John Peters
Position at MUN Sociology:* Associate Professor
Degrees/credentials:* BA, MA, PhD
Contract Information
Phone: 709-864-2086
Email: jpeters13@mun.ca
Office: A-4069
Areas of Expertise (check all that are relevant):*
o Labour Sociology o Political Sociology
o Environmental Sociology o Comparative Political Economy
o Income Inequality o Decarbonization/Just Transition
Teaching 2024
Winter
BUSI 3335 Labour Relations
SOCI 6360 Sociology of Work
Spring
EMRE 6040 Research Seminar in Employment Relations
SOCI 6350 Environmental Sociology
Personal Profile
- John Peters is an associate professor in the Faculty of Business Administration and the Department of Sociology. He holds a master’s degree in history from the University of Michigan and a PhD in Political Science from York University. His research interests include trade unions and labour relations, inequality and comparative public policy, as well as decarbonization and environmental labour studies. His most recent publications include Jobs with Inequality: Financialization, Post-Democracy, and Labour Market Deregulation in Canada (University of Toronto Press, 2022) and Canadian Labour Policy and Politics (with D. Wells) (University of British Columbia Press, 2022). In addition to his role at Memorial, he is a Research Fellow at the Inter-University Research Centre on Globalization and Work (CRIMT) at the University of Montreal, where he is also an associated professor with the School of Industrial Relations (ÉRI). At Memorial, he teaches Labour and Environmental Sociology, Labour Relations, as well as Sustainability, Decarbonization, and Just Transition polices in the Master of Employment Relations program.
Honours/Awards/Accreditations:
2023. SSHRC Engage Grant: “Les syndicats face à la crise climatique: Analyse stratégique des ressources et des moyens d’action à mettre en œuvre au plan local.” (Co-investigator)
2022. SSHRC Connection Grant: “The Climate Crisis and the Future of Work,” (Co-investigator)
2017-24. SSHRC Partnership Grant: “Institutional Experimentation for Better Work” (Co-investigator)
Affiliations
Research Fellow, the Interuniversity Research Centre on Globalization and Work (CRIMT), University of Montréal, Montréal Quebec
Associated Professor, School of Industrial Relations, University of Montréal, Montréal Quebec
Associated Professor, Department of Politics, York University, Toronto Ontario
Current Research/Selected Publications:
Books
John Peters, Jobs with Inequality: Financialization, Post-Democracy and Labour Market Deregulation in Canada. Toronto, ON: University of Toronto Press, 2022.
John Peters and Don Wells, eds. Canadian Labour Policy and Politics. Vancouver, BC: UBC Press, 2022. (Hill Times Best 100 Books of 2022)
Journal Articles
Mathieu Dupuis, John Peters, and Philppe Scrimger, “Financialization and Union Decline: The Influence of Sectors and Core Industries,” Competition and Change 24, no. 3-4 (2020): 268-290.
Christopher Kollmeyer and John Peters, “Financialization and the Decline of Organized Labor: A Study of 18 Advanced Capitalist Countries, 1970-2012” Social Forces Vol. 98 no. 1 (2019): 1-30.
Book Chapters
John Peters.. “Climate Jobs New York: A Labour-led Climate Coalition,” in Experimenting for Union Renewal: Challenges, Illustrations, and Lessons, eds G. Murray and M. Laroche. Geneva: International Labor Organization. (Forthcoming)
John Peters. “Finding Better Ways out of the Covid-19 Pandemic” in Canadian Labour Policy and Politics eds. J. Peters and D. Wells. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2022.
John Peters. “Globalization, Work and Employment Regulation” in Canadian Labour Policy and Politics eds. J. Peters and D. Wells. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2022.
John Peters. “Provincial Governments and the Politics of Deregulation” in Canadian Labour Policy and Politics eds. J. Peters and D. Wells. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2022.
John Peters. “Inequality” in Canadian Political Economy, ed. Heather Whiteside. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2020.
John Peters. “The Ontario Growth Model: The ‘End of the Road’ Or the Rise of a “New Economy”? Divided Province: Ontario Politics in the Age of Neoliberalism eds. Greg Albo and Bryan Evans. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2019.
Applied Research Reports
John Peters. Ontario Has a Dirty Gas Addiction That’s Worse than You Think, Environmental Defence, (forthcoming).
John Peters. Building Newfoundland and Labrador’s Low-Carbon, Jobs-Rich Economy – A Roadmap for the Newfoundland and Labrador’s Federation of Labour’, Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour, Policy Report, 2021.
John Peters. Building Canada’s Clean Energy Economy with a Just Transition,’ Blue Green Ideas Submission to Canada’s Just Transition Consultation, 2021.
Personal Research Summary
Canada and the world currently face two major crises: inequality which threatens the vitality of our communities; and the climate crisis which threatens to make our world uninhabitable. My research examines the drivers of these problems and assesses their most practical solutions.
My recent books – Jobs with Inequality (University of Toronto Press, 2022) and Canadian Labour Policy and Politics (University of British Columbia Press, 2022) - explores the current problems posed by finance and public policy and how it is possible to create a strong, equitable and resilient economy by creating high-quality jobs and building a diverse and inclusive workforce.
Currently I am working with colleagues at the Inter-University Research Centre on Globalization and Work (CRIMT) at the University of Montreal conducting cutting-edge policy studies on the auto, steel and aluminum industries, as well as developing innovative training and education programs to help unions and workers navigate the transition to a zero-carbon economy. Working with experts from several backgrounds, this project seeks to develop the capacities of world of work actors to support clean energy targets while creating new union jobs that help drive a more equitable economy.