TODD E. VACHON

Department of Sociology
University of Connecticut
344 Mansfield Rd.
Storrs, CT 06269-1068

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EDUCATION

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 June, 2018     Ph.D., Department of Sociology, University of Connecticut, Dissertation:                                                 “CleanAir and Good Jobs: U.S. Labor and the Struggle for Climate Justice”                                           (Committee:Michael Wallace [chair], Mary Fisher, Brian Obach, Jeremy Pais,                          and Lyle Scruggs).

               

2012                M.A., Department of Sociology, University of Connecticut, Master’s Thesis:

                        “Globalization, Labor Market Transformation, and Union Decline in U.S.

                        Metropolitan Areas” (Committee: Michael Wallace [chair], Jeremy Pais, and David                                 Weakliem).

 

2003                M.S., Department of Education, College of Staten Island (C.U.N.Y.), Master’s

                        Thesis: “The Art of Storytelling: A Pedagogical Tool for Engaging Students in the

                        Social Studies Classroom.” (Committee: Greg Seals [chair] and Janine Kaste).

 

1998                B.A., School of Communications, Marist College.

 

RESEARCH INTERESTS                     TEACHING INTERESTS

                                                                                                                         

Social Inequality/Stratification           Introduction to Sociology                   Sociology of Work     

Labor and Labor Movements            Social Problems                                    Social Stratification

Sociology of Education                      Race, Class, and Gender                     Sociology of Education

Social Movements                              Social Theory                                        Social Movements

                                                             Research Methods/Statistics               Political Sociology

 

HONORS AND AWARDS

 

Human Rights Institute, Graduate Student Small Research Grant, 2017

Department of Sociology, Outstanding Graduate Student Research Award, 2015

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Graduate Research Fellowship, 2015

University of Connecticut, Dean Ross Mackinnon Graduate Research Award, 2015

Office of the Provost, Recognition for Excellence in Teaching, 2014 and 2015      

Labor and Employment Relations Association, competitive paper award for paper titled  

          “Globalization, Regionalization, and Unionization in 18 Affluent Democracies,” 2014       

University of Connecticut, Department of Sociology, Ron Taylor Outstanding Graduate Student

          Paper Award for paper titled “Bargaining for Success: Examining the Relationship between  

          Teacher Unions and Student Achievement,” with Josef Ma, 2014     

University of Connecticut, Department of Sociology, Emeriti Travel Award, 2014              

University of Connecticut, Department of Sociology, Ron Taylor Outstanding Graduate Student

           Paper Award for paper titled “Clean Air and Good Jobs,” with Allen Hyde, 2013

The Roper Center, Recipient of the Warren J. Mitofsky Graduate Fellowship for research on “A

           Tale of Two Movements: Public Support for Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street,” 2012

University of Connecticut, Pre-doctoral Fellowship, each semester 2013-2016                               

 

PUBLICATIONS

 

Academic Publications

Todd E. Vachon. Forthcoming. “A Big Win in Smalltown: Demanding Dignity in an Era of                

          Neoliberal Austerity.” Qualitative Sociology Review (forthcoming).

Allen Hyde, Todd E. Vachon, and Michael Wallace. Forthcoming. “Financialization, Income        

          Inequality, and Redistribution in 18 Affluent Democracies.” Social Currents.

Todd E. Vachon, Michael Wallace, and Allen Hyde. 2016 “Union Decline in a Neoliberal Age:    

          Globalization, Financialization, Regionalization, and Union Density in Eighteen Affluent

          Democracies.” Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World, Volume 2, January.

Todd E. Vachon and Jeremy Brecher. 2016. “Are Union Members More or Less Likely To Be            

          Environmentalists? Some Evidence from a National Survey.” Labor Studies Journal         

          41:185-  203.           

Mary Fischer, Jennifer Lundquist, and Todd E. Vachon. 2016. “Residential Segregation: The      

          Mitigating Effects of Past Military Experience.” Social Science Research 60:61-73.

Todd E. Vachon and Josef Ma. 2015. “Bargaining for Success: Examining the Relationship          

          between Teacher Unions and Student Achievement.”  Sociological Forum 30:391-414.

Todd E. Vachon and Michael Wallace. 2013. “Globalization, Labor Market Transformation,

          and Union Decline in U.S. Metropolitan Areas.” Labor Studies Journal 38:229-255.

Todd E. Vachon and Michael Wallace.  2013. “Public Sector Unionism.” Pp. 917-921 in

         Sociology of Work: An Encyclopedia, edited by Vicki Smith. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.

 

Contributions to Public Sociology

Jeremy Brecher and Todd E. Vachon. 2016. “Union Members Don’t Oppose Environmental        

         Protections. They’re Actually More Likely to Support Them.” In These Times, May 23.

Todd E. Vachon, Gayatri Phadke, and Maria Seger. 2015. “In First Contract, UConn Grad          

         Assistants Win Raises and Much More.” Labor Notes, July 31.

Todd E. Vachon. 2014. “Toward Union Revitalization: An Assessment of the Barriers and 

         Opportunities for Labor in the 21St Century.” In Critical Solidarity 12:9-15.

Todd E. Vachon and Mark E. Sullivan. 2013. “Connecticut Interest Arbitration: Municipal Awards      

         in Review, 2009-2012.” Prepared for AFSCME Council 4 Executive Board.

 

RESEARCH IN PROGRESS

 

Josef Ma and Todd E. Vachon.  “Comparing the Effects of Institutional Factors on Student        

          Digital Usage across 40 Countries.” Under review at Social Science Research.  

