Jason Foster
Biographic Data
| ID | 3586262 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Jason Foster |
| GIVEN NAMES | Jason |
| FAMILY NAME | Foster |
| SIGNATURE | FOSTER J |
| AFFILIATIONS | Athabasca University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-3683-5101 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 23 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 34 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 23 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2004 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Deskilled and Degraded
This research explores the intersection of precarious legal status and precarious employment of migrants who came to Canada with a temporary status, whether for work, study, or protection purposes. Drawing on data collected from 148 interviews with precarious-status migrants, the article investigates how transitions in status impact employment trajectories. It builds upon a mixed-method analysis, identifying how employment precarity intensifies w…
Reading the Zoom Room
One adaptation required by the covid-19 pandemic was a shift to virtual meetings. Collective bargaining has traditionally been conducted in person, but covid forced union and employer negotiators to adopt virtual forms of bargaining. This article examines union negotiators' experiences with virtual bargaining in this period - first, to document the nature of the adaptations made during a historical public health event, and second, to determine wh…
“I feel like I’m just nowhere”
'Because she was born here'
Canada is one of the few nations which grant citizenship to anyone born within its borders, a policy known as birthright citizenship. This policy creates the possibility that migrant workers with precarious residency status can be parents of children who hold claim to Canadian citizenship. This article examines the effect that citizen children have on the lived experiences of migrant workers by comparing two groups of migrant workers with precari…
Cross‐sectional survey study of primary care clinics on evidence‐based colorectal cancer screening intervention use
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine differences between urban and rural primary care clinics in the use of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening methods and evidence-based interventions to promote CRC screening. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional survey of primary care clinics in Nebraska. Surveys in paper form were sent out and followed up with telephone interviews to nonrespondents. Of the 375 facilities, 263 (70.1%) responded to the…
Formal and informal support networks as sources of resilience and sources of oppression for temporary foreign workers in Canada
In this article, we explore temporary foreign workers’ (TFWs) access to and experiences with formal and informal supports in Canada. Our study utilized a participatory action research design and four overlapping phases of data collection: individual interviews with current and former TFWs, focus groups, individual interviews with settlement service agencies, and a cross-sectional survey with current and former TFWs. We used an intersectional theo…
Profits First, Safety Second
This article argues that while workplaces are safer today than they were 50 years ago, the degree to which this change is due to Canada's occupational health and safety (ohs) system is unclear. Examining the literature and reflecting upon the authors' own experiences with workplace safety, the article suggests that fundamental flaws embedded in the principles of the system undermine its effectiveness at keeping workers safe. Specifically, the pre…
Tracking Precarity
In recent years the issue of migrant workers with precarious status has increased in importance in Canada, in large part due to economic and policy changes that have led to greater numbers of migrant workers remaining in the country post permit expiry. This study tracks the employment experiences of low-skilled migrant workers who arrived through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and who remained following their permit expiry. Using a temporal…
Fear Factory
Fear of retaliation poses a significant barrier to workers exercising their employment rights and claiming statutory benefits. This study of 2000 workers in the western Canadian province of Alberta found modest overall levels of worker fear (16%) of retaliation. Much higher fear levels (>40%) are reported in the most dangerous workplaces. Fear levels also escalated as the exercise of rights became more active, concrete, and potentially costly and…
Estimating Under-Claiming of Compensable Workplace Injuries in Alberta, Canada
This study confirms and refines prior estimates of under-claiming of workers’ compensation benefits and suggests that under-claiming negatively affects the utility of workers’ compensation data in injury prevention efforts. A 2017 online poll ( N = 2,000) queried the injury and workers’ compensation experiences of Alberta workers. Approximately 21.5 percent of respondents reported at least one work-related injury in the previous 12 months, of whi…
Dead Today, Gone Tomorrow
Background How the media frames and presents a subject influences how society sees and responds to that issue. Analysis This study uses frame analysis to examine how Canadian English language newspapers portrayed workplace injuries between 2009 and 2014. Three frames emerge: Under Investigation, Human Tragedy, and Before the Courts. There is also a meta-frame casting injuries and fatalities as isolated events happening to “others” with no cause, …
Accidental Revitalization? Looking at the Complex Realities of Union Renewal
This article outlines a union renewal case study with unexpected circumstances. It examines a local that underwent significant renewal in a context where renewal would normally not be expected. It did so by significantly altering its practices while retaining a stable leadership and highly centralized structure. This unexpected renewal is explained through the application of a referential unionisms framework. The article coins the term accidental…
