Bio
David O’Connell is a trade unionist from the United Kingdom currently writing his doctoral thesis in Germany. With a background in workplace organising in both countries, he completed his masters degree in ‘Labour Policies and Globalisation’ in 2016. His current research is funded by the Hans Boeckler Foundation and focuses on the role of unions in buying out and converting existing firms to employee ownership.
He is also a member of the National Center for Employee Ownership in the United States, an elected alumni representative of the Global Labour University, and an active member of both IG Metall and Ver.di in Germany. He is a contributor to Jacobin Magazine, writing about cooperatives, employee ownership and trade union strategy in Germany – the latest of which is being converted to a chapter in an upcoming publication titled ‘Mutualist Humanity at Work: Accelerating the Global Diffusion of the Mondragon Cooperative Experience’.