W. Steven Tufts | EUC | York University

Associate Professor

Credentials

PhD Geography, York University
MA Geography, Queen's University
BA (Honours) Geography, McGill University

Research Keywords

Labour Geography; Urban Economic Development; Labour Market Adjustment; Populism.

Contact Information

4700 Keele Street
Toronto, ON M3J 1P3

416 736 2100

tufts@yorku.ca

Research Interests

I am a labour geographer who focuses on the geographies of work, workers, and organized labour. My current research studies the use of strategic research as part of labour union renewal, the role of unions in urban economic development, labour market adjustment in tourism related sectors in response to crises and climate change, and the impact of growing populism on organized labour. The aim of my research is to better understand how workers through collective action can shape our economic landscapes in ways that are more socially just and environmentally sustainable. I have contributed to a number of edited collections and published articles in journals such as Geoforum, Environment and Planning A, and Antipode.

I have taught a range of courses in geography from the introductory to the PhD level. I integrate contemporary cases into my teaching and prefer students learn by applying critical geographical knowledge to their everyday lives and experiences. The classroom is viewed as a place where students can develop skills for deeper engagement with their workplaces and communities.

Research Projects

Tufts, S, (Principal Investigator), Thomas, M, MacDonald, I (Co-Investigator) Spaces of labour in moments of urban populism, SSHRC Insight Grant 2016-2022 ($196,406).

This project is recruiting both MA and PhD students. It explores labour's response to and role in shaping urban populism in four North American cities and involves students as part of the research team.

Research Output

Tufts, S, M. Thomas and I. MacDonald 2020 Austerity Urbanism, Populism, and Labour. In C Levine-Rasky and L. Kowalchuk (eds) We Resist: Defending the Common Good in Hostile Times. Montreal: MQUP.

Thomas, M and S Tufts 2020 Blue Solidarity: Police Unions, Race and Authoritarian Populism in North America 'Blue Solidarity': Police Unionism in North America in an Era of Right-Wing Populism. Work, Employment and Society, 34 (1) 126–144.

Mills, S and Tufts S 2019 Innis’ Ghost: Canada’s Changing Resource Economy In Thomas, M, Vosko, L. Fanelli, C, and (eds) New Canadian Political Economy. Montreal: MQUP pp 106-127.

Tufts S 2019 The Geography of the Ontario Service Economy. In Greg Albo Robert MacDermid, Charles Smith (eds) Divided Province: Ontario Politics in the Age of Neoliberalism, University of Toronto Press, pp 77-102.

Tufts S 2018 Chapter 46: World Cities and Union Renewal. In X. Ren and R. Keil (eds) The Globalizing Cities Reader, 2nd Edition. New York: Routledge pp 319-324.

Tufts S 2017 Organized Labor and Casino Politics in Toronto. In Ian MacDonald (ed) Unions and the City: Negotiating Urban Change. Cornell University, ILR Press pp 53-73.

Brogan, P and Tufts, S 2017 "Labour Geography" in The International Encyclopedia of Geography: People, the Earth, Environment, and Technology. Douglas Richardson (Editor-in-Chief) Oxford, Wiley 3902-3909.

Tufts S 2017 "Unionism, Community" for publication in The International Encyclopedia of Geography: People, the Earth, Environment, and Technology. Douglas Richardson (Editor-in-Chief) Oxford, Wiley.

Tufts, S and Thomas M. 2017 The Christian Labour Association of Canada (CLAC): Between Company and Populist Unionism Labour/Le Travail 80, 55-80.

Tufts, S and Thomas M 2017 The University in the Populist Age, Academic Matters, Spring 2-6.

Thomas, M and S Tufts 2016 ‘Enabling Dissent’: Contesting Austerity and Right Populism in Toronto, Canada The Economic and Labour Relations Review 27(1) 29–45.

Thomas, M and S Tufts 2016 Unions Confront Austerity and Populism in Canada. Antipode. 48(1), 212-230.

Tufts S and S. Milne 2015 Labour and the Greening of Hospitality: Raising Standards or Union Greenwashing? In Carla Lipsig-Mummé and Stephen McBride (eds) Work in a Warming World. Kingston: McGill-Queen’s pp 173-194.

Jordhus-Lier, D and Tufts S 2015 Conclusion: Five challenges for solidarity and representation in hospitality workplaces. In David Jordhus-Lier and Anders Underthun (eds) A Hospitable World? Organising Work and Workers in Hotels and Tourist Resorts, London: Routledge pp 213-225.

2015 The hotel sector in an age of uncertainty: A labour perspective. In David Jordhus-Lier and Anders Underthun (eds) A Hospitable World? Organising Work and Workers in Hotels and Tourist Resorts, London: Routledge pp 52-66.

Tufts, S and Milne, S 2015 Greening, Green-Washing, and Union Activism in Hospitality. Women and Environments International Vol 94/95 Fall 2014/Winter 2015 41-43.

Tufts, S and M. Thomas 2014 Populist Unionism Confronts Austerity in Canada. Labor Studies Journal 39:1 60–82.

Carey J and S Tufts 2014 'Greening work' in Lean Times: The Amalgamated Transit Union and Public Transit Alternate Routes, 25:207-233.

Courses

Course Code	Title
GEOG 3520	Designing and Conducting Research
GEOG 5208	Doctoral Seminar in Theory
GEOG 3800	Geographies of Work, Workers, and Workplaces