Spreading the Good News of Worker-Owned Businesses in D.C.

The Ban the Box campaign has led to legislation like New York's Fair Chance Act, which prevents employers from asking questions about conviction history during the application process and makes it unlawful to rescind an offer because of a previous offense. Ban the Box policies are now being implemented in cities and states across the country and have improved job prospects in places such as Washington, D.C., where the number of applicants with conviction records being hired grew by a third after the policy was put in place.

Liberty Cleaners co-created a curriculum to train immigrant women workers about tech education, green cleaning, and workers’ rights. As the first women-led workers’ hub in the country, the group is organizing and enabling its members with skills that can ensure they receive the fair wages, opportunities, and respect they deserve but are often denied.

Philadelphia enacted a law in 2016 that allows for people convicted of minor crimes to get their records sealed by a court. In this article an employment lawyer who has worked for many years with people who have records talks about why it's extremely difficult for people to reintegrate into a community and get a job with even a minor conviction in their past. The shift has garnered support across political lines as people begin to realize the economic and other costs to society when people can't work and end up back in prison.

Soilless Farm Lab, a Nigerian agricultural technology hub, has trained over 10,000 youth in hydroponic farming since 2019, leading to employment opportunities and demonstrating a climate-resilient approach that uses 90% less water while producing food year-round in a country facing severe food insecurity and land degradation.

Nearly 90% of Icelandic workers enjoy a four-day, 36-hour workweek, with no loss in pay compared to the traditional 40 hours. Despite initial concerns about a drop in productivity, reports indicate that productivity remained stable and even increased in some sectors. The four-day workweek also leads to less stress and improved work-life balance, and countries like Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom are currently testing four-day pilots.

The nonprofit Coalition of Immokalee Workers started the Fair Food Program to appeal directly to consumers and large brands about worker safety while policies and regulations are held up in government processes. The initiative strikes deals with large companies that pledge to protect farm workers in a variety of ways, particularly stringent heat protections as heat records are repeatedly increased.

Organizations like Milk and Dignity are filling in the worker safety gaps left behind in federal regulations by working with farms to implement worker-driven protections.

Unit of Work, an organization backed by venture capital, helps unions organize and win contracts. Organizers provide free consulting to groups of workers forming unions within their own workplaces. Once a contract is in place, members of the new union can decide to pay Unit of Work a monthly fee — like traditional union dues — to keep providing support.

Civic engagement led to the passage of a bill that empowers and protects garment workers in California. Citizens were encouraged and taught how to mobilize and participate in the democratic process which eventually led to the successful outcome.

Georgia’s Racial Justice Centering Committee, part of the University of Georgia’s United Campus Workers, runs the Racial Justice, Labor, and the South Book Club at the Avid Bookshop. The moderator-led discussions provide attendees with exposure to diverse literature and an opportunity to learn about the intersection between labor and race. While University of Georgia students are the target audience, the book club is open to the public. Meetings are currently held on zoom, but in-person meetings at the bookshop introduced a wider audience to the diverse books and increased support of the local business.