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David O'Connell

@daviduk.bsky.social

1.9K followers 12K following 79 posts

🍞⚘️ तत्त्वमसि PhD | Trade Unionist | Global Labour University Alum | Occasional Jacobin Contributor | Writing on Employee Ownership, Supply Chain Industrial Relations, Philosophy 📍Germany based https://global-labour-university.org/

global-labour-university.org

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David O'Connell @daviduk.bsky.social · 3d

The UK Conservative Party is the most successful political party in human history. Its sudden collapse signifies a fundamental shift in class relations. The landed gentry (still beholden to feudal notions of duty) are losing out to totalitarian capitalists - two factions it used to hold together.

David O'Connell @daviduk.bsky.social · 4d

I should say, allegedly

David O'Connell @daviduk.bsky.social · 4d

The island of Capri, where Emperor Tiberius spent much of his later rule in seclusion, engaging in debauchery so profound it influenced the course of history itself

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David O'Connell @daviduk.bsky.social · 8d

Italy is beautiful too

David O'Connell @daviduk.bsky.social · 10d

For all interested, applications are now open for the Global Labour University Engage South Africa course 2026, at Witts University in Johannesburg.

Find more details below, or feel free to each out to me for more information.

www.wits.ac.za

David O'Connell @daviduk.bsky.social · 11d

Call for Abstracts - 2026 GLU International Conference. Look forward to seeing many of you there!

More information about the conference can be found on the conference website:
global-labour-university.org/events/glu-c...

David O'Connell @daviduk.bsky.social · 13d

Towards the cooperative commonwealth!

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David O'Connell @daviduk.bsky.social · 17d

One wonders what the radicals of the eighteenth century like Paine or Blake would make of the fact that, in our time, most Popes have proved to be more progressive than most presidents of the United States

David O'Connell @daviduk.bsky.social · 17d

It was an honour to work on this survey, and write on what role the GLU alumni could play in the wider labour movement ✊🏻

Anne Lisa Carstensen @lisacarstensen.bsky.social · 17d

Did you all see the presentation of the #Survey on our @glu-network.bsky.social #GLU-Alumni conducted by @daviduk.bsky.social and Jacqueline Wambui Wamai? #InternationalSolidarity #TradeUnions #GlobalLabourUniversity

globallabourcolumn.org/2025/05/28/m...

Maintaining the GLU Alumni Network’s web of solidarity in a changing world

-David O’Connell and Jacqueline Wambui Wamai The Global Labour University, a project whose success was never guaranteed, has now celebrated its 20th anniversary. This milestone provides an opportun…

globallabourcolumn.org

David O'Connell @daviduk.bsky.social · 19d

A cooperative alternative, FairBnB, which is not only democratic but returns 50% of its profits to the communities in which it operates.

I've personally used it when traveling around Europe, and highly recommend it to others.

fairbnb.coop

Fairbnb.coop - sustainable flats, B&B, rooms, bnb and vacation rentals

The co-op and sustainable vacation rental platform that gives back 50% of its revenues to support a local community project of your choice.

fairbnb.coop

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David O'Connell @daviduk.bsky.social · 21d

Switzerland isn't ugly

David O'Connell @daviduk.bsky.social · 22d

I like Corbyn (and voted for him twice), but he presents himself as a sort of atheist Anglican Vicar. His message isn't about power, it's about 'niceness' - playing into all the worst stereotypes of a lefty.

Socialism is not when magic grandpa spends lots of money.

It's about workers' control.

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David O'Connell @daviduk.bsky.social · 22d

"The gentry must come down, and the poor shall wear the crown"

- Published in "the Levellers' Standard", 1649

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David O'Connell @daviduk.bsky.social · 22d

The Platform Coop Consortium is building a movement focused on transparency and common ownership of the platform economy. Their next conference is coming up in Nov, and I highly recommend getting involved - especially trade unionists less familiar with tech/coops.

See you in Istanbul ✊🏻

Cooperative AI | Platform Cooperativism Consortium

Seats are limited and filling up fast—register now to guarantee your spot! As AI reshapes our worlds, who decides its future—and who gets left behind? Welcome to Cooperative AI…

platform.coop

David O'Connell @daviduk.bsky.social · 22d

Let me check with them! (And please charge your phone 😅)

David O'Connell @daviduk.bsky.social · 24d

Taxi drivers and trade unionists in NYC set up a cooperative worker-owned alternative to Uber and Lyft. It pays its drivers a higher faire while charging customers less, built on the principles of democracy and ownership.

If you're in NYC, please support them, use the app or recommend to others ✊🏻

The Drivers Cooperative

drivers.coop

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David O'Connell @daviduk.bsky.social · 24d

One of the best cures for burnout is not rest but victory. Seeing that the left can win, and having had a part in achieving it, is the biggest morale boost.

Abstract "big picture" goals are usually unobtainable and therefore demoralizing. Try to set up campaigns with a beginning middle and end.

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David O'Connell @daviduk.bsky.social · 24d

For any trade union strategists out there, I'd highly recommend looking at the 'Power Resources Approach', partly developed by the FES. If you're unfamiliar, here's a concise overview;

youtu.be/B3zRCVs7tXM?...

Which strategic choices do Trade Unions have to (re-)gain power?

YouTube video by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung

youtu.be

David O'Connell @daviduk.bsky.social · 25d

It was a pleasure to speak at the Global Labour University Alumni Workshop this weekend, exploring how our network of over 1,000 labour scholars from around the world can play a pivotal role in strengthening organized labour and democracy

David O'Connell @daviduk.bsky.social · 27d

"Wrong in principle, and tactically self-destructive. When we move to the arena of violence, the most brutal guys win – that’s the worst outcome (and, incidentally, it’s not us). The right response is to use the opportunity for education and exposure, not to give a gift to the hard right" Chomsky

David O'Connell @daviduk.bsky.social · 27d

Labour is entitled to all it creates

David O'Connell @daviduk.bsky.social · Sep 9

Union membership continues to fall, in the UK and globally.

Will unions accept defeat and linger on as bureaucractic managers of a declining status quo? Or take a pragmatic and transformative view of trade unionism as the movement for industrial democracy?

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David O'Connell @daviduk.bsky.social · Sep 9

"The great appear great because we are on our knees. Let us rise!" - Jim Larkin 🇮🇪 🚩

Reposted by David O'Connell

Rob Sica @robsica.bsky.social · Sep 7

"Our cultural core is not whether we fish or hunt or forage to subsist, but how our norms permit some people to hold power over others. If you want to understand a society, including your own, look at how people are exploited."

Invisible Rivals

A multidisciplinary view of how our competitive and cooperative natures make us humanFor centuries, people have argued about whether humans are moral animals—good or bad, cooperative or competitive, a...

books.google.com

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David O'Connell @daviduk.bsky.social · Aug 30

Profit is unpaid wages.