The conversation builds on earlier work @columbiaigp.bsky.social has been doing with @equitablegrowth.bsky.social on the connection between economic policy, populism, and democracy.
Read more here: equitablegrowth.org/designing-ec...
Excited to be in conversation with distinguished labor leaders Mary Kay Henry, @aijenpoo.bsky.social, and @juliesulabor.bsky.social at @columbiaigp.bsky.social together with my colleague Jen Klein! We'll be talking about the intersection of workers, economic policy, and democracy.
Tune in below!
New research from @awhf.bsky.social highlights how workplace technologies don't impact all workers equally—and why strong worker voice and protections matter as these tools become more common. Findings point to clear disparities that call for stronger safeguards.
equitablegrowth.org/research-pap...
Thrilled that my paper (w/@sarahobolt.bsky.social,@catherinedevries.bsky.social,@simonecremaschi.bsky.social) was accepted at the American Political Science Review!
We find that declining public services fuel support for the populist right — and show why the right benefits more than other parties 🧵
Excited to be co-hosting this event with a fantastic line-up of speakers discussing the connection between economic policy, workers, and democracy with Mary Kay Henry, Jennifer Klein, Ai-jen Poo, and Deputy Mayor Julie Su! Tune in on April 15th.
Just WOW! I’ve watched SO many amazing “lives” & interviews lately. I can’t say enough about this one today with @hcrichardson.bsky.social & @vanessawilliamson.bsky.social. Super smart. Super informative & interesting! An amazing:45 that did my brain good! 🫶🏻
Go ahead, click the link.
#taxes
#history
2/ Alex's recent report highlights important findings about union members’ experiences with provisions related to automated management and surveillance tools in their collective bargaining agreements.
Learn more ➡️ equitablegrowth.org/research-pap...
Was great to share research on how workers are experiencing automated management and surveillance at the @aflciotech.bsky.social summit!
Feeling inspired by the great labor focus on how workers can help steer design and implementation of AI tools in the workplace!
1/ Our fellow for Policy and Advocacy, Megan Rivera, and visiting fellow Alexander Hertel-Fernandez (@awhf.bsky.social) spoke today @aflciotech.bsky.social's Workers First AI Summit, highlighting Equitable Growth's investments in AI research.
‘While state and federal prosecutors have sent record numbers of people to prison for violent crimes and property- and drug-related offenses, the US retreated from prosecuting and punishing white-collar crime, despite a tsunami of elite-level wrongdoing.’ www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
A new survey of unionized U.S. workers reaffirms that continuous productivity monitoring combined with explicit or implicit performance targets contributes to higher rates of mental distress and physical injury.
More about the research from @awhf.bsky.social 🔗:
“One of the best predictors of whether or not you apply for [unemployment] benefits and you receive them is if you belong to a union, because the union helps you understand the process and can even help you with the application,”
- @awhf.bsky.social
fortune.com/2026/03/09/a...
“The agents gained entry by stating they were police searching for a missing child.” Message from Claire Shipman, Columbia’s Acting President, to the Columbia community, sent a few minutes ago.
What happens now that the Ellisons will have both CBS News, plus CNN?
*Dems could set out a populist anti-trust platform for the next election
*Desperate need for new independent media sources - follow nonprofit or other models
What else?
No. NO. NO NO NO.
Today, Mariana Pargendler explains how, in 1937, Brazil adopted a bold legal innovation to protect workers that remains virtually nonexistent in the Global North: imposing joint and several liability on parent companies for labor obligations.
My latest research looks at how the unemployment insurance system systematically disadvantages women who are out of work -- and offers practical policy recommendations for states and the federal government.
👇
This is as good as any contrast between Trump and Biden: state capacity to help people from predatory capital is done. Instead the only growth in state capacity is is in building its coercive powers.
NEW: ICE has a plan to lease offices across the US as part of a secret, months-long expansion campaign.
Today, @wired.com is publishing dozens of those locations. Many are near schools, medical offices, and places of worship.
Vital work from @leahfeiger.bsky.social that I'm proud to publish.
Aw, thanks Matt! We’re so glad you and the @niskanencenter.bsky.social folks are digging into the alternatives to experience rating!
I think the Alaska system is probably better than most states, but I think the "good" incentives also backfire - experience rating causes firms to reduce *hiring* (especially of younger, riskier workers), not just layoffs.
Thanks Brian! Excited to hear your thoughts.
A coda! @alixgouldwerth.bsky.social and I met volunteering at a UI clinic in Michigan during grad school and we've been thinking about these ideas for over 10 years!
A big thanks to Luke Shaefer for bringing us together all those years ago, and to the Michigan UI clinic for the work they did!
This isn't a new concern and unions raised fears about making employers "so unemployment-compensation conscious that they will fight every claim" way back in the 1930s.
As we think about revamping the safety net, it is time to revisit these concerns. 6/
Experience rating needs more attention from policymakers and advocates for the perverse incentives it creates for employers to fight worker UI claims.
One idea is to charge employers higher taxes based on their layoffs, not benefit claims. (AK does this.) That would preserve "good" incentives. 5/
Employers now have a "boom industry" of consultants like Equifax to help them challenge UI claims to lower taxes (see below for one ad from Equifax).
It's another important way that businesses profit over making the safety net harder to access, as @lukef.bsky.social has also documented. 4/
We find that around a quarter of applicants have their claims contested, and if they are contested, they are less likely to receive benefits.
As a result, we find that contestations are correlated with greater material hardship and administrative burden during unemployment spells. 3/
The US is essentially unique in making employers pay more if their workers claim more UI benefits. It has important benefits, discouraging layoffs.
But employers can also lower their taxes by contesting worker claims. Using a national survey of unemployed workers, we study these contestations. 2/
As we think about the safety net we might need to deal with job displacement risk, UI reform will be super important.
@alixgouldwerth.bsky.social and I have a new piece about our research on one perverse aspect of the UI system: its reliance on employer taxes that rise with benefit claims. 1/
