• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Working Partnerships

Grassroots organizing & public policy innovation for a just economy

SIGN UP FOR UPDATES

  • About
    • Our Mission & Vision
    • Our Story
    • Theory of Change
    • Work with us
  • Work
    • Just Economy
      • Trades Orientation Program
      • Fair Workplace Collaborative
      • Equitable Regional Economy
    • Future of Workers
      • Silicon Valley Rising
      • Gig Workers Rising
      • Essential Workers Council
    • Just Cities
      • A home for every family
      • Accessible transit for all
    • Care for All
    • Vibrant Democracy
      • Redistricting
      • Measure B
  • Press
  • Updates
  • Donate

California can be a leader in making sure innovation works for all of us

May 6, 2019 by Zeenab Aneez

If we want the jobs of tomorrow to be good jobs, working people need to be at the table negotiating a better approach to innovation.

Governor Newsom’s new Future of Work Commission is a key opportunity for California — birthplace of the technologies that are changing our jobs — to be a leader in making sure those technologies benefit our communities and contribute to a more just economy.

No matter how we make our living, most of us want pretty similar things: work that pays the bills, time with our families, vibrant communities. But right now, working people are struggling to stay upright in an economy that’s being tilted against us. Right-wing attacks on our freedom to join together in unions and the exploitive business models of the gig economy have chipped away at our wages and power, with low-income communities and people of color hit the hardest.

The introduction of new technologies like robotics and artificial intelligence threaten to worsen these structural inequities, taking us down a path where our jobs are less stable, lower paid, and overseen by dehumanizing black-box algorithms and pervasive surveillance.

Yet these technologies also have the potential to make our lives better. They could take over repetitive and dangerous tasks so we can focus on interesting challenges that need human insight. They should let us spend less time at work and more time with our families. With the right rules of the road, we can guide innovation so productivity gains are broadly shared, we all get a fair return on our labor, and we have a meaningful voice in our jobs.

We know what can happen when working people help shape the direction of technology — and when they’re cut out. Several years ago, some hotels handed housekeepers an app that told them which room to clean next. It was a textbook example of what happens when a corporation introduces technology without talking to the people who will have to use it. Instead of trusting the housekeepers’ knowledge and experience, the app sent them jumping between floors when there were dirty rooms right next door. It wasted their time, increased their stress, and took away their autonomy.

In Silicon Valley, we took a different approach. Housekeepers at the San Jose Marriott — members of the union UNITE HERE Local 19 — won a provision in their contract that any new technology must be evaluated by a joint committee of workers and management. Together, this committee will analyze the potential impacts, develop a training plan, and negotiate over how the tool will affect workers’ jobs.

This is the model we should be going for: making sure working people have a collective voice in shaping new technology so innovation actually benefits us all, especially the most vulnerable in our society. Workers are experts in their jobs. They know what’s not working and what could be made better. With them in the conversation, we’ll end up with better technologies that solve important problems and make our economy both more productive and more just.

The new Future of Work Commission provides the space for this conversation. By bringing together worker advocates, business leaders, technologists, and policymakers, the Commission can collaboratively address the impacts of new technology and promote good jobs. We’ll need strategies to help people continually build skills, support workers as they retrain for new jobs, and make sure those new jobs pay enough to put food on the table and keep a roof overhead. We’ll need to make sure the corporations that profit from introducing new technology contribute their fair share to cover the costs of disruption. And we’ll need standards to protect our privacy and govern the appropriate use of algorithms and our data.

Ultimately, the future of work is not about technology. It’s about the future of working people and our communities. As the Governor wrote in his Executive Order creating the Commission, “wage stagnation, unemployment and underemployment, exploitation of workers, and rising inequality are not inevitable consequences of economic growth and technological advancement, but rather, trends that can and will be reversed through sound policy decisions and investment in our shared future.”

California is renowned for technological innovation. It’s time for us to be just as innovative in managing the challenges and opportunities created by those technologies. With working people at the table, we can shape a future of work that works for all of us.

