Overview
Unions, collective bargaining, and other forms of advocacy have resulted in better wages, benefits, and working conditions for workers. Organized labor, however, is at a crossroads, as union membership has declined. As unions evolve to meet the needs of a globalized, 21st-century workforce, nonunion forms of worker organizing, sectoral bargaining, and worker representation on corporate boards have emerged as new forms of worker voice and representation.
Working Knowledge
Employer practices, Scheduling
Last updated on July 22, 2025
Video
WorkRise Shorts: Charting Workers’ Experiences with Fair Workweek Laws in Three US Cities with Susan Lambert
Are new fair workweek laws in Chicago, New York City, and Seattle helping workers get predictable flexible work schedules from their…
Last updated on July 22, 2025
Employer practices, Young workers
Last updated on October 08, 2024
Research Summary
Young Workers Need Support When They Can't Find Their Footing in the US Workforce
During recessions, young workers are less likely to find work and face lower wage growth than more experienced workers. Unemployment Insurance could be reformed to support these young workers as they navigate the labor market amid economic downturns at foundational times in their careers, alongside other policy tools that can be effective in these instances.
Worker voice, representation, and power
Last updated on April 30, 2024
Research Summary
The Consequences of Signing Noncompete Agreements among Low-Wage Workers and Those without College Degrees
Noncompete agreements are commonly used by businesses when hiring highly educated, high-wage workers entrusted with sensitive information or specialized training, but new research finds that 14 percent of workers without a bachelor’s degree and 13 percent of workers earning less than $40,000 per year are also bound by these contracts. The Federal Trade Commission now wants to ban all noncompetes because they often are associated with harmful employment outcomes for workers’ career mobility and income growth, relying in part on this new research.
Worker voice, representation, and power
February 20, 2024
Research Summary
The Racial Wealth Gap Is Smaller among Union Members
New evidence sheds light on the wealth of union households, finding greater wealth, higher pay, more benefits, and more stable employment for union members of color compared to their nonunionized counterparts.
Research
Worker voice, representation, and power, Sectoral bargaining
Brief
August 09, 2023
Worker Voice, Representation, and Power
In this brief, we provide a summary of the research framework that informs WorkRise’s thinking about the importance of worker voice and power for low-wage workers’ labor market mobility. We then offer a series of specific priority areas for future…
WorkRise Research
Employer practices
Executive Summary
June 26, 2023
A Workplace Divided: Survey Research and Stakeholder Engagement to Advance Equitable Workplaces
A national survey by the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University explores workers' perceptions of discrimination and unfair treatment based on race and ethnicity. The study highlights the impact of discrimination on career advancement and the need for government and employer interventions to promote workplace equity.
Grantee Research
Worker voice, representation, and power, Immigrant workers
Executive Summary
March 13, 2023
Nailing New Labor Models: Exploring Sectoral Bargaining and High-Road Training Partnerships in the Nail Salon Sector
This report from the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative and the UCLA Labor Center explores how partnerships and sectoral boards can build a sustainable and equitable nail salon industry, focusing on two approaches from other sectors. High-road training partnerships and sectoral bargaining approaches can be adapted for nail salons but require distinct interventions and capacities for member participation.
Grantee Research
Worker voice, representation, and power, Immigrant workers, Sectoral bargaining
Report
July 28, 2022
Worker Power and Economic Mobility: A Landscape Report
This landscape report summarizes empirical evidence on two main pathways for workers to exercise their power in the labor market: the ability to exit their current job for better outside options and organizations and institutions that build worker voice within firms.
WorkRise Research
Worker voice, representation, and power
Report
July 11, 2022
U.S. Workers’ Organizing Efforts and Collective Actions: A Review of the Current Landscape
The report summarizes research evidence on the size of the voice and representation gaps workers are attempting to fill, and provides examples of different strategies workers are using to address the gap.
Grantee Research