Work just isn’t what it used to be. New technology, increased global competition and trade, the growth of gig work, shifting demographics, the rise of shareholder capitalism, and other factors have reshaped work, economic opportunity, and the employee-employer relationship. In contrast, our system of labor laws has changed very little. Laws designed decades ago have proved inadequate to protecting workers’ well-being in this altered context and the outcomes for many working people across the US have been devastating. Despite an increasingly productive economy, wages have flatlined in recent decades and union representation has fallen dramatically. Too many jobs provide compensation that is insufficient to meet basic living expenses, offer few opportunities for growth and economic advancement, and afford no system through which working people can address problems in their workplace, leaving too many hardworking people feeling disrespected and disposable. These conditions contradict ideals of individual freedom, equity, equal opportunity, and the American Dream.
But workers are not sitting idly by. A new generation of worker organizers is now demanding better. Workers organizing against unsafe and low paid work led to a sweeping set of worker protections and rights being passed in the 1930s. Those laws, that collectively became known as a workers’ constitution, represented a first step towards a workers’ bill of rights. Will today’s efforts lead to a renewed and expanded commitment to working people sharing in the country’s economic success? What would a workers’ bill of rights look like today? What will be needed to make a broad vision of workers’ rights reality for America’s working people?
This event features opening remarks from Aspen Institute President Dan Porterfield, followed by a panel discussion with Jaz Brisack (Starbucks Workers United), Don Howard (The James Irvine Foundation), Linda Nguyen (United Food and Commercial Workers Local 770), Ai-jen Poo (National Domestic Workers Alliance), and moderator Dorian Warren (Community Change). 
This is the final discussion in a five-part series, The History and Future of U.S. Labor Law: Conversations to Shape the Future of Work.

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