Who's on Secondary
In 2007, the Alberta government and the Alberta construction industry developed a ten-year strategy to increase the participation of women, youth, Indigenous peoples, and immigrants in construction occupations. At the same time, construction employers began turning to temporary foreign workers (tfws) as an alternative labour supply, and the number of tfws working in Alberta construction jumped dramatically. This article examines the labour market…
Solidarity on the TransCanada
The 2005 first-contract strike at Lakeside Packers in Brooks, Alberta was one of the largest private sector labour victories in that province in over twenty years. At the time, the strike made national headlines for violence and animosity on the picket line. The strike is also noteworthy because African and Asian immigrant and refugee workers played a central role in the dispute. The union involved, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 401, a…
The dynamics of union responses to migrant workers in Canada
This study examines how five unions in the Canadian province of Alberta responded to a sudden influx of temporary foreign workers (TFWs), as part of Canadian employers’ increased use of migrant workers in the mid-2000s. The authors find three types of response to the new TFW members: resistive, facilitative and active. Furthermore, these responses were dynamic and changing over time. The different responses are best explained not by the unions’ i…
The Construction of Migrant Work and Workers by Alberta Legislators, 2000-2011
This paper uses narrative analysis to explore how Alberta government Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) "constructed" migrant work and migrant workers in legislature and media statements between 2000 and 2011. Government MLAs asserted that migrant work (1) was economically necessary and (2) posed no threat to Canadian workers. Government MLAs also asserted that international migrant workers (3) had questionable occupational, linguistic or…
Migrant Workers and the Problem of Social Cohesion in Canada
The Political Justification of Migrant Workers in Alberta, Canada
In the Shadows' Exploring the Notion of 'Community' for Temporary Foreign Workers in a Boomtown
The rapid expansion of the oil sands in northern Alberta in the early 21st century led to the use of significant numbers of temporary foreign workers. These foreign workers became a part of the region's so-called 'shadow population.' This paper examines how the presence of foreign workers affects conceptions of community and social cohesion through the experiences of foreign workers employed in oil sands construction. The study finds foreign work…
Training ‘expendable’ workers
The purpose of this article is to explore the experiences of Temporary Foreign Workers in health care in Alberta, Canada. In 2007–2008, one of the regional health authorities in the province responded to a shortage of workers by recruiting 510 health-care workers internationally; most were trained as Registered Nurses (RNs) in the Philippines. However, the Association of RNs required them to complete an assessment, and in many cases, to complete …
Working People in Alberta
Talking Ourselves to Death? The Prospects for Social Dialogue in North America—Lessons from Alberta
Europe’s model of tripartite “social dialogue” has long been elusive in North America, yet unions continue to look at the model as a possible path toward greater policy influence. Is social dialogue possible in a North American context? Is it in the interests of the North American labor movement? This article examines two cases studies from the Canadian province of Alberta that reveal that a complex decision matrix faces unions considering partic…
Unions in the Time of Revolution
Solidarity on the TransCanada
The 2005 first-contract strike at Lakeside Packers in Brooks, Alberta was one of the largest private sector labour victories in that province in over twenty years. At the time, the strike made national headlines for violence and animosity on the picket line. The strike is also noteworthy because African and Asian immigrant and refugee workers played a central role in the dispute. The union involved, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 401, a…
Who's on Secondary
In 2007, the Alberta government and the Alberta construction industry developed a ten-year strategy to increase the participation of women, youth, Indigenous peoples, and immigrants in construction occupations. At the same time, construction employers began turning to temporary foreign workers (tfws) as an alternative labour supply, and the number of tfws working in Alberta construction jumped dramatically. This article examines the labour market…
Migrant Workers and the Problem of Social Cohesion in Canada
In the Shadows' Exploring the Notion of 'Community' for Temporary Foreign Workers in a Boomtown
The rapid expansion of the oil sands in northern Alberta in the early 21st century led to the use of significant numbers of temporary foreign workers. These foreign workers became a part of the region's so-called 'shadow population.' This paper examines how the presence of foreign workers affects conceptions of community and social cohesion through the experiences of foreign workers employed in oil sands construction. The study finds foreign work…
Working People in Alberta
The dynamics of union responses to migrant workers in Canada
This study examines how five unions in the Canadian province of Alberta responded to a sudden influx of temporary foreign workers (TFWs), as part of Canadian employers’ increased use of migrant workers in the mid-2000s. The authors find three types of response to the new TFW members: resistive, facilitative and active. Furthermore, these responses were dynamic and changing over time. The different responses are best explained not by the unions’ i…
The Political Justification of Migrant Workers in Alberta, Canada
Training ‘expendable’ workers
