By Arnold Zack
LWP Senior Resarch Associate

As a labor‐management arbitrator for more than 60 years, I have witnessed the practice change
from an informal problem solving conference to a formal lawyered adversarial combat where
winning preempts compromise. The contrast reflects the changing nature of the workplace and
workforce, the altered priorities of the parties, the rising cost of bringing cases to arbitration,
the changes in balance of power between the unions and employers and the shrinking role that
unions have struggled to maintain in the...

“The contradiction between capitalism and democracy is at a point of no return.”
by Isabelle Ferreras

If capitalism has a future, democracy may not. Nationalist populists, bolstered by transnational firms whose algorithms prioritize expressions of fear and antagonism, are stoking citizens’ legitimate anger. Faced with the unbridled power of the very private entities they seek to woo, political leaders are attempting to conceal how powerless they are to reduce inequalities and save the planet. But people are no fools: the contradiction between democracy and capitalism is...

By Seung Min Kim 
Washington Post

Demand Justice, a group founded to counteract the conservative wing’s decades-long advantage over liberals in judicial fights, will release a list of 32 suggested Supreme Court nominees for any future Democratic president as they ramp up their push for the 2020 contenders to do the same. 

The slate of potential high court picks includes current and former members of Congress, top litigators battling the Trump administration’s initiatives in court, professors at the nation’s top law schools and public defenders. Eight are sitting judges. They have established track records in liberal causes that Demand Justice hopes will energize the liberal base. 

Included in the list from Demand Justice is Sharon Block, the executive director of the labor and worklife program at Harvard Law School and former member of the National Labor Relations Board.

BOSTON REVIEW Forum on corporate governance

Essay by Leonore Palladino, October 2019
http://bostonreview.net/forum/lenore-palladino-american-corporation-crisis—lets-rethink-it

Response by Isabelle Ferreras
http://bostonreview.net/forum/american-corporation-crisis—lets-rethink-it/isabelle-ferreras-shareholders-versus-stakeholders

Our senior research associate Isabelle Ferreras argues for the primacy of workers in corporate governance — a key step in order to « rebalancing economic and political power »

By Andrew Hirschfeld
Fortune.com

Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has released a comprehensive plan to reform America’s labor laws. While the Democratic presidential hopeful’s campaign says her proposal will empower American workers and raise wages, it has economists from across the political spectrum sounding off.

“What really struck me the most is the framing of it around the issue of power—the fact that workers collective power is at a historic low,” said Sharon Block, executive director of the Labor and Worklife Program at Harvard Law School.... Read more about Economists Sound Off on Elizabeth Warren’s Plan to Reform Labor Laws

By Lisa Marie Segarra
Fortune.com

While Uber faces legal battles over whether its drivers should be classified as employees or contractors, the tech company unveiled an unexpected new service on Wednesday: Uber Works.

An extension of the gig economy model that Uber arguably popularized with its original ride-hailing service, Uber Works will be an app that matches temporary workers with potential jobs and employers. The move seems provocative for Uber, which is currently pushing back against a pending California law that could reclassify on-demand workers like Uber's drivers as employees.

Despite Uber's new take on temporary employment, Benjamin Sachs, Kestnbaum professor of labor and industry at Harvard Law School, says it's more of the same.

"The connection between Uber Works and the ride-hailing side that I see is this massive company with intense tech resources fueling the degradation of work, rather than to make work meaningful," Sachs told Fortune.... Read more about Announcing Uber Works, the Ride-Hailing Giant Changes Lanes into Temporary Work

BY TERRI GERSTEIN
The Hill

When conservative British lawmakers bucked their leader on Brexit, many of us in the United States were left wondering, where are our principled conservatives willing to take on the president? Maybe our conservatives have lost the muscle memory of how to do something like this. It seems unlikely any will take on the president any time soon. But maybe they can begin with smaller steps to start rebuilding that muscle.

A great opportunity for taking principled action is happening this month. A bill that prohibits forced...

By Sharon Block and Benjamin Sachs
Washington Post

Recognizing them as employees was a fine first step. Letting them unionize is crucial.

The struggle for gig workers’ rights took a big step forward this week when the California legislature passed a law classifying many such workers — including Uber and Lyft drivers — as “employees.” Once it is signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), the law...

Aarian Marshall
Wired
Uber will not treat its California drivers as employees, the ride-hail company’s head lawyer said Wednesday, despite a new law designed to do just that. The law would create a more stringent test to separate independent contractors from full-time employees. The company’s argument rests on a premise that’s been a cornerstone since its early days: that Uber is a technology company, not a transportation one.

The ...