Alt-labor

What is alt-labor?

Alt-labor describes the informal coalition of organizations that is pushing to advance workers’ rights in the wake of decreased union membership.

In the U.S., unions represented 30 percent or more of employed workers from the end of World War II through the 1950s. As of 2017, 10.7 percent of workers were in unions, with membership at 6.5 percent in the private sector. There are several reasons for this decline, but uniting them all is the fact that the foundations of labor law no longer fit the world of today’s employment.

There are five types of alt-labor organizations:

1. Work shapers, are new models that give workers formalized voices on the inside of companies;
2. Worker centers are community-based organizations that engage in a combination of service, advocacy, and organizing to support low-wage workers;
3. Coalition builders which connect people, who may not have shared experiences, in order to influence macro-level policy;
4. Platform connectors which use platforms to unite workers working towards micro-goals;
5. Information Equalizers which  are using data to increase transparency in the labor market.

Some examples:

• Coworker.org provides a platform on which employees can launch and join campaigns to improve workplace conditions;
• OUR Walmart, which uses machine learning technology to answer employees’ questions about workplace rights;
• Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, among other tactics, publicly commends and promotes restaurants that practice fair labor management practices.

Alt-labor, explained
By: Dylan Walsh, Thomas Kochan – MIT
New forms of worker voice in the 21st century
Author: Jeremy Avins, Megan Larcom, Jenny Weissbourd
From: MIT, Harvard University

Are these forms of labor organization sustainable?

The legal aspect: The National Labor Relations Act has been assumed to protect workers acting together, whether to form a union or otherwise. Recently though, the US Supreme Court signaled they might be interested in revisiting the legal protections for workers acting outside a union context, which would mean workers could be fired for engaging in any kind of collective activity.
The financial aspect: Nearly all of the organizations rely on philanthropic funding or membership based dues. But funding comes with the pressure to design programs and services based on funder interests rather than client needs.
The Resurrection of American Labor
By: Bloomberg