The purpose of this article is to explore the experiences of Temporary Foreign Workers in health care in Alberta, Canada. In 2007–2008, one of the regional health authorities in the province responded to a shortage of workers by recruiting 510 health-care workers internationally; most were trained as Registered Nurses (RNs) in the Philippines. However, the Association of RNs required them to complete an assessment, and in many cases, to complete …
Formal and informal support networks as sources of resilience and sources of oppression for temporary foreign workers in Canada
In this article, we explore temporary foreign workers’ (TFWs) access to and experiences with formal and informal supports in Canada. Our study utilized a participatory action research design and four overlapping phases of data collection: individual interviews with current and former TFWs, focus groups, individual interviews with settlement service agencies, and a cross-sectional survey with current and former TFWs. We used an intersectional theo…
Profits First, Safety Second
This article argues that while workplaces are safer today than they were 50 years ago, the degree to which this change is due to Canada's occupational health and safety (ohs) system is unclear. Examining the literature and reflecting upon the authors' own experiences with workplace safety, the article suggests that fundamental flaws embedded in the principles of the system undermine its effectiveness at keeping workers safe. Specifically, the pre…
Tracking Precarity
In recent years the issue of migrant workers with precarious status has increased in importance in Canada, in large part due to economic and policy changes that have led to greater numbers of migrant workers remaining in the country post permit expiry. This study tracks the employment experiences of low-skilled migrant workers who arrived through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and who remained following their permit expiry. Using a temporal…
The Construction of Migrant Work and Workers by Alberta Legislators, 2000-2011
This paper uses narrative analysis to explore how Alberta government Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) "constructed" migrant work and migrant workers in legislature and media statements between 2000 and 2011. Government MLAs asserted that migrant work (1) was economically necessary and (2) posed no threat to Canadian workers. Government MLAs also asserted that international migrant workers (3) had questionable occupational, linguistic or…
Unions in the Time of Revolution
Talking Ourselves to Death? The Prospects for Social Dialogue in North America—Lessons from Alberta
Europe’s model of tripartite “social dialogue” has long been elusive in North America, yet unions continue to look at the model as a possible path toward greater policy influence. Is social dialogue possible in a North American context? Is it in the interests of the North American labor movement? This article examines two cases studies from the Canadian province of Alberta that reveal that a complex decision matrix faces unions considering partic…
Training ‘expendable’ workers
The purpose of this article is to explore the experiences of Temporary Foreign Workers in health care in Alberta, Canada. In 2007–2008, one of the regional health authorities in the province responded to a shortage of workers by recruiting 510 health-care workers internationally; most were trained as Registered Nurses (RNs) in the Philippines. However, the Association of RNs required them to complete an assessment, and in many cases, to complete …
Working People in Alberta
In the Shadows' Exploring the Notion of 'Community' for Temporary Foreign Workers in a Boomtown
The rapid expansion of the oil sands in northern Alberta in the early 21st century led to the use of significant numbers of temporary foreign workers. These foreign workers became a part of the region's so-called 'shadow population.' This paper examines how the presence of foreign workers affects conceptions of community and social cohesion through the experiences of foreign workers employed in oil sands construction. The study finds foreign work…
The Political Justification of Migrant Workers in Alberta, Canada
The dynamics of union responses to migrant workers in Canada
This study examines how five unions in the Canadian province of Alberta responded to a sudden influx of temporary foreign workers (TFWs), as part of Canadian employers’ increased use of migrant workers in the mid-2000s. The authors find three types of response to the new TFW members: resistive, facilitative and active. Furthermore, these responses were dynamic and changing over time. The different responses are best explained not by the unions’ i…
The Construction of Migrant Work and Workers by Alberta Legislators, 2000-2011
This paper uses narrative analysis to explore how Alberta government Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) "constructed" migrant work and migrant workers in legislature and media statements between 2000 and 2011. Government MLAs asserted that migrant work (1) was economically necessary and (2) posed no threat to Canadian workers. Government MLAs also asserted that international migrant workers (3) had questionable occupational, linguistic or…
Migrant Workers and the Problem of Social Cohesion in Canada
Solidarity on the TransCanada
The 2005 first-contract strike at Lakeside Packers in Brooks, Alberta was one of the largest private sector labour victories in that province in over twenty years. At the time, the strike made national headlines for violence and animosity on the picket line. The strike is also noteworthy because African and Asian immigrant and refugee workers played a central role in the dispute. The union involved, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 401, a…
Dead Today, Gone Tomorrow
Background How the media frames and presents a subject influences how society sees and responds to that issue. Analysis This study uses frame analysis to examine how Canadian English language newspapers portrayed workplace injuries between 2009 and 2014. Three frames emerge: Under Investigation, Human Tragedy, and Before the Courts. There is also a meta-frame casting injuries and fatalities as isolated events happening to “others” with no cause, …
