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Welcome to our fifth week of
Shaping the Future of Work.

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My name is Christine Riordan,
and I am a PhD student here

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at the Institute for Work and
Employment Research at MIT.

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I'm filling in for
Professor Kochan

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this morning, who you will
hear from later in the week.

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There are two items that
we want to highlight as we

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start this week of the course.

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One is our upcoming topic
regarding worker voice

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and good quality
jobs in the context

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of changing forms of work.

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The second is something
we're really excited about,

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which is a simulated negotiation
over the future social contract

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at work, something that you will
be participating in next week,

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and which really brings all
of the ideas and this course

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together in a very concrete way.

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So this week, we're
going to get you set up

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for that negotiation.

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But first, our focus on
worker voice and advocacy.

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So last week, we heard from
a number of individuals

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about new arrangements
and forms of work,

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whether it be new
patterns of job growth,

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the organization of
work through technology,

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or new strategies
in entrepreneurship.

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From the discussion
boards, these

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seem to be topics that
resonate with your thinking

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about the future of work, not
only in terms of your own jobs

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or careers, but also in the
bigger picture of the labor

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market.

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Within this realm, the
issue of job quality

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is front and center.

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So these two things,
changing forms

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of work and good
employment practices,

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are critical to our upcoming
module on worker voice

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and advocacy.

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We're going to extend
this discussion

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to consider how worker voice
and organizing are changing

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as new forms of organizing
work are emerging.

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To do so, we're going
to first discuss

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the decline in union
membership, a traditional means

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of exercising voice on the job.

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We'll identify some of
the ways in which new work

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arrangements are challenging
voice and job quality.

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We'll then talk about how new
forms of worker organizing

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are starting to adapt to
these changes and challenges.

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Firms, as we'll see, are
also making decisions

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on how they integrate new ways
of doing work, such as those

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brought by technology, in
ways that maintain good job

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standards.

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However, we want
to take a moment

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to emphasize an
important point that

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puts these discussions
in a broader context.

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In a number of our
videos and discussions,

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we've talked about
alternative work arrangements

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such as freelancing
or contracting,

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and on-demand, or gig, jobs.

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According to a recent study
by US economists Lawrence Katz

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and Alan Krueger, such
alternative arrangements

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have grown, most notably
in the last 10 years,

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and now account for about
15% of workers' jobs

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throughout the US.

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This growth in the
visibility of arrangements

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like those of the
on-demand economy

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are bringing renewed attention
to related labor market

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challenges.

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Still, some of
these arrangements

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make up a relatively
small portion of jobs.

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The on-demand
economy, for instance,

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accounted for less than
1% of total employment

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in 2015, according
to Katz and Krueger.

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So given this, there
are really two tasks

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at hand in this week's agenda.

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One, as we've stated, is to
understand emerging forms

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of voice that overcome
some of the challenges

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in these arrangements.

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In our videos and
Additional Resource section,

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you'll see inspiring
examples and accounts of how

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change is being achieved.

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The second task is
to critically examine

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what these new
challenges are telling us

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about the overall labor market.

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Encouragingly, we have
arrived at a point where

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we are engaging in public
discourse about issues

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like the rights of
independent contractors

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with on-demand companies
like Uber or TaskRabbit.

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One way to think
about this discourse

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is that it provides a
window, or a way in,

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to thinking about the challenges
found throughout the labor

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market and experienced by
workers across the board,

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whether in an alternative
arrangement or not.

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So given this, the
question we ask becomes,

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how can we take the ideas
and the proposals and lessons

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we learned from
these emerging forms

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and use those to think
critically about solutions

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to challenges and the need
for a stronger role of worker

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voice across different
segments of the labor market,

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like those discussed by Bureau
of Labor Statistics chief

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economist Heidi
Shierholz last week?

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Doing so places our
thinking in the trajectory

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we've been on throughout
this course, which

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has focused in recent weeks
on the gradual demise of labor

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market institutions and the
social contract at work.

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We're excited to see
how you're thinking

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about these in the discussion
boards over the coming week.

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Now, on to the
negotiation exercise.

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In week six, you'll be engaging
with your course colleagues

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in dialogue regarding different
actions and employment

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practices that can
serve as building

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blocks for the new
social contract at work.

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To do this, you'll
be assigned to groups

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and will negotiate from the
perspective of a given role,

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including management, labor
unions and professional groups,

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the federal government, or
educational institutions.

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The idea behind this is to bring
all of our lessons and material

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together in a
concrete way, but one

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that hinges on your
creativity and participation.

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So the outcome of
the exercise is

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really dependent upon
having as many perspectives

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and participants as possible.

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This week, you're given basic
information and instructions

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for the negotiation.

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You're also asked to
sign up for the exercise

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and fill out a short
preparation survey.

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We encourage all of
you, whether you're

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taking the class for
a certificate or not,

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to participate so that we
can collectively really make

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the most out of this
opportunity to think creatively

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about the issues we care about.

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Next week, you'll receive
your role and your group

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assignments, and we'll
start your negotiations.

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On our discussion board, you'll
notice a new thread entitled

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"Negotiation Exercise"
where this week and next,

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you can post questions or let
us know if you need assistance.

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We hope that you'll join
us for the exercise,

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and for a live event
presentation in week

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seven, the details of
which we'll post soon.

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There we'll talk about
your plans for action.

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So stay tuned. s