The institution of work is in a crisis in the US. Americans continue to believe in the value of hard work, but for far too many, hard work is insufficient to pay the bills. The 2016 election heightened attention to the white working class, the #MeToo movement pulled back the curtain on abuses many women experience at work, the role of immigrant workers has become a divisive flashpoint, and fears of an automation-induced jobs apocalypse abound. These current challenges have historical precedents.
In an engaging new book, Beaten Down, Worked Up – The Past, Present, and Future of American Labor, veteran New York Times reporter Steven Greenhouse relates how working people organized to address similar challenges in the past, how the gains they achieved began to erode, and how working people today are again finding their voice. Like their predecessors, workers are uniting in common purpose to respond to today’s challenges and demand a better world of work for themselves and for future generations.
Enjoy this conversation with one of the nation’s leading labor reporters discussing the past, present, and future of work in America and the role of working people in determining that future.
This event features Steven Greenhouse (former reporter, The New York Times) and moderator Maureen Conway (Vice President for Policy Programs, The Aspen Institute; Executive Director, Economic Opportunities Program).
This event is part of the Working in America series, an ongoing discussion series hosted by the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program that highlights an array of critical issues affecting low- and moderate-income workers in the United States and ideas for improving and expanding economic opportunities for working people. We are grateful to the Ford Foundation, Prudential Financial, and the Walmart Foundation for their support of this series. For more information, visit as.pn/workinginamerica.
The Economic Opportunities Program advances strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy. We recognize that race, gender, and place intersect with and intensify the challenge of economic inequality and we address these dynamics by advancing an inclusive vision of economic justice. For over 25 years, EOP has focused on expanding individuals’ opportunities to connect to quality work, start businesses, and build economic stability that provides the freedom to pursue opportunity. Learn more at as.pn/eop.