launched the meeting by situating us in the current moment of a global pandemic during which the U.S. provided sufficient cash relief so that poverty was reduced. And, at the same time, we’re seeing expressions of worker power with workers demanding higher wages and better working conditions. This potential relationship between guaranteed income and worker power holds a lot of implications for the guaranteed income movement and the labor movement, and our organizations have coordinated together to explore the potential relationships through a series of convenings, discussions, and roundtables.

was introduced by Foster following the highlighting of racial disparities in economic stability. Jobs with Justice is a union rights organization focused on establishing a multi-racial democracy and an equitable worker-centered economy. Smiley provided historical context for the recent examples of worker power, framing the current moment as a continuation of the ongoing battle for workers’ rights, democracy, and racial justice dating back more than 150 years. Smiley explained that the post-Civil War Reconstruction project to build a multiracial democracy in this country is largely incomplete, and has been continually interrupted by actors claiming control for a select few while continuing to exclude Black, Brown, Indigenous, and immigrant communities. Democracy must be applied to participation and decision-making in all aspects of life, rather than a narrow set of political practices; by that measure, Smiley asserted, the United States has far to go. Smiley shared that Jobs with Justice will continue to pursue democracy in all forms of public life, and desires to think about guaranteed income through the lens of building a stronger, healthier democracy.

engaged in a keynote conversation about the relationship between worker power and a robust safety net. Dorian set the stage by recognizing that a strong labor movement will encourage a robust safety net that allows all families to thrive, before asking Shierholz about current data on workers’ bargaining power. Shierholz shared that many sectors of the economy are witnessing clear signs of increased worker power, especially those that were hardest hit by the pandemic and have the lowest wages, including restaurant and hospitality work. People are quitting their jobs for better, more accommodating work, and hires are consistently outpacing quits. She reminded participants that increasing strike activity predates the pandemic; recalling teachers’ walk-outs in 2018 and 2019 that garnered attention. Shierholz noted that the most comprehensive data available on strike activity is still deeply inadequate, reflecting a need for better and more responsive data sources.

Warren then turned attention to policies to increase worker power, focusing especially on the recent reconciliation bill. Shierholz shared that the American Recovery Plan stimulates the economy by giving more money back to households, small businesses, and local governments, which promises to increase demand for goods and services and therefore for workers, critical to building worker power. In addition, she asserted that universal income boosts worker power by allowing laborers to be selective in what employment they accept.

During a participant question and answer period, Shierholz cautioned that recent gains are unlikely to last without policy change, including a strong safety net and addressing employers’ interference with organizing, reminding participants that the majority of workers across the country still do not have access to unions or representation, and that even with recent increases, wage levels remain too low to live on for many.

Following Sheirholz and Warren’s conversation, participants joined four virtual breakout groups for smaller, more intimate conversations focused on specific issues in the fight towards a more inclusive and equitable economy: research, policy design, labor, and messaging. Guiding questions for each of these rooms were: