Workers Archives - Public Seminar

Labor

The Orchids That Bloom in the Dark

The migrant domestic workers of the U.K. organization Waling Waling are fighting for their dignity and human rights

November 17, 2021 • by Annelise Orleck

On a warm, wet London Saturday, a group of Filipina women meet in Regent’s Park. They are joined by a few friends from North and West Africa, several small children, and a couple of men recording the event on camera. They spread blankets on the grass which they quickly cover ...

Labor

The Past and Future of the Office

Past Present Podcast, Episode 278

May 4, 2021 • by Nicole Hemmer, Natalia Mehlman Petrzela and Neil J. Young

Here are some links and references mentioned during this week’s show: New York magazine published a sprawling collection of essays about experiences of office life. Natalia referred to this Atlantic article about the persistence of deep cleaning protocols despite evidence that the coronavirus does not spread on surfaces. Niki cited historian ...

Economy

The Hidden Costs of Unnecessary Work

By reevaluating the role of work, we can remake our economy and our lives

April 18, 2021 • by Jared Spears

_____ As America looks cautiously toward economic “reopening” post-pandemic, most official prescriptions tend to share a fundamental premise: rebounding to pre-pandemic G.D.P. growth and pursuing the promise of new employment opportunities in the private sector. President Biden’s "Build Back Better" climate and economic recovery plan has been geared toward putting Americans back to ...

History

A Monument to Dis-Union

The West Virginia Coal Miner statue ignores race, class, and history

July 16, 2020 • by Steven Stoll

During our present twilight of the statues, when citizens across the country force the removal of effigies that represent racism and colonialism, Jackson is an obvious target for removal. Yet I’ve been thinking of another statue just a few yards away from Jackson: The West Virginia Coal Miner, a monument ...

New York City

Time for a Real Look at How the New York State Workers’ Compensation System Treats Workers

February 16, 2020 • by James Parrott

Improvements in reducing workplace injuries have slowed in many industries, particularly those employing low-wage workers, and New York has seen a disturbing rise in fatal workplace injuries in recent years. More than half of those receiving payments for lost worktime injuries are low-wage workers, and, prior to injury, three-fourths earned ...

Time for a Real Look at How the New York State Workers’ Compensation System Treats Workers

Migration

Post-Workers of the World, Unite!

Reconciling Open Borders and Post-Work Politics

December 6, 2019 • by James Chamberlain

Labour party members passed a motion at the 2019 conference asserting that “free movement, equality and rights for migrants are socialist values and benefit us all.” This socialist framing of freedom of movement emphasizes that migrants are workers and marks a clear contrast with Bernie Sanders’s description of open borders as a “right-wing ...

New York City

Local Governments Can Afford To Pay a $15 Minimum Wage

November 7, 2019 • by James Parrott

In contrast to this Congressional stalemate, there’s been a growing push in many states for higher minimum wages. Over the past decade, 29 states and the District of Columbia have raised their minimum wages above the federal floor. In the spring, Maryland and Connecticut joined New Jersey, Illinois, New York, ...

Uncategorized

Senior Citizens as “Silver Surfers”

& Other Fantasies about Working Longer

October 15, 2019 • by Teresa Ghilarducci

The new “working-longer consensus” is reminiscent of the deeply flawed and now largely-discredited “Washington Consensus” that crystallized around aid to developing countries in the 1980s. Both are based on the demands of neo-liberal policy makers, not the needs of working people. The Economist recently endorsed the findings of the 2019 OECD report “Working ...

Feature

Stranded in Stagnant Regions, Older Workers Left with Low Wages

May 2018 Unemployment Report for Workers Over 55

June 2, 2018 • by Teresa Ghilarducci

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported a 2.8% unemployment rate for workers age 55 and older in May, a decrease of 0.2 percentage points from April. The economy is expanding, unemployment is low, and wages are growing. But wage growth for workers over 55 is slower than wage growth for younger ...