Theme Resource List, 2021-23: Making Work Work

Short Publications and Reports

Larissa Petrucci, Lola Loustaunau, Mary C. King, Lisa Dodson, and Ellen Scott, "A Labor Crisis within the Childcare Crisis: The Growing Need for “Non-Traditional Hours” Met by Underpaid In-Home Providers," (UO Labor Education and Research Center, July 2022. Supported with a Wayne Morse Center grant). 

Veena Dubal and Juliet B. Schor,  “Gig Workers Are Employees. Start Treating Them That Way,” New York Times, January 18, 2021.Sarita Gupta, “The Price We Pay: Why We Need to Redefine Care in America,” Just Matters, May 11, 2021.

C. Nicole Mason with Andrea Flynn and Shengwei Sun, “Build(ing) the Future: Bold Policies for a Gender-Equitable Recovery” (Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 2020).

Emily Peck, “Policymakers Used to Ignore Child Care. Then Came the Pandemic,” New York Times, May 9, 2021.

Ai-Jen Poo and Palak Shah, “The Future of Work Isn’t What People Think It Is,” New York Times, June 24, 2020.

Megan Pratt and Michaella Sektnan, “Oregon’s Child Care Deserts 2020: Mapping Supply by Age Group and Percentage of Publicly Funded Slots” (prepared for the Oregon Early Learning Division by Oregon State University, College of Public Health and Human Science, April 2021).

Books

Juliet B. Schor, After the Gig: How the Sharing Economy Got Hijacked and How to Win It Back (University of California Press, 2020).

Sarita Gupta and Erica Smiley, The Future We Need: Organizing for a Better Democracy in the Twenty-First Century (Cornell University Press, forthcoming in April 2022).

Blogs, Podcasts, Videos

Care Talk, a blog managed and primarily written by feminist economist Nancy Folbre

The Primal Scream, a series by The New York Times examining the pandemic’s effect on working mothers in the United States

The Shape of Care, a podcast that explores the world of caregiving in the U.S. through storytelling and information-sharing

Sarita Gupta on the future of work after the covid-19 pandemic, Washington Journal, C-SPAN, July 6, 2021.

Juliet Schor on her book, After the Gig, Harvard Book Store, Friday Forum, September 14, 2020.

Organizations

Family Forward Oregon
Family Forward fights for economic and reproductive justice for all caregivers in Oregon by advocating for long-term systems change. It is dedicated to building economic and political power with mamas, caregivers, and families, and has been a leader in passing bold, statewide laws related to universal paid family and medical leave insurance, and universal child care.

Ford Foundation, Future of Work(ers)
During a period of rapid structural changes in workplaces and the broader economy, this program is focused on ensuring that all workers, regardless of their status, have equal rights to labor protections, that social protections are guaranteed to all, and that workers shape the policies and economic systems that affect their lives.

Gig Workers Collective
This non-profit organization brings time, resources, and focus to the fight for fair pay and better treatment for all gig economy workers, from Instacart Shoppers to Lyft Drivers. Gig Workers Collective will act as “first responders” to take the lead in organizing immediate action to new grievances, while also providing consistent organizing support and guidance to workers across all platforms, and identify new ways to support fellow workers in their own organizing efforts.

National Domestic Workers Alliance
Founded in 2007, the NDWA is the nation’s leading voice for dignity and fairness for the millions of domestic workers in the United States.

National Employment Law Project
Founded fifty years ago, NELP fights for policies to create good jobs, expand access to work, and strengthen protections and support for low-wage and unemployed workers. NELP publishes research that illuminates workers’ issues, promotes policies that improve workers’ lives, lends legal and policy expertise to important cases and campaigns, and partners with allies to advance crucial reforms.

Northwest Workers’ Justice Project
The Northwest Workers’ Justice Project exists to support the efforts of low-wage, immigrant, and contingent workers to protect their workplace dignity and to improve wages and working conditions.

PCUN (Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste)
PCUN is Oregon’s farmworker union. Since 1985, it has worked to strengthen workers’ rights by creating safer workplaces, advocating for fair wages, and pushing for enough economic security to care for our families. Its mission is to empower farmworkers and working Latinx families in Oregon by building community, increasing Latinx representation in elections, and policy advocacy on both the national and state levels.

University of Oregon, Labor Education and Research Center
Established in 1977, LERC mobilizes education, research, and public service to ensure that Oregon workers have the skills and support that they need to participate meaningfully in their workplaces and communities.