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Chapter
How Labor can Contribute to a New Social Contract
DOI link for How Labor can Contribute to a New Social Contract
How Labor can Contribute to a New Social Contract book
How Labor can Contribute to a New Social Contract
DOI link for How Labor can Contribute to a New Social Contract
How Labor can Contribute to a New Social Contract book
ABSTRACT
Before the breakdown of the social contract for labor, unions played a strong role in obtaining good wages and benefits for their members. However, union membership has declined precipitously since the 1970s, and it is unlikely that unions will regain the power they have lost in the past four decades. The labor force needs new types of organizations that will increase the ability of employees to influence wages and policies—what we refer to as worker voice. We report on renewal strategies within the labor movement, including new approaches unions are making to relationships between workers and employers, apprenticeship programs, and strategies for organizing farm labor. Most intriguing is the development of alt-labor, facilitated by the growth of social media platforms and online apps the give workers the information they need as they choose for whom to work.