From Professor Stephanie Ross of York’s Work and Labour Studies Program at York, come this notice of an interesting panel discussion tomorrow at York University:
The annual Global Labour Speaker Series at York begins tomorrow, Thursday, October 3rd, 12-2 in the Sociology Common Room, Vari 2101. We are starting off with a panel on one of the most important issues facing young workers around the globe: the rise of unpaid labour especially in the form of internships. Here’s our panel:
Dr Nicole Cohen, “Resisting Free Labour: Interns Fight Back”
Dr. Cohen is Assistant Professor in the Institute of Communication, Culture and Information Technology at the University of Toronto Mississauga. She researches labour and organizing in the media and cultural industries and is tracking cultural workers’ responses to precarity in a collaborative research project with Greig de Peuter and Enda Brophy, called Cultural Workers Organize (culturalworkersorganize.org)
Andrew Langille, “The University-to-Wage Theft Pipeline: How Post-Secondary Institutions are Pushing Youths into Unpaid Internships”
Andrew Langille is a Toronto-based labour lawyer, the founder of YouthandWork.ca, and is the General Counsel of the Canadian Intern Association. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Guelph, a Juris Doctor from the University of Windsor, and a Master of Laws from Osgoode Hall Law School. Andrew’s graduate research focused on employment standards protections for young workers during the school-to-labour market transition.
Katherine Lapointe, “Bridging the Gap: Supporting and Building Capacity in Young Media Workers”
Katherine Lapointe is the Canadian University Press Associate Member Program coordinator for the Communication Workers of America – Canada. She works to connect student journalists with mentorship, training and networking opportunities, and advocates for rights for young workers, interns and freelance journalists. She has completed a masters degree in Environmental Studies at York University, where she focused on critical education.
Sean Smith, “Unpaid Workers in Canada’s Unfriendly Skies”

Dr Nicole Cohen, “Resisting Free Labour: Interns Fight Back”
Dr. Cohen is Assistant Professor in the Institute of Communication, Culture and Information Technology at the University of Toronto Mississauga. She researches labour and organizing in the media and cultural industries and is tracking cultural workers’ responses to precarity in a collaborative research project with Greig de Peuter and Enda Brophy, called Cultural Workers Organize (culturalworkersorganize.org)
Andrew Langille, “The University-to-Wage Theft Pipeline: How Post-Secondary Institutions are Pushing Youths into Unpaid Internships”
Andrew Langille is a Toronto-based labour lawyer, the founder of YouthandWork.ca, and is the General Counsel of the Canadian Intern Association. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Guelph, a Juris Doctor from the University of Windsor, and a Master of Laws from Osgoode Hall Law School. Andrew’s graduate research focused on employment standards protections for young workers during the school-to-labour market transition.
Katherine Lapointe, “Bridging the Gap: Supporting and Building Capacity in Young Media Workers”
Katherine Lapointe is the Canadian University Press Associate Member Program coordinator for the Communication Workers of America – Canada. She works to connect student journalists with mentorship, training and networking opportunities, and advocates for rights for young workers, interns and freelance journalists. She has completed a masters degree in Environmental Studies at York University, where she focused on critical education.
Sean Smith, “Unpaid Workers in Canada’s Unfriendly Skies”
Sean Smith is the mobilization coordinator for Unifor Local 2002 (formerly CAW), which represents workers in Canada’s airlines.