Employment and Jobs

Workplace Democracy: Sharing Power and Decision Making at Work

Event information
Description

Democracy may be top of mind for many Americans this election season, but it’s easy to forget that the ideal of democracy has always been about more than filling out one ballot every couple of years. Democratic and participatory principles and practices can strengthen our public spaces, community organizations, social media platforms, and even our workplaces.  

Workers are closest to many of the problems and potential solutions most critical to an enterprise’s performance, holding essential knowledge about safety, productivity, and culture. Employers who fail to sufficiently listen or value their workers’ voices miss opportunities to innovate and improve productivity — and may suffer from workers’ decreased job satisfaction, productivity, and retention. We know workers want a seat at the table on issues from pay and benefits to safety, culture, and accountability, not only because they say so in surveys, but, increasingly, because they’re organizing to win it. Companies that genuinely seek to leverage workers’ insights often deploy tactics like surveys and town hall meetings that fall short of capturing representative input or turning feedback into action. But democratic mechanisms like shared ownership, board level co-determination, and labor-management partnerships can unlock benefits by enabling a truly collaborative, participatory work environment.

Join the Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program on Zoom on November 20, from 2:00 to 3:15 Eastern time, for the next event in our Opportunity in America Series, “Workplace Democracy: Sharing Power and Decision Making at Work,” in which our panel of experts and practitioners will share insights on how different democratic structures and strategies can create better workplaces and businesses. Panelists will share their own experiences and extrapolate learnings that may apply to others looking to build more vibrant, participatory work environments.


Speakers
Julian McKinley

Co-executive director, DAWI

As co-executive director for partnerships and growth at the Democracy at Work Initiative (DAWI), Julian guides DAWI’s organizational growth, strategic partnerships, and communications. Since joining DAWI in 2019, he has led the organization’s communications and data programs while driving strategic priorities as a member of its senior leadership team. His diverse experience at DAWI includes guiding the organization’s COVID-19-related strategic refinement, training cooperative developers in the US and East Africa, helping lead New York City’s business conversions response during the COVID-19 pandemic, and leading regranting programs for the city’s Worker Cooperative Business Development Initiative. Prior to joining DAWI, Julian led strategic storytelling campaigns focused on regenerative economics, impact investing, and family financial security. He began his career as a news editor and earned a Bachelor of Arts in communications from Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts. He lives in Queens, New York, with his family.


Lenore Palladino

Associate Professor, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Leonore is an associate professor in the department of economics and the School of Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst). She is a research associate at the UMass Amherst Political Economy Research Institute, as well as a fellow at the Roosevelt Institute. She holds a doctorate in economics  from the New School University and a law degree from Fordham Law School. Her portfolio of work is available at lenorepalladino.com.

Palladino’s research focuses on the political economy of corporations and finance. She has also written on financial transaction taxes, employee ownership, the macroeconomic effect of investing in the care economy, and the rise of financial technology.

She is the author of a forthcoming book on the political economy of corporations, “Good Company,” from the University of Chicago Press. She has published in the Review of Social Economy, the Review of Black Political Economy, the Review of Radical Political Economy, Politics & Society, the International Review of Applied Economics, the Journal of Law and Political Economy, the Yale Journal of Regulation, and Fordham Journal of Corporate and Financial Law, as well as the Financial Times and other media publications. She frequently works with policymakers, media, and advocates on corporate and financial policy. She testified on the impacts of shareholder primacy stock buybacks before the US Congress Joint Economic Committee in 2022 and before the House Financial Services Committee in 2019.

Prior to joining UMass Amherst, Palladino was senior economist and policy counsel at the Roosevelt Institute and a lecturer in economics at Smith College. She was previously vice president for advocacy at Demos and a lecturer in economics at New York University. Earlier in her career, she was campaign director at MoveOn, a lead organizer with the labor union CSEA-AFSCME, and national director of United Students Against Sweatshops.


Larry Williams Jr.

Founder and President, UnionBase

Larry Williams Jr. is a seasoned labor leader and entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience. Currently, he serves as the CEO of UnionBase, a cutting-edge digital platform designed to empower union workers. UnionBase, the brainchild of Larry’s entrepreneurial spirit, has garnered significant attention, being featured in renowned publications such as Forbes, Fast Company, and more.

Prior to his role at UnionBase, Larry served as executive director of both Black Men Vote and the Labor Network for Sustainability.

His career began in the heart of the labor movement at the Teamsters Union. Later, he made significant strides in the intersection of labor and climate justice as a pioneer at the Sierra Club, where he co-founded and served as president of the Progressive Workers’ Union. The organization has since become a groundbreaking union representing nonprofit employees, primarily across the nonprofit sector.


Photo of Liba Wenig RubensteinLiba Wenig Rubenstein

Director, Aspen Business Roundtable on Organized Labor, Economic Opportunities Program

Liba is the director of the Aspen Business Roundtable on Organized Labor, a network of business leaders exploring constructive ways to respond to worker organizing for agency and dignity at work. Previously, Liba was the founding and lead social impact executive at MySpace, Tumblr, and 21st Century Fox, where she pioneered ways to harness companies’ financial, human, cultural, and technological resources for social, civic, and environmental progress and built bridges between sectors to amplify impact. She has helped found the Civic Alliance, chaired the board of premier youth vote organization the Alliance for Youth Organizing, served as a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Sustainable Consumption, and advised nonprofits Pop Culture Collaborative, KW Foundation, Vote.org, Social Impact Fund, CARE, Civic Nation, Why Tuesday?, and Invisible Children. Born and bred in Brooklyn, and a proud product of New York City public schools, Liba graduated from Yale University with distinction in American studies and now resides in Los Angeles with her husband and two young daughters.


Opportunity in America

Opportunity in America, an event series hosted by the Economic Opportunities Program, considers the changing landscape of economic opportunity in the US and implications for individuals, families, and communities across the country. The series highlights the ways in which issues of race, gender, and place exacerbate our economic divides, and ideas and innovations with potential to address these challenges and broaden access to quality opportunity.

Learn More

The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program hosts a variety of discussions to advance strategies, policies, and ideas to help low- and moderate-income people thrive in a changing economy. To learn about upcoming events and webinars, join our mailing list and follow us on social media.