#DW Newsletter #2

October -November 2023

You can download the PDF version of the newsletter.

We are glad to share our second #DemocratizingWork newsletter with the dual purpose of information reporting and dissemination about our own #DW current progress, and amplifying like-minded work and initiatives. We see this tool as helping make our community stronger across the globe, contributing to a possible democratic and sustainable future for all on this planet via pursuing jointly the deployment of the 3 principles of the #DemocratizingWork Manifesto: democratizing, decommodifying, and decarbonizing work.

We hope that you find this tool useful, and in return, could we ask you to share the news you are aware of via this input form? 

You can always email us at info@democratizingwork.org. Let’s join forces to make it truly global and help build a stronger global community of researchers and practitioners devoted to building a democratic and sustainable future.

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RECENT EVENTS 

OCT 11, USA – EDI Fall 2023 Keynote Lecture

The Economic Democracy Initiative - EDI at the Open Society University Network - OSUN, welcomed Dr. Mark Paul as the Fall 2023 Keynote speaker based on his new book The Ends of Freedom: Reclaiming America's Lost Promise of Economic Rights (University of Chicago Press). One of the signature policies discussed in Dr. Paul’s book is the Job Guarantee proposal that secures the right to a decent job for all: the first of the economic rights outlined in the Roosevelt agenda and a core pillar of the Democratizing Work Manifesto. He makes a compelling case for economic rights based on good economics and good politics. The logic of his argument, in the words of Naomi Klein, is irresistible. Without the embrace of substantive and well-guaranteed economic rights, democracy may not survive. Watch the lecture here.

OCT 13, ITALY - Confronting Today's Multidimensional Crisis: Leveraging Power to Transform Our Social and Economic Systems

Julie Battilana, #DW Core Group member, participated in "Le Giornate di Bertinoro per l'Economia Civile" (The Bertinoro Days for the Civil Economy). At this annual conference, focused on advancing the civil economy and the collaboration of the private, public and non-profit sectors, organized by the AICCON research center at the Bologna University, Professor Battilana shared the origins of the #DemocratizingWork movement and discussed how cross-sector collaboration to democratize, decommodify, and decarbonize our economy is essential to address pressing global challenges. Watch the presentation here. 

OCT 26, ONLINE - IPSA.RC.49 Virtual Speaker Series: Mark J. Kaswan on 'Weak Democracy: The Problem of Legitimacy in Workplace Democracy'

In this talk, Mark J. Kaswan proposed a comprehensive approach to workers' power in the workplace. Based on some research by members of the #DW Core Group, Kaswan suggests that workplace democracy suffers from a legitimacy problem. In most workplaces with democratic procedures, workers lack ultimate authority. But what is democracy without authority? Kaswan argues that if democracy is a way of doing politics, and politics is fundamentally concerned with power dynamics, then democratic procedures empower workers by allowing them to alter power dynamics in the workplace. However, worker participation gains authority not from democratic procedures themselves, but from informal forms of power existing outside the formal hierarchical power structure of the workplace. This power is relatively weak: it is thus a weak form of democracy. All the information here (link only active for APSA members).

NOV 09, BRAZIL - From Environmental Racism at Work to a Just Transition For All?

Professor Ania Zbyszewska (Carleton University, Canada), in a research partnership with Professor Flávia Máximo (Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Brazil), organized the event "From Environmental Racism at Work to a Just Transition for All? Unsettling and Reimagining the Labor/Environment Nexus" on November 9th at the Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, in Brazil. Drawing on studies carried out by policy researchers, as well as scholars engaged in work on environmental racism, decolonial political economy, and feminist political ecology, Professor Ania Zbyszewska spoke to the importance of defining Just Transition in a way that extends beyond justice for fossil fuel workers and communities in which they are embedded, to also encompass those communities and workers who have historically been excluded or marginalized, while being disproportionately disadvantaged by the very industries now being phased out. Professor Zbyszewska commented on the importance of questioning what we are transitioning towards – whether justly or not.

NOV 09, FRANCE - Hé Patron! Roundtable at the Paris School of Economics

On the occasion of the publication of the graphic novel “Hé Patron! Pour une révolution dans l’entreprise” focused on democratizing firms, co-authored by #DW Core group members Isabelle Ferreras and Hélène Landemore with others, the World Inequality Lab organized a roundtable at the Paris School of Economics in Paris. Hosted by Thomas Piketty, the event was organized in collaboration with Alternatives Economiques and Editions du Seuil. Isabelle Ferreras, and some of the co-authors presented the book in a discussion with the audience chaired by Christian Chavagneux. See the many media echoes about the book online. 

NOV 13, CANADA - Workshop: Book Talk on 'Part-Time for All: A Care Manifesto' by Jennifer Nedelsky and Tom Malleson. 

