSEU, Manzur worked within the labour movement in various capacities. In Bangladesh, he was the Campaigns Coordinator at the Solidarity Centre (affiliated with the AFL-CIO), where he worked towards improving labour relations in the garment sector. Later in Ontario, Manzur briefly worked as an organizer for UNITE HERE. During graduate school at York University, while working as a Teaching Assistant, Manzur became increasingly involved with his Union – CUPE 3903. He was first elected as a VP and then subsequently as its Chair. Manzur is passionate about social justice and his expertise are in the areas of collective bargaining, interest arbitration, and public policy.
Dr. Judith Mintz graduated from York University's PhD program in Gender, Feminist and Women's Studies in 2019. Her dissertation, "What is Critical Yoga Studies? Gender, Health and Cross-Cultural Consumption of Yoga in Contemporary North America," is a multi-site ethnography of yoga practitioners and links political economy, critical race theory, and feminist embodiment theories to produce an analysis of urban yoga as a site of commoditization and healthism. Dr. Mintz's recent publications include "'Because it’s 2015!' Justin Trudeau’s Yoga Body, Masculinity, and Canadian Nation-Building" in the Journal of Feminist Studies (2021, co-authored with Jennifer Musial) and "'It Was Such Good Medicine for Me': Contesting the Body Project of Yoga, Health, and Ideal Femininity" in Body Studies in Canada, published by Canadian Scholars Press. In 2016, Judith presented her work on yoga teachers, health, and precarious work at the GLRC Symposium and published in GLRC Symposium Proceedings (2017). Judith is faculty in York's Bridging Program for Women, and since February 2020, Judith has worked as a Research Analyst with Native Child and Family Services of Toronto, where she conducts program evaluations, community consultations, anti-racism initiatives, and Indigenous research ethics and policy management. Judith is also a mother of two daughters.
Leah Nicholson is a researcher with expertise and interest in migrant and refugee issues. She holds a BA in Political Science from York University and a Diploma in Social Service Work, specializing in Immigrant and Refugee studies, from Seneca College.
Chris Roberts is the National Director of the Social and Economic Policy Department of the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC). Canada’s principal labour central, the CLC is the umbrella organization for more than 50 affiliated Canadian and international unions, as well as 13 provincial and territorial federations of labour, and over 100 regional labour councils. The role of the Social and Economic Policy Department of the Congress is to provide research support and policy advice to the elected leadership and affiliated unions of the CLC. Chris joined the Congress in 2011, and assumed the role of National Director in 2014. Prior to his current work, he received a Ph.D. in Political Science from York University, and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at McMaster University. Chris is author of Pension Confidential (Lorimer, 2012), with Robert Drummond, and co-editor of The Contradictions of Pension Fund Capitalism (LERA, 2018). He lives and works in Ottawa.
Ms. Viki Scott, RC (c); BSc; RRP; CHRM; MBA; ADR (c) is the President and Principal Consultant of Scott & Associates Inc. She currently manages a successful National Consulting Firm of which provides solutions to Canadian based companies with at concentration in Labour Management Relations, Conflict Risk Management, Occupational Health and Safety , Human Rights, Workplace Investigations, Organizational Development and Effectiveness, and General Business Advisory Services. Her firm also provides lobbying and advocacy services to their not for profit and broader public service clients. Viki has an extensive history with both the public and private sectors, primarily in unionized environments. She has led significant change management initiatives for major public, non for profit and private sector organizations. Viki has a particular expertise in labour management relations, with both employer and union sided experience, and has been successful in introducing workplace interest based consensus models for managing identified areas of conflict. She has established a reputation for the effective work she has led resulting from her Transformative Mediation skills she brings to the parties for resolving conflict.Her leadership positions include the Ontario Ministry of Community Safety and Correctional Services, Workplace Health and Safety Agency, OPSEU, Extendicare, Canada, KPMG.
Navjeet Sidhu is a researcher with Unifor and has been involved in research and policy work in both the labour movement and community sector for over a decade. His research focuses on issues relating to labour, income security, migration and anti-racism. He has been involved with a number of advocacy groups, campaigns and organizations, including the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, $15 and Fairness, No One is Illegal, Canadian Labour International Film Festival, and the Council of Canadians.