2021 (1st half) Revaluing Work(ers): Toward a Democratic and Sustainable Future

Abstract

1st half of the LERA RV available online to LERA membersVolume ForwardLike nothing we have experienced in our lifetimes, the interlocking health, economic, racial justice, climate, and democracy crises of the past year have placed workers and their well-being prominently in our minds and in the public discourse. The pandemic and related crises have exposed, highlighted, and exacerbated economic injustices and structural weaknesses that prevailed long before. They have made palpable the catastrophic consequences of decades of failing to address social problems, such as stagnating wages, disappearing jobs, declining worker power, and accelerating inequality of many dimensions. One of the many paradoxes of the pandemic is that essential workers, who are most at risk of getting sick, are those who are most precarious and poorly paid and are disproportionately African American, Hispanic, and female. I welcome this year’s LERA research volume, Revaluing Work(ers): Toward a Democratic and Sustainable Future, conceived before COVID-19 assaulted the world, but developed and published amid these cascading crises. Through a series of thoughtful essays, written by a diverse and knowledgeable group of contributors, the volume argues for a labor studies approach to addressing these crises and the future of work, including technological disruption: an approach that is worker centered, multidisciplinary, and normatively anchored, with an explicit commitment to upholding worker rights. The volume’s premise is that labor studies provides a valuable source of ideas with unique advantages for building a democratic and sustainable future for work that advances workers’ interests, a worthy alternative to long prevailing market-centered ideology.The research volume underscores LERA’s distinctive multidisciplinary forum. Even in today’s polarized climate, labor, management, and government practitioners; scholars from many disciplines; advocates; and neutrals can come together, making LERA an ideal setting for dialogue about a way forward at this uncertain and difficult historical moment. Complementing the ideas explored in the research volume, LERA’s June 2021 (virtual) annual meeting will also grapple with the challenges facing the nation. Its theme, “A Transformational Moment? Work, Worker Power, and the Workplace in an Era of Division and Disruption,” was also conceived before the pandemic, but it has been made all the more relevant by the past year’s ordeals.  Whether this moment will be transformational remains to be seen.For a long time, the United States has been at war over government, especially its role in regulating business and the market: for some, government is a social good; but for others, it is the enemy. With this deep divide, it has become nearly impossible for government to play its role, especially at the federal level.Government can have a big impact on workers, their lives, and livelihoods, whether through action or inaction. The pandemic has unmasked the high costs of inaction.In one view, America will not, indeed cannot, return to the pre-COVID state of affairs. Americans’ feelings about government will be transformed, as they have witnessed what the virus has revealed and experienced the importance of government doing its job—and doing it well. Under this view, it is hard to imagine how anyone can still question the critical role of government as a social good. And yet, in another view, these crises may turn out to be less of a watershed than many predict—with the weaknesses and injustices we had before still intact, with attitudes about government, including global governance, just as divided and entrenched. The jury is out on which of these views will prevail. Indeed, with poverty, misery, and social unrest on the rise, things could get even worse. Faced with this dilemma, how do we seize this troubled moment to ensure a more secure, equitable, democratic, and sustainable future? To help struggling individuals and communities recover, policy makers must confront these challenges. It would be fanciful to expect these crises to be tackled on any meaningful scale without government intervention, relying solely on the market’s ability to correct or regulate. With wise policy choices, we can do a better job to improve the lives and working conditions of America’s workers, to better align the evolving realities of work with protective legislation, to minimize the health and safety risks of working, and to ease persistent market failures. For the good of the nation, government must be a major player to ensure a better future and shared prosperity for all American workers. With its focus on a labor studies approach, this research volume aims to influence the debate over the future of work and the revaluing of workers. This is especially important given the suffering of the past year. I am privileged to be president-elect of LERA at this moment, and I welcome the opportunity to engage in the critical dialogue needed to emerge from these crises as a stronger nation.Wilma B. Liebman LERA President-Elect Washington, DC January 2021