Workshop on Prof. Nedelsky's new book, 'Part-Time For All' (Oxford University Press, 2023), as part of McGill Faculty of Law's Annie MacDonald Langstaff workshop series. Part-Time for All offers solutions to four pressing policy-makers who are ignorant of care, and caregivers with little access to policy-making the care/policy divide. Only a radical restructuring of both work and care can redress all these problems. The book proposes new norms: no one does paid work for more than 30 hours a week, and everyone contributes roughly 22 hours of unpaid care to family, friends, or their chosen community of care. While the book focuses primarily on human-to-human care, the authors also include care for the earth. Indeed, the transformations needed to respond to climate change cannot happen without a deep shift in values, with revaluing care at the heart of the shift. This event is related to the decommodify and decarbonize principles, recognizing care work and part-time work as ways to restructure our conception of work and our contribution to society and the environment. This event was also co-sponsored by the Labour Law and Development Research Laboratory (Faculty of Law, McGill University), whose director is Prof. Adelle Blackett, a #DW Core Group member.

NOV 21, 2023, INDIA - Reparations, Decolonisation and Just Transitions

Our #DW Core Group Member, Neera Chandhoke, participated in a conference on epistemic injustice, she was a discussant on Decolonising Epistemic Authority: Reparations, and also chaired a session on Just Transition, a concept that has been thrown up by the labour movement. Professor Chandhoke's idea is that the transition from a brown to a green economy will need protection for the working classes, affected by the transition, along with peasants and landless labor.  It is an idea worth looking at, when the economy is undergoing a major shift by new technologies and modes of production. Please watch the recording here.­

CALL FOR ACTION

Support to ITALY GKN Crowdfunding Campaign Phase 2.

The GFF cooperative issued a first solidarity shareholding package of shares worth one million euros. The first phase of the 100 x 10.000 campaign to involve civil society in the cooperative begins. Reindustrialization from below is moving forward! Please continue to support this crowdfunding campaign in which the National Chapter of #DW Italy is fully involved. This call for action is addressed to all citizens, associations, social movements, workers, and union delegates who will become part of the cooperative's assembly, exercising social control over the reindustrialization process from an ecological perspective. All the information is here.

­NEW BOOKS OUT

De klus-economie. Voor uitbuiting: klik 'aanvaard' (EPO, Antwerpen) by Tim Christiaens. In this book, Tim Christiaens shows that technology, in itself, is neither good nor bad. The question is whether we want a perpetual cat-and-mouse game with companies that can only make profits through exploitation. Or do we opt for a labor market where everyone's wages and security are guaranteed? A sharp analysis coupled with a plea for worker cooperatives for platform work. Available in bookstores from November 17.

Social Economy Science, (Oxford University Press, Oxford) edited by Gorgi Krlev, Dominika Wruk, Giulio Pasi, and Marika Bernhard. Social Economy Science provides the first comprehensive analysis of why and how social economy organizations create superior value for society. The book draws on organizational theory and transition studies to provide a systematic perspective on complex multi-stakeholder forms of action. It discusses the social economy's role in promoting innovation for impact, as well as its role as an agent of societal change and as a partner to businesses, governments, and citizens. In the chapter 'Beyond a niche approach: Could social business become the norm?', Leszek Krol, Kara Sheppard-Jones, Alexandra Ubalijoro, and Julie Battilana explore what social businesses can teach us about the transition to a corporate model and economic system no longer exclusively focused on profit maximization, but rather organized around the pursuit of social and environmental goals alongside financial ones. We propose that what we have learned from social businesses can serve as a roadmap not only to change corporations themselves, but also to reform the institutional context in which they operate to better support both social businesses and companies that may try to emulate them. In doing so, this chapter draws the contours of an institutional environment that rewires incentive structures and norms to facilitate the transition to an economic model that supports decommodification, democratization, and environmental remediation. The title is available in open access.

­#DW IN THE NEWS

ITALIAN #DW National Chapter. Campi Bisenzio should have been the headquarter of a three-day meeting early November, with talks, concerts, and debates organised with  Banca Etica, GKN Workers’ Collective and the network Fuorimercato to think about what democratizing work means and imagining effective paths toward climate justice and alternative work arrangements. The event was canceled because of the flood. With people affected by the flood in Campi Bisenzio and other cities in Tuscany in mind, the Italian Chapter of #DemocratizingWork Network shares some considerations inspired by this last announced tragedy, hoping they will stimulate a debate on climate change and toxic narratives surrounding mainstream ideas of what development is. Please read the #DW Italia press release: It is not Ciaran; it is climate emergency. A global change is urgent. 

