An International Worker Power Agreement, Reviving Antitrust in the 21st Century, and Unfair Exchange

1. The Worker Power Agreement

To strengthen worker power and fight inequality across the globe, Roosevelt Fellow Todd N. Tucker proposes a framework of seven strategies in a new report released Tuesday—starting with an international labor agreement. Modeled on the Paris Climate Accords, the Worker Power Agreement (WPA) is an “even bolder international pact to address the crisis of inequality by increasing labor’s strength,” writes The New Republic. “If we want global governance to have domestic support, we’ve got to put workers at the center,” said Tucker.

2. Antitrust in the 21st Century

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) continued its hearings on competition and consumer protection in the 21st century this week. Today, Roosevelt Chief Economist and Nobel Laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz delivered remarks on the state of antitrust law and enforcement in the United States. “Competition and consumer protection laws need to be broadened to incorporate the realities of the 21st century and the insights of modern economics,” he said. Roosevelt Research Director and Fellow Marshall Steinbaum connected the speech to a forthcoming paper on reviving antitrust, which is set for release next week.

3. Unfair Exchange

Corporate concentration has invaded the stock market: Only three companies own 12 of America’s 13 public stock exchanges. This week, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Robert Jackson Jr. called on the agency to bolster its oversight of market power. “It’s time to put the ‘exchange’ back in the Securities and Exchange Commission,” he said. Roosevelt Senior Economist and Policy Counsel Lenore Palladino shared the speech on Twitter: “@SECJackson calls for a fresh look at the market power of securities exchanges.”

4. International Women’s Year

For Women’s Review of Books, Roosevelt Senior Fellow Ellen Chesler reviews the story of the 1975 International Women’s Year conference, the first of four events sponsored by the United Nations. Authored by Duke University historian Jocelyn Olcott, International Women’s Year: The Greatest Consciousness-Raising Event in History provides a detailed examination of the gathering, rectifying its historically biased portrayal and championing it as a catalyst for global feminism. The book “adds substantially to the historiography of women on a global stage,” writes Chesler.

5. A Greater Freedom

On Monday, Roosevelt Fellow Mike Konczal announced a book deal with the New Press, a publishing company dedicated to producing books that “that promote and enrich public discussion and understanding of the issues vital to our democracy and to a more equitable world.” A Greater Freedom will explore the untold history of how Americans have defined freedom and sought to protect it in a capitalist society. “Get ready to learn how Americans have always fought to define freedom as what we keep free from the market,” said Konczal.

Event

On Wednesday, October 3, join the Roosevelt Institute in Washington D.C. for a discussion on the future of work and the release of a new report on the topic. The report explores shifting power dynamics and skewed economic trends by evaluating six occupations: carework, food service, manufacturing, mining, nursing, and trucking. At “Disrupting the Narrative: Diving Deeper into the 21st Century Workplace,” leading experts will explain why structural power matters in today’s economy and examine bold solutions to address problems of the 21st century workplace. Register here.