2013 In Review and What's Ahead for 2014

I rarely post updates about the state of the blog itself, but I thought that one was in order since a new year is upon us. 

On The Blog

When I started the blog I wasn't sure about what direction it would take or whether it would resonate with people. It has succeeded far beyond any of my expectations and certainly has become a platform for highlighting critical issues that are going unaddressed. 

The blog has evolved beyond the traditional legal blog into something different, but at the core workplace law and labour market issues remain the focus. Going forward I suspect that there will be greater focus on public policy issues impacting youths such as intergenerational equity, institutional dynamics, and how our political system is a gerontocracy.

Youth and Work won the 2013 Clawbies Legal Culture Award! This the second time the blog has won a Clawbie (the first was for Best Practitioner Blog in 2011). The Clawbies are the Oscars of the Canadian legal blogging community. Workplace law blogs did really well this year with Yosie St-Cyr and her team winning Best Canadian Law Blog for First Reference Talks and Lisa Stam winning Best Practitioner Blog for Employment and Human Rights Law in Canada. 

What Happened in 2013?

2013 was a great year. Here are a few of my thoughts about the year that just passed.

Foremost, it was the year that the intern rights movement made big strides both in Canada and internationally. In Canada we saw legislation being put forward in Ontario and at the Federal level to begin to address this insidious problem for youths entering the labour market. A special thanks goes out to Davenport MP Andrew Cash for his efforts in including language about unpaid internships in the National Urban Workers Strategy he recently tabled in the House of Commons; additionally, Justin Trudeau and Kings-Hants MP Scott Brison should be commended for speaking out against unpaid internships.

Groups like the Canadian Intern Association, Stop Unpaid Internship Scams, and the University of Toronto Students' Union were at the forefront of combating this issue in Canada and increasingly it appears that governments will be forced to take action. In the United States, Eric Glatt won a decisive victory against Fox Searchlight Pictures over the use of unpaid internships during the production of Black Swan. There was also some great investigative reporting on internships with ProPublica launching #ProjectIntern and the Toronto Star running numerous articles (see: here, here, here, here, here, and here).

A pillar in Venice.

Despite the victories, it's critical that people realize that rights for young workers is a serious public policy issue. In September the CBC reported on the tragic death of Andy Ferguson who died after being forced to work an excessive number of hours. In London, Bank of America intern Moritz Erhardt died after working seventy-two hours straight. Shortly before Christmas it was reported that Wayne Affleck, a St. Clair College co-op student, was electrocuted while working (possibly unpaid) for EnerQuest Services Inc.

On a wonkish note I want to raise the issue of precarious work. The Law Commission of Ontario released a groundbreaking report on vulnerable workers and precarious work in February 2013. I highly recommend that anyone interested in labour market issues read the final report and consider the recommendations. While the report doesn't offer a total solution to the rise of precarious work, it does represent an acknowledgement at the official level that Ontario's labour market is changing for the worst. Bill 146 was tabled at Queen's Park in December is a direct response to the recommendations.

Finally, I got to take some of my research on the road this year. I gave talks at Brock University, Ryerson University, York University, and the University of Toronto. Also, in October I presented a paper at ADAPT's conference on internships and traineeships at the University of Bergamo. I had a swell time in Italy and met so many lovely people. 

What's Ahead For 2014?

This year is a big election year at the municipal and provincial level. I'm going to be using the blog to highlight the horrific gaps in public policy (i.e. affordable childcare, racial profiling, etc.) and how politicians aren't responding to the needs of youths (i.e. tuition fees, unpaid labour, institutional inaction, etc.). I'm going to writing a bit more about how young workers can advocate for themselves and for institutional change within organizations. I'm going to be continuing the road show as well and I have tentative stops lined up in Kitchener-Waterloo, Halifax, and Portland, Oregon.

Here are some groups and individuals to watch out for in 2014. I've been enjoying the work of Generation Squeeze, Echo Canada, and Paul Kershaw on issues of intergenerational equity and rebalancing spending amongst generations. One of my favourite commentators as of late is Sarah Kendizor who has great analysis on economic issues. I've quite enjoyed Steph Guthrie's poignant observations on feminism. David Doorey's Law of Work blog remains a perennial favourite and he offers the best analysis on Canadian labour law issues. South of the border I've really enjoyed the following: Jacobin Magazine; David Yamada's Minding the Workplace blog; Steven Greenhouse; Chaumtoli Huq's Law at the Margins blog; and, Vice Magazine (it has really improved since I started reading it in the mid-1990s).