This is episode 23 in CASBS's ongoing webcast series, Social Science for a World in Crisis. Learn more about the series and view previous episodes here.

Moderator: Roy Bahat, Bloomberg Beta

Panelists
John Ahlquist, UC San Diego, 2017-18 CASBS fellow
Oren Cass, Executive Director, American Compass
Venna Dubal, UC College of the Law, S.F., 2022-23 CASBS fellow

There is a lot of talk about the importance of "worker voice" but much less about how it comes about. As a matter of law and policy, there is a chicken-and-egg problem: existing U.S. labor laws and regulations are wildly outmoded. They incentivize overly narrow and parochial bargaining units, enable employer resistance, hamper organizational experimentation in unions, and preclude some organizational alternatives altogether. But changing the law requires that workers’ organizations and their allies apply sustained political pressure beyond what they appear capable of delivering. Precarious employment, fissuring workplaces, and distributed supply chains are making it harder for workers to develop the occupational identities and dense networks of coworkers that supported the organization-building of the past. Can we build effective workers' organizations now? Do we need to jettison existing law to do so? Join John Ahlquist, Oren Cass, and Veena Dubal in conversation with Roy Bahat as they explore these challenges and questions. 

This episode is produced in association with CASBS's Creating a New Moral Political Economy program. Learn about the program here.

This episode is produced in partnership with the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Center for Commerce and Diplomacy at UC San Diego, and the Peter F. Cowhey Center on Global Transformation at UC San Diego.