Derecka Mehrens is the Executive Director of Working Partnerships USA. Enrique L Fernández is the Business Manager of UNITE HERE Local 19 in Silicon Valley.

Back to Graduate Stories

Footer

workingpartnershipsusa

Our city's resources should be spent on balanced, Our city's resources should be spent on balanced, long-term solutions that lead to housing justice — no bandaid fixes that merely postpone or hide the symptoms. 

What's wrong with spending all our resources on one quick fix? It's expensive, ineffective and could cost us billions. We know because we actually did the math. 

Use the link in our bio to check out our memo explaining why the City Council should consider the unwritten costs of reallocating Measure E dollars to temporary emergency shelters.
🎞 Join us for a FREE screening of the eye-openi 🎞 Join us for a FREE screening of the eye-opening documentary "Dignidad: California Domestic Workers' Journey for Justice" 🍿

The film follows domestic workers as they organize for workplace protections during the COVID-19 pandemic and centers their voices and stories in leading the movement. The screening will be held at the Santa Clara County Government Center on Tuesday, May 30 from 5pm-7pm.

Sign up at: https://bit.ly/DignidadFilmScreening
📢 Need legal guidance on employment, housing, o 📢 Need legal guidance on employment, housing, or immigration matters?

Whether you're struggling with workplace disputes, rental challenges, or immigration complexities, this free legal clinic with expert lawyers is here to support you. Take advantage of this unique opportunity to gain valuable insights, better understand your rights, and explore potential solutions. 

HAPPENING TOMORROW, May 27 from 11am-3pm at the Holy Family Episcopal Church in San José.
Register for an appointment at: https://tinyurl.com/527LegalClinic
Walk-ins are accepted!
Our failure to invest in affordable housing is rob Our failure to invest in affordable housing is robbing us of a diverse and vibrant future — and it’s the primary reason why so many of our community members have been forced into homelessness.

In 2020 San José voters chose to end this cycle by investing in real, long-term solutions to our housing crisis. Now's not the time to backtrack!

#ProtectMeasureE 
#HomeSweetAffordableHome
YESS! 👏 Parents shouldn’t have to choose betw YESS! 👏 Parents shouldn’t have to choose between economic stability, staying home, and caring for their family! When parents cannot take time off to care for their children, they are more likely to send a sick child to school. And, caregivers shouldn’t have to go to work sick and jeopardize the people they care for because they don’t have good - that's why we're celebrating that #SB616 passed out of the Senate Suspense Hearing and will now move to the Senate floor.

But let's keep up the momentum going; contact your #CAleg representative today 🔗https://workfamilyca.org/paidsickdaysnow

#SB616 is about supporting the health and safety of California’s children, parents, elders, and  caregivers whose essential labor we all depend on.
Congratulations to the first ever cohort of the Wo Congratulations to the first ever cohort of the Worker Power Academy of Silicon Valley for finishing their final session of the program! ✊ These incredible young leaders of tomorrow are equipped with workers’ rights knowledge regarding discrimination and harassment, labor trafficking, benefits navigation, and union rights & organizing!

Thank you to the San Jose Conservation Corps for partnering together to launch a powerful pilot to create new worker leaders.
Our hearts are filled with joy and pride as we mar Our hearts are filled with joy and pride as we marched together — as workers, tenants, immigrants, parents, and community members at the San José May Day Parade today. 

Today is a reminder that we're all in this together, and that the movement for justice is fueled with our joy and love for our communities!! 

#MayDay2023 #WorkerPower #WorkersUnite
Are you a skilled communicator with a passion for Are you a skilled communicator with a passion for community engagement and economic development? 

We're looking for a Coalition Manager to lead a diverse group of stakeholders to create a new, equity-centered approach for economic development in the South Bay—directly informed by workers and impacted community members themselves. 