Isabelle Ferreras has published a new column in the Harvard Business Review France. This month's column, "AI: Vers une radicalisation des enjeux de pouvoir dans l'entreprise", is about the radicalization of power imbalances in the workplace in the age of artificial intelligence, and the need to empower workers, and democratize work as a result. You can read it (in French) in open access here.

Ai-Jen Poo Named Recipient of 2023 Gleitsman Citizen Activist Award American labor organizer Ai-Jen Poo will receive the 2023 Gleitsman Citizen Activist Award from the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard Kennedy School. She has received this Award for her exceptional leadership in defending domestic and immigrant workers in the USA. Poo is a co-founder and President of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, whose line of action advocates basic conditions that provide dignity, justice, rights, and protection for domestic workers, conditions that are essential for advancing the principles of the #DW movement. Past Gleitsman Award winners include Malala Yousafzai, John Lewis, Gloria Steinem, and Nelson Mandela. Poo will be honored in a ceremony at Harvard Kennedy School in December.

The Brazilian government launched the "National Care Policy". As a first step, the federal government launched a public consultation to establish the Conceptual Framework for Brazil's National Care Policy and listen to society's opinion on the need to create public policies to guarantee the right of care, supporting Brazilian families but also recognizing the female overload in this type of labor. The document will be available for critique and suggestions until December 15th.

Plataforma por la Democracia Economica, has launched a Manifesto initiative to promote workers’ participation in the government of firms in Spain. This topic is the program of the new progressive coalition government in Spain. In particular, opening the door to democracy for workers at the firm level is central. Unions have been demanding a law on trade union participation in company boards, as a translation of Article 129 of the Spanish Constitution. More than 80 academic personalities support the manifesto promoted by PxDE to include workers' participation in the new government's program.

Yolanda Díaz recupera su plan para sentar a los sindicatos en los consejos de administración de las empresas.

The new Spanish government has included the project of getting workers on the board of corporations in its coalition agreement. It intends to carry the reform within the framework of the social dialogue agreement, seeking to articulate the participation of the trade unions in the decision-making bodies of the companies, such as the board of directors. Read the article published by El País. The Plataforma por la democracia económica has played a critical leadership role in Spain in publishing a manifesto about the urgency of enabling workers to take part in the government of their firms. 

The documentary “Bauxita”, by Brazilian director Thamara Pereira, was one of five films awarded by the United Nations (UN), at the World Food Forum (WFF) 2023, in Rome, Italy. The World Food Forum is an independent, youth-led global network that aims to create a movement to transform agri-food systems to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This year, the forum's theme was "Agri-food systems transformation accelerates climate action." At the awards ceremony, which took place between October 16th and 20th, Thamara thanked the award and reinforced that “it is terrible to think that defending the environment can be so dangerous as to cost activists their lives. This is unacceptable, and we cannot tolerate so much hostility and violence in the path of those who fight for a habitable planet.” The film portrays the struggle of the rural community of Belisário against mining companies in Minas Gerais, Brazil, which is home to the second-largest bauxite reserve in the country. The director also said she hopes "Bauxita" starts meaningful conversations and real stimulation about land conflicts between mining companies and rural communities.

­NEWS FROM AROUND OUR NETWORK

Employee Ownership for Economic Democracy in Private Sector. This initiative, funded by the ADELANTE 2 Platform of the European Union, is about providing part of the ownership and the control of the firms to the employees, democratizing the access to wealth creation opportunities and new skills, empowering employees, and reducing social as well as economic inequalities. Different entities are participating in this project, alongside academics from France, Slovenia, Mexico, and Peru. The project, led by Dr. Nicolas Aubert, Dr. Miguel Cordova, Dr. Joseph Abdel-Nour, Dr. Gonzalo Hernandez, and Dr. Tej Gonza, has several stages, including missions in Europe and Latin America to meet with owners, policymakers, and scholars.

UK #DW National Chapter. Michael Galvin is a retired UK hematologist who is part of the #DW global network and is taking multiple initiatives around the need to democratize the NHS. He is part of several networks and a member of the association Doctors for the NHS, in whose newsletter he has published an article on democratizing the NHS, with central references to our Democratize Work Manifesto (2022) and the work of Amelia Horgan of the Centre for Democratizing Work-Common Wealth and a review of Firms as Political Entities (2017) by Isabelle Ferreras. The newsletter is available here. Doctors for the NHS will soon  launch a website to capture issues throughout the NHS workforce and public pertaining to Democracy. If any member of our network is interested in joining forces in democratizing the medical industry, please get in touch and we will bring you all together!

­SAVE THE DATES 

St Andrews University, UK, December 12 - 14, The Future of Work and Income

This in-person conference, will be held at the University of St Andrews, and it will focus on a critical discussion of work and its future. Organized by The Future of Work and Income Research Network, the Centre for Ethics, Philosophy, and Public Affairs, and the Department of Philosophy. Confirmed Speakers: Anca Gheaus, Central Europea University; Andrea Veltman, James Madison University; Philippe Van Parijs, University of Louvain. Free attendance.