Accidental Revitalization? Looking at the Complex Realities of Union Renewal
This article outlines a union renewal case study with unexpected circumstances. It examines a local that underwent significant renewal in a context where renewal would normally not be expected. It did so by significantly altering its practices while retaining a stable leadership and highly centralized structure. This unexpected renewal is explained through the application of a referential unionisms framework. The article coins the term accidental…
Who's on Secondary
In 2007, the Alberta government and the Alberta construction industry developed a ten-year strategy to increase the participation of women, youth, Indigenous peoples, and immigrants in construction occupations. At the same time, construction employers began turning to temporary foreign workers (tfws) as an alternative labour supply, and the number of tfws working in Alberta construction jumped dramatically. This article examines the labour market…
Fear Factory
Fear of retaliation poses a significant barrier to workers exercising their employment rights and claiming statutory benefits. This study of 2000 workers in the western Canadian province of Alberta found modest overall levels of worker fear (16%) of retaliation. Much higher fear levels (>40%) are reported in the most dangerous workplaces. Fear levels also escalated as the exercise of rights became more active, concrete, and potentially costly and…
Estimating Under-Claiming of Compensable Workplace Injuries in Alberta, Canada
This study confirms and refines prior estimates of under-claiming of workers’ compensation benefits and suggests that under-claiming negatively affects the utility of workers’ compensation data in injury prevention efforts. A 2017 online poll ( N = 2,000) queried the injury and workers’ compensation experiences of Alberta workers. Approximately 21.5 percent of respondents reported at least one work-related injury in the previous 12 months, of whi…
Tracking Precarity
In recent years the issue of migrant workers with precarious status has increased in importance in Canada, in large part due to economic and policy changes that have led to greater numbers of migrant workers remaining in the country post permit expiry. This study tracks the employment experiences of low-skilled migrant workers who arrived through the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and who remained following their permit expiry. Using a temporal…
'Because she was born here'
Canada is one of the few nations which grant citizenship to anyone born within its borders, a policy known as birthright citizenship. This policy creates the possibility that migrant workers with precarious residency status can be parents of children who hold claim to Canadian citizenship. This article examines the effect that citizen children have on the lived experiences of migrant workers by comparing two groups of migrant workers with precari…
Cross‐sectional survey study of primary care clinics on evidence‐based colorectal cancer screening intervention use
PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine differences between urban and rural primary care clinics in the use of colorectal cancer (CRC) screening methods and evidence-based interventions to promote CRC screening. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional survey of primary care clinics in Nebraska. Surveys in paper form were sent out and followed up with telephone interviews to nonrespondents. Of the 375 facilities, 263 (70.1%) responded to the…
Formal and informal support networks as sources of resilience and sources of oppression for temporary foreign workers in Canada
In this article, we explore temporary foreign workers’ (TFWs) access to and experiences with formal and informal supports in Canada. Our study utilized a participatory action research design and four overlapping phases of data collection: individual interviews with current and former TFWs, focus groups, individual interviews with settlement service agencies, and a cross-sectional survey with current and former TFWs. We used an intersectional theo…
Profits First, Safety Second
This article argues that while workplaces are safer today than they were 50 years ago, the degree to which this change is due to Canada's occupational health and safety (ohs) system is unclear. Examining the literature and reflecting upon the authors' own experiences with workplace safety, the article suggests that fundamental flaws embedded in the principles of the system undermine its effectiveness at keeping workers safe. Specifically, the pre…
“I feel like I’m just nowhere”
Reading the Zoom Room
One adaptation required by the covid-19 pandemic was a shift to virtual meetings. Collective bargaining has traditionally been conducted in person, but covid forced union and employer negotiators to adopt virtual forms of bargaining. This article examines union negotiators' experiences with virtual bargaining in this period - first, to document the nature of the adaptations made during a historical public health event, and second, to determine wh…
Deskilled and Degraded
This research explores the intersection of precarious legal status and precarious employment of migrants who came to Canada with a temporary status, whether for work, study, or protection purposes. Drawing on data collected from 148 interviews with precarious-status migrants, the article investigates how transitions in status impact employment trajectories. It builds upon a mixed-method analysis, identifying how employment precarity intensifies w…
Political science (18 works) · Economics (13 works) · Sociology (13 works) · Labor Movements and Unions (12 works) · Law (12 works) · Economic growth (11 works) · Employment and Welfare Studies (9 works) · Law (9 works) · Demographic economics (8 works) · Migration and Labor Dynamics (8 works)