Join us in our mission to empower working families and make a difference in the Bay Area! Apply now by sending your resumé to jobs@wpusa.org!
❌ Higher Rents = ⛺️ More Tents While corpo ❌ Higher Rents = ⛺️ More Tents 

While corporate landlords keep jacking up prices & collecting our rents, more Californians are being pushed into homelessness & tents. On Tuesday 4/25 we call on @senator_umberg senatorashby @sendavemin @senatorcaballero to vote YES on the #HomelessnessPreventionAct #SB567
 
Yesenia Miranda Meza is a single mother. Both she and her son have had health problems in the last year and is concerned about losing their home. ""I did not ask for my son to have 3 surgeries in a span of 6 months. I am an increase away from becoming homeless."" 

Over 170,000 Californians are living on the streets and the homelessness is growing in every community. The people most at risk of becoming homeless are people of color and immigrants. Corporate landlords will always choose profits. 

☎️ Will you call @senator_umberg senatorashby @sendavemin @senatorcaballero TODAY to choose the people and vote YES on #SB567 to #KeepFamiliesHoused and stop the rent hikes and unjust evictions? Without their votes, this bill won't make it. 

https://www.ocregister.com/2023/03/10/legislator-proposes-california-law-to-protect-renters-from-becoming-homeless/
ICYMI our State Senators can pass #SB567 to cap re ICYMI our State Senators can pass #SB567 to cap rent increases annually. We already know rent has been skyrocketing across CA 📈 and a majority of us can hardly make it through the month. So we’re driving calls to ☎️ @senator_umberg senatorashby @sendavemin @senatorcaballero

Corporate landlords are looting constantly us by controlling rent hikes while we struggle to make ends meet 💰 We can’t afford to wait another day to protect seniors, families, students, and everyday Californians. We need to pass SB567 NOW! 

For too long, real estate lobbyists and corporate landlords have been able to hike rents unchecked but with SB567 we’re about to put a stop to that 🛑 

We gotta get these State Senators on board and out of the pockets of corporate interests so call them TODAY and demand they pass SB567 ☎️ #HomelessnessPreventionAct #KeepFamiliesHoused #HomeIsSacred
ICYMI our State Senators can pass #SB567 to cap re ICYMI our State Senators can pass #SB567 to cap rent increases annually. We already know rent has been skyrocketing across CA 📈 and a majority of us can hardly make it through the month. So we’re driving calls to ☎️ @senator_umberg senatorashby @sendavemin @senatorcaballero

Corporate landlords are looting constantly us by controlling rent hikes while we struggle to make ends meet 💰 We can’t afford to wait another day to protect seniors, families, students, and everyday Californians. We need to pass SB567 NOW! 

For too long, real estate lobbyists and corporate landlords have been able to hike rents unchecked but with SB567 we’re about to put a stop to that 🛑 

We gotta get these State Senators on board and out of the pockets of corporate interests so call them TODAY and demand they pass SB567 ☎️ #HomelessnessPreventionAct #KeepFamiliesHoused #HomeIsSacred
"We already know you’ve heard about the rent inc "We already know you’ve heard about the rent increases and rising homelessness in CA 🗣️ OF COURSE you have! A MAJORITY of Californians are facing skyrocketing rents 🚀 making our cost of living impossible! 

But WHY are these rents are rising, you ask? 📈 Corporate landlords have been buying up housing complexes and single family homes all across California, and then deliberately driving up the cost of rent. In San Diego, Blackstone drove up rents by 64% in TWO YEARS. It’s pushing out seniors, families, students, and so many others from their homes.

And starting this TUESDAY 4/25, our reps are gonna decide what to do about it — because there’s something WE can do about it! We can contact @senator_umberg senatorashby @sendavemin @senatorcaballero today and demand they vote ✅ YES and pass #SB567 so we can prevent more homelessness, cap rents, and ensure people have a roof over their heads #HomelessnessPreventionAct #KeepFamiliesHoused #HomeIsSacred
Load More Follow on Instagram

WORKING PARTNERSHIPS USA
2302 Zanker Road, San Jose, CA 95131
P: (408) 809-2120 | F: (408) 269-0183
MEDIA CONTACTS | PRIVACY POLICY

Copyright © 2023 Working Partnerships USA