Labor Organizing Today, Promises and Pitfalls

In his debut salon, venture capitalist Roy Bahat explores the present state of labor organizing

— covering a little bit of history as context and then discussing different approaches at work today, union and otherwise. This will be a broad overview, to explore possible topics for future salons. Most of the focus will be on the US, though we welcome perspectives from elsewhere.

We’ll explore the blessings and curses of organized labor, the various strands of labor organization, and discuss the role technology plays in shaping these movements.

Questions we’ll discuss:

• Is labor organizing rising or falling in importance?
• What are the effects, on a company and on the economy and society, of organized workforces?
• Who can join a union? (Did you know that almost everyone in a business who manages a single person in the US cannot join a union?)
• When is it OK for a worker to opt out of a democratically-elected union, and when is it free riding?
• What changes in law make sense in a digital-gig era?

To prepare, you might read:

What Forms of Representation Do American Workers Want? // Data on American workers’ desire to unionize

Conservatives Should Ensure Workers a Seat at the Table // On the conservative case for worker voice

What Should We Do After Work? // On automation and the implications for labor (law)

Beaten Down, Worked Up // For the ambitious, Steven Greenhouse’s comprehensive book — he was the NYT’s longtime labor reporter

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