To empower workers and improve working conditions, a growing number of state and local policymakers are exploring industry-wide councils to regulate workplace standards for low-wage workers, including compensation, training, scheduling, and safety. One of the business types sparking these conversations is the nail salon sector, a multibillion-dollar industry largely made up of small businesses staffed by women, immigrants, and refugees. How might sectoral boards help create a sustainable and equitable future for nail salons, and what are the opportunities and challenges for policy, worker organizing, and advocacy in other sectors? What will it take to create the infrastructure for success?
Please join the UCLA Labor Center, the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative, and WorkRise for this virtual event, featuring advocates and policymakers working at the cutting edge of new models for labor. The conversation will highlight findings from the recently published report Nailing New Labor Models: Exploring Sectoral Boards and High Road Training Partnerships in the Nail Salon Sector, by the UCLA Labor Center, the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative, and California State University, Long Beach. Speakers will reflect on the new Domestic Workers Standards Board in Seattle and how a standards council might help nail salon workers in New York. Speakers will also discuss paths forward and lessons learned from developing partnerships among employers, worker organizations, and other industry stakeholders.
Speakers:
- Dana Barnett, Washington State Organizer, Hand in Hand: The Domestic Employers Network
- Baylie Freeman, Cochair, Seattle Domestic Workers Standards Board
- Sylvia González, Cochair, Seattle Domestic Workers Standards Board
- Prarthana Gurung, Campaigns and Communications Manager, Adhikaar
- Lucero Herrera, Senior Research Analyst, UCLA Labor Center
- Laine Middaugh, Policy Analyst, Seattle Office of Labor Standards
- Jessica Ramos, New York State Senator, District 13
- Shweta Thakali, Member Leader, Adhikaar
Support for this event is provided by the funders of WorkRise. For more information on the Urban Institute’s funding principles, go to urban.org/fundingprinciples.
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