Angran Li, Simon Cheng, Todd E. Vachon, and Heidi Obach. “Too Much of a Good Thing:        

          Parental Overinvolvement and Student Outcomes from Elementary to Middle School.” In  

          preparation for journal submission. 

Todd E. Vachon and Michael Wallace. “Red State, Blue State: Neoliberalism, Politics, and          

          Public Sector Union Membership in the U.S. States.” In preparation for a special issue of

          Cambridge  Journal of Regions, Economy and Society focusing on   the shrinking state.

Todd E. Vachon and Allen Hyde. “Green Unionism in a Comparative Perspective: Union

          Membership and Environmental Performance, 1990-2010.” In preparation for journal

          submission. 

Michael Wallace, Todd E. Vachon, and David Brady. “Manufacturing Dissent: Determinants of  

          Wildcat Strikes in U.S. Manufacturing Industries, 1961-1980.” In preparation for journal   

          submission.

Michael Wallace, Todd E. Vachon, and Allen Hyde. “Political Party Control, Union Strength, and

          Neoliberalism: Accounting for Rising Income Inequality across the 50 U.S. States

          since 1950.” In preparation for journal submission.

Michael Wallace, Andrew Fullerton, and Todd E. Vachon. “The Political Economy of Declining

          Union Membership across the American States, 1970-2010.” In preparation for journal

          submission.  

 

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

 

Courses Taught

Social Problems: Problems in American Capitalism (5 sections)

Race, Class, and Gender (3 sections)

Jobs, Work, and Globalization (1 section)

 

Teaching Assistantships

Quantitative Research Methods II (graduate level) (1 section)

Quantitative Research Methods I (graduate level) (1 section)

Quantitative Methods for Social Research (3 sections)

Introduction to Sociology (1 section) 

Prejudice and Discrimination (1 section) 

 

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

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Michael Wallace, Todd E. Vachon, and Allen Hyde. “Political Party Control, Union Strength, and    

          Neoliberalism: Accounting for Rising Income Inequality across the 50 U.S. States

          since 1950.” Presented at the 80th annual meeting of the Southern Sociological Society in      

          Greenville, SC, 2017.

Todd. E. Vachon. “Greening the Blue: Environmental Activists and Climate Action within the    

          American Labor Movement.” Presented at the Environmental Humanities Initiative’s Nearly  

          Carbon-Neutral Conference (NCNC), The World In 2050: Creating/Imagining Just Climate

          Futures. Online from October 24-November 20, 2016.

Todd. E. Vachon. “Green Unionism? Examining the Relationship between Union Membership

          and Environmentalism.” Presented at the 85th annual meeting of the Eastern Sociological

          Society in New York, NY, 2015.

Todd E. Vachon, Wallace, Michael, and Allen Hyde. “Globalization, Regionalization, and  

          Unionization during the Neoliberal Era.” Presented at 109th annual meeting of the       

          American Sociological Association, San Francisco, CA, 2014.

Todd E. Vachon and Josef Ma. “Bargaining for Success: Examining the Relationship between

          Teacher Unions and Student Achievement.”  Presented at the 84th annual meeting of the       

          Eastern Sociological Society in Baltimore, MD, 2014.

Todd E. Vachon. “Democratic Bargaining in Theory and Practice.” Presented at the annual

          Conference of Graduate Employee Unions, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 2014.

Todd E. Vachon and Michael Wallace. “Globalization, Labor Market Transformation, and                

          Union  Decline in U.S. Metropolitan Areas.”  Presented at the 82nd annual meeting of the                   Eastern Sociological Society, New York, NY, 2012.

Allen Hyde, Todd E. Vachon, and Michael Wallace. “Neoliberal Reform, Financialization, and                         Income Inequality in 18 OECD Countries.” Presented at the annual meeting of the

          Southern Sociological Society, Charlotte, NC, 2014.

Todd E. Vachon and Allen Hyde. “Green Unionism in a Comparative Perspective: Union Membership           and Environmental Performance, 1990-2010.” Presented at the 108th annual meeting of the             American Sociological Association, New York City, NY, 2013.

Josef Ma and Todd E. Vachon. “Inequality Bytes: Examining the Effects of Institutional Context on      

          Students’ Digital Usage.”  Presented at the 108th annual meeting of the American    

          Sociological  Association, New York City, NY, 2013.       

Michael Wallace, Andrew Fullerton, and Todd E. Vachon.  “The Political Economy of Declining    

          Union Membership across the American States, 1970-2010.” Presented at the annual      

          meeting of  the Midwest Sociological Society, Chicago, IL, 2013      

                                                                                                                   

SERVICE

 

President, Sociology Graduate Student Association, 2014-2015

Graduate student representative, Graduate Programming Committee, 2012-14

Co-Chair, Faculty Mentoring Award Committee, 2010-12

Member, Affirmative Action Committee, 2011-12

Senator, Graduate Student Senate, 2011

 

PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT

 

Founding President, Graduate Employee Union-UAW Local 6950, 2015-2017

UAW-CT Liaison to the Connecticut Roundtable on Climate and Jobs, 2015-present

Member, Organizing Committee of the Graduate Employee Union-UAW Local 6950, 2013-2015

Member, Board of Directors, UConn Cooperative Bookstore, 2015-2016

Instructor, Connecticut AFL-CIO Summer School, 2011-2013

Secretary, Colchester Housing Authority, Colchester, CT, 2008-present

Commissioner, Colchester Fair Rent Commission, Colchester, CT, 2006-2008

 

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

 

American Sociological Association

Society for the Study of Social Problems

Eastern Sociological Society

United Association for Labor Education

Labor and Employment Relations Association

Greater New Haven Labor History Association