Nantina Vgontzas studies the politics of labor, climate, and technology. They received their BA in political science from the University of Pennsylvania and PhD in sociology from New York University.
Presently, their research is focused on the rapidly expanding logistics sector. Not only is this sector a key node in the global commodity circulation, but as ecommerce firms increasingly orient their delivery operations around major metropolitan markets, logistics is positioned to reshape social and political alliances in global cities. Combining engaged ethnography with political economy, Nantina examines how the efforts of warehouse workers to improve their working conditions intersect with community efforts to mitigate the environmental harms of warehouse expansion.
Their work has been published in New Global Studies, Labor Studies Journal, Boston Review, The Nation, and other outlets, with support from the Center for Engaged Scholarship, Urban Democracy Lab, AI Now Institute, and Center for Applied Data Ethics. They have presented at the American Sociological Association, International Labor Process Association, Cornell School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Penn Annenberg School for Communication, Labor Research Action Network, and other venues. At SLU, they teach Labor and the Economy, Labor in the Era of Globalization, and other courses.
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