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The economy isn't getting better for most Americans. But there is a fix

The economy isn't getting better for most Americans. But there is a fix

May 1, 2019

by Heather Boushey
The Guardian

 

The decline of those labor market institutions is one big reason why growth is no longer broadly shared. The institutional infrastructure of equality is in disrepair. It has to be rebuilt or created anew.

The good news is that there are plenty of good ideas about what that infrastructure needs to be. One of these is to allow workers to organize across an industry, rather than firm-by-firm. Employees in different firms could then come together to bargain with their employers, without disadvantaging any one...

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2019 Apr 04

Clean Slate Convening on Building Worker Power through Benefits Provision and Enforcement

(All day)

Location: 

Harvard Law School

What’s at stake? The transformation of work has produced two well-known problems: one, many workers can no longer rely on stable employment to provide them with benefits like retirement, vacation, or insurance, and, two, it is increasingly difficult to enforce basic laws like minimum wage and overtime pay. Although there are many ways to address these problems, putting workers in charge of the organizations that deliver benefits and conduct enforcement could ensure efficient delivery of services while building economic and political voice for working people...

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2019 Mar 01

Clean Slate Convening on New Organizations for Worker Power

(All day)

Location: 

Harvard Law School

Working group meeting of the Rebalancing Economic and Political Power:  A Clean Slate for the Future of Labor Law  Project

What’s at stake? Historically, labor unions have been the key organization for worker voice and power, and we need legal reforms that enable us to strengthen unions. But we also need to consider legal support for other worker institutions, including organizations that represent workers outside of formal collective bargaining processes.

At this convening, we will explore the features of organizations that can build power for workers. Our exploration will include works councils, members-only unions, worker centers, organizations that address the interests of consumers and communities, and organizations that build workers’ political power. ... Read more about Clean Slate Convening on New Organizations for Worker Power

2019 Jan 15

Clean Slate Convening on Levels, Actors and Scope of Bargaining

(All day)

Location: 

Harvard Law School

Working group meeting of the Rebalancing Economic and Political Power:  A Clean Slate for the Future of Labor Law  Project

Agenda - Spanish

Reimagining Collective Bargaining:
The economy is fissuring and disaggregating, but since 1935 collective bargaining has largely taken place at the level of a single “firm,” has...

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Clean Slate Update

December 12, 2018

by Sharon Block and Benjamin Sachs
OnLabor.org

Last spring, we promised to share information about the project we’ve launched at Harvard Law School, “Rebalancing Economic and Political Power: A Clean Slate for the Future of Labor Law Reform.”

On Labor Day,  we laid out our vision for this ambitious project:  (1) reimagining collective bargaining; (2) expanding the range of available worker organizations; (3) ensuring that collective action leverages power; (4) using benefits and enforcement to strengthen worker organizations; (5) updating other legal regimes to empower workers; and (6) addressing persistent, historical inequities that have plagued the labor movement.... Read more about Clean Slate Update

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More Employers Turn to Arbitration to Handle Job Claims

December 6, 2018

By Jaclyn Diaz
Bloomber Law

 

Many major employers, including other tech companies that have done away with mandatory clauses on harassment, maintain arbitration agreements for most wage-and-hour and discrimination claims. The use of arbitration clauses to handle employment claims is becoming more prevalent in the workplace, sources told Bloomberg Law.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys and worker advocates are hoping employers will end the practice for all employment claims, saying it’s especially harmful for low-wage workers.

Arbitration clauses...

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2018 Dec 05

Clean Slate Convening on Establishing the Scope and Power of Collective Action

(All day)

Location: 

Harvard Law School

Working group meeting of the Rebalancing Economic and Political Power:  A Clean Slate for the Future of Labor Law  Project

Agenda - Spanish

We must ensure that workers have the ability to engage in collective action that leverages power. The number of significant strikes in the U.S. has fallen dramatically. That’s because...

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International Advisory Group

Mission

The International Advisory Group’s Role in Clean Slate is critical.  For inspiration in coming up with reforms for U.S. labor law, the project looks to models from international labor law. The international advisory group provides expertise on those international models and how they relate to U.S. labor law.

Members...

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Domestic Advisory Group

Mission

The ambition of Clean Slate is to answer the question of “what would be best” for working people now and in the future, not just “what could be better” now.  To help the project answer this question, Clean Slate relies on a group of stellar practitioners, legal scholars, economists, organizers, sociologists, political scientists, and union leaders all devoted to rebalancing economic and political power in favor of American workers.

... Read more about Domestic Advisory Group

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