Job Quality
Written by Gianmarco Katz
What’s the Problem?
The American workforce is among the most productive in the world, but the economy is structured around disposable labor. On one hand, employers continue a race to the bottom, failing to invest in worker training and career development. On the other hand, local governments offer ever-larger subsidies and tax incentives with few stipulations. The result is a systematic abuse of American workers, who suffer from dangerous working conditions, discrimination on the job, wage theft, unpredictable scheduling, and union busting. Meanwhile, wages remain stagnant, if not suppressed. The federal minimum wage has lost 30% of its purchasing power since 2009 and wage theft costs workers an estimated $15 billion annually — more than all property crimes combined. To add insult to injury, US labor law does not guarantee paid time off, leaving over 40% of workers without paid sick leave and only 24% with paid family leave. To address these abuses, local leaders can play a crucial role in reversing these trends by leveraging high road policies that empower workers and strengthen communities.
What Are People Doing
Gig Workers
The rise of gig work and temporary employment has left millions of workers without job security, benefits, or collective bargaining rights. Worker misclassification, where employers categorize workers as independent contractors instead of employees to avoid labor protections like minimum wage and overtime, often goes unacknowledged. To address this, the National Employment Law Project provides an overview of best practices for creating worker misclassification task forces.
Beyond this, remedies for misclassification include creating local labor standards offices, coordinating with state agencies, establishing criminal penalties, reporting repeat offenders to the District Attorney's office, establishing expansive definitions of "employment," and the utilization of tools like the “ABC” test of employment, and implementing targeted enforcement. The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) provides a series of resources for enhancing enforcement, including the use of publicity, preventing retaliation against workers who report misconduct, and strategies for entering settlement and negotiations with violators.
Similar to gig workers, service workers are especially vulnerable to abuse by employers, and increasingly deal with unfair and unstable scheduling practices that provide little to no advance notice. Unpredictable hours create unstable earnings, as well as family and childcare emergencies, and prevent workers from taking on second jobs or pursuing professional development opportunities. So far, one state and ten municipalities have passed laws curbing these unfair scheduling practices, while twelve states have preempted local governments from enacting fair scheduling ordinances (see ProGov21’s Home Rule roadmap for more on preemption). Philadelphia, for example, requires schedules to be posted two weeks in advance and provides additional pay for last-minute changes. Cities like Seattle, Evanston, Emeryville, San Francisco, and San Jose have enacted similar fair scheduling ordinances.
Wages & Benefits
Without strong enforcement, wage and labor laws are ineffective. Local governments should collaborate to establish labor standards enforcement agencies. Washington D.C. created a wage theft and worker misclassification task force that streamlines investigations and facilitates inter-agency data sharing. This report from the Economic Policy Institute outlines how Government agencies can coordinate with community organizations to fight wage theft. Meanwhile, as corporate attacks on labor rights escalate, local leaders should act to protect workers rights to collectively bargain by extending unemployment insurance (UI) to striking workers.
Municipal officials in certain states can also raise the local minimum wage, lifting workers out of poverty and reducing inequality. Washington D.C. raised its minimum wage to $17.50 per hour with annual cost-of-living adjustments. Living wage ordinances ensure that wages reflect the actual cost of living, with research showing minimal budget impact and increased labor productivity. Meanwhile, officials are also passing paid sick leave and paid family leave ordinances to improve job stability and public health. Chicago mandates ten days of paid leave, including 40 hours of unspecified time off and San José expanded paid leave protections during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Where local wage increases are preempted, cities can establish prevailing wage laws for public contracts or use tax incentives to encourage employers to adopt higher wages. Similarly, cities and counties can use procurement and public contracting policies to raise job standards. Responsible Bidder Ordinances (RBOs) require contractors on public projects to comply with labor laws, participate in registered apprenticeship programs, and pay fair wages. Lake County, IN & Douglas County, WI mandate compliance for all publicly funded projects. Communities can also leverage Project Labor Agreements (PLAs) to enforce employment conditions on public projects, ensuring fair wages, safety protections, and union hiring. In Boston, a PLA supported direct employment from the Building Pathways program for people of color and women, alongside initiatives to bolster minority- and women-owned businesses and ensure access to childcare for project workers.
Unfortunately, PLAs are under attack from anti-worker corporate interests and have been made illegal in more than 20 states since 2010. In this context, Community Benefit Agreements (CBAs) offer an alternative, ensuring projects receiving public funding provide equitable wages and local hiring commitments. Milwaukee’s Deer District CBA guarantees union rights, a wage floor tied to the cost of living, and local hiring mandates. This CBA roadmap offers best practices for both community groups and developers negotiating a CBA. Washington D.C. and Santa Fe bars businesses with wage theft or misclassification violations from obtaining public contracts, and Los Angeles, El Paso, San Francisco, and Austin have enacted ordinances that bar violators from obtaining business licenses outright.
Taking it to the Next Level
Local governments must go beyond piecemeal reforms and work towards a comprehensive high-road economy that guarantees job quality, fair wages, and a baseline of benefits for all workers. Importantly, this requires investing in industry partnerships and workforce development. Regional Industry Partnerships bring together businesses, unions, local governments, and workforce agencies to provide sector-wide workforce training. The Philadelphia Hospital & Health Care District 1199C Training Fund provides employer-funded tuition reimbursement and job training programs for healthcare workers. These apprenticeship and training programs should be created with equitable benefits as an established priority rather than an afterthought, this CLASP report outlines how localities and state governments can leverage federal funds to create good jobs for women and marginalized communities.
Crucially, training partnerships reduce the “free rider” problem, ensuring businesses contribute to workforce development rather than poaching skilled workers trained by others. Local governments can also work directly with public-sector unions to improve hiring and retention. Strong labor-management training partnerships enhance job security, increase worker diversity, and improve public services. The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development’s report on regional and sectoral workforce development partnerships is a touchstone resource for structuring these public-private collaborations, including step-by-step strategies and case studies. Once these partnerships are developed, they can be adapted to expand high-quality career opportunities.
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