Universitat Rovira I Virgili, SPAIN, June 6 - 7, 2024 IX Tarragona International Environmental Law Colloquium (TIEC)

The IX TIEC Eco-social Synergies: Legal Challenges at the Intersection of the Environmental and Employment Realms aims to provide a forum for junior and early-career researchers with different backgrounds to present and discuss their research and works in progress. In addition, this event seeks to create a friendly environment for meeting fellow students and colleagues who share a common interest in environmental law. This will be a hybrid event. Nevertheless, in-person participation is encouraged for better discussion and networking. Deadline for abstract submission: 19 January 2024 (included).

IPPA, MEXICO, June 26 - 28, International Workshops on Public Policy 4 Guadalajara

 The International Public Policy Association (IPPA) is pleased to announce the return of its International Workshops on Public Policy (IWPP) from June 26 - 28, 2024, in Guadalajara, Mexico. The "Decolonizing Public Policy: struggles, ideas, and experiences from the Global South” Workshop, will be organized around two themes: epistemological pluriversity and decolonizing knowledge. The proposal is to examine different papers to see how decolonial and feminist approaches can be applied to produce more powerful and insightful discussions, ultimately contributing towards a more democratic society. The call for papers is open until January 31.

Federal University of Santa Catarina, BRAZIL, July 29 - August 2nd, Doing Gender 13

The Institute for Gender Studies of the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC) is pleased to invite the community of researchers, activists, and artists to the International Seminar "Fazendo Gênero 13," - "Doing Gender" - an event that will take place on July 29th, 2024 until August 2nd, 2024, at the UFSC Campus, in Florianopolis - SC - Brazil. The proposal for "Fazendo Gênero 13 - Anti-colonialism, anti-fascism, and climate justice against the end of the world " is to create an interdisciplinary space for dialogue, exchange, and possibilities of transnational networking involving researchers, artists, and social activists, articulating a connection between academia and world experiences marked by difference and diversity. The event aims to create a space of horizontal exchange by bringing together multiple forms of connection, promoting and producing knowledge that places gender, sexualities, and feminists issues at the center of discussions with a transnational and interdisciplinary approach. The call for oral communications proposals is curently open until january 20, 2024.

­Our #DW Global Workshop Series Continues 

ONLINE December 15, Join us to our second #DW-WI Global Workshop: “Working less, living more?”

5am San Francisco-Vancouver | 7am Mexico City | 8am Bogotá-NYC-Montréal | 10am Santiago | 2pm Paris | 3pm Johannesburg | 6.30pm New Delhi | 8pm Jakarta | 12am Sydney 

Worktime reduction has become a new policy issue and a matter of negotiation between employees and employers. Recent experiments with shorter work weeks have garnered a lot of media attention. One motivation is the need to honor people’s care work and other forms of unpaid work, with some scholars calling for everyone to get engaged in care work. How should one think about such ideas from the perspective not only of employees’ autonomy but also of society as a whole? Are they feasible for all societies, or are they a luxury that only wealthier societies can afford? And how do they hang together with suggestions for making our work and societies more democratic? 

Speakers:

• Janna Besamusca, Leading researcher at WageIndicator - Assistant professor of Interdisciplinary Social Science at Utrecht University

• Jennifer Nedelsky, Professor at the Osgoode Law School at York University

This global workshop will be chaired by Fiona Dragstra, General Director of WageIndicator Foundation.

WE HOPE TO SEE YOU THEN! Please join us and share the invitation!

Stay tuned! You will find dates and programs for the following workshops on the #DemocratizingWork dedicated webpage.

Watch the recording! The 1st #DW-WI Global Workshop Series recording on September 29, “Decolonizing Work and Value Creation”, is available online.

Please remember to share your end of the news about #DemocratizingWork through filling out the form available here and via our website dedicated page.

In solidarity,

The #DemocratizingWork Core Group:

Julie Battilana, Harvard University, Isabelle Ferreras, University of Louvain/FNRS-Harvard LWP, Royal Academy of Belgium, Dominique Méda, University of Paris Dauphine PLS, 
With Alyssa Battistoni, Barnard College, Adelle Blackett, McGill University, Julia Cagé, Sciences Po-Paris, Neera Chandhoke, University of Delhi, Lisa Herzog, University of Groningen, Imge Kaya Sabanci, IE Business School, Madrid, Sara Lafuente Hernandez, University of Brussels-ETUI, Hélène Landemore, Yale University, Flavia Maximo, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Brazil, Pavlina R. Tcherneva, Bard College-OSUN-Levy Institute.