Projects
What We Do
With purpose and impact
Taking steps to make a difference
The Center for Work and Democracy pursues research projects that advance the Center’s mission. These projects are determined by our affiliates and our advisory board and are executed using social scientific and historical methods. The projects that we pursue often surround topics that deserve more academic attention or ones that are responsive to specific requests from stakeholders, affiliates, and partners.
Currently our projects span topics from labor organizing, to working-class politics, to protest, and more.
Ballot Initiatives
The Ballot Initiatives Project explores the current fight over voters’ access to the ballot initiative process.
Labor and Logistics
This project is devoted to exploring the sophisticated logistical operations that constitute key components of the circulatory system of the American economy.
Non-NLRB Strategies and Practices for Labor Movement Renewal
This research looks at different worker empowerment strategies outside of the NLRB model that have potential to build the political power of working people or redistribute social wealth.
"We support movements that are articulations of the aspirations of working people, whether or not they aim to form workplace organizations. So we have and continue to support movements for racial justice, immigrant rights, climate transition, and climate justice"
– Michael McQuarrie, Director
All projects
Labor and Logistics
Research team: Benjamin Fong, Scott Jenkins
The largest private-sector employers in the United States are currently Walmart, Amazon, UPS, Fedex, and Home Depot, in that…
Working Class Electoral Candidates
Research team: Benjamin Fong, Jared Abbott, and Frederick De Veaux
Despite the desperate need for politicians to understand how they can appeal more effectively to working-…
Moral Economy
Research Team: Benjamin Fong, Jennifer Silva, Monica McDermott, and Jared Abbott
The moral economy project is a collaborative deep dive on the economic values and…
George Floyd Square
Research team: Muriel Payraudeau, Michael McQuarrie, and Stephen Wulff
George Floyd’s murder on May 25, 2020 sparked a global wave of protests against police violence and…
Non-NLRB Strategies and Practices for Labor Movement Renewal
Research team: Benjamin Fong, Michael McQuarrie, and Maria Esch
Approval for labor unions and interest in labor organizing are both at historic highs, but there is a…
Majority Rules: The Battle for Ballot Initiatives
Research team: Benjamin Case, Michael McQuarrie
The Ballot Initiatives Project explores the current fight over voters’ access to the ballot initiative process. In recent…
The Green New Deal and the Future of Work
Research team: Craig Calhoun, Benjamin Fong
Craig Calhoun and Benjamin Y. Fong convened a meeting of scholars and activists on the subject of the "Green New Deal and the…
The Free State of George Floyd