Five years ago, in the midst of the global pandemic, thousands of us came together to recognize workers’ existential investment in their work. We released this op-ed in 27 languages to remind societies that if we wanted to express our gratitude to the essential workers in particular, and truly recognize workers’ investment in general, we needed to pursue the deployment of 3 historic principles: democratizing firms, decommodifying labor, and decarbonizing the planet.
Exactly 5 years after the release of the op-ed, on May 16th, last Friday, we gathered online to mark the fifth anniversary of the release of the Democratizing Work Manifesto, assess the trajectory of our global initiative, and hear from you about our next steps together.
Thanks to all those who attended the meeting!
When we released the op-ed, we could never have suspected that we were about to develop a global initiative, which would release books in various languages, organize the first ever online Global Forum on #DemocratizingWork during 3 days with 3,000 attendees from around the globe, launch a #DW Global Workshop Series, see very active #DW National Chapters organize their own set of initiatives, set up our online sharing tool and newsletter for news to be shared across the global network, etc.
Hence, during the meeting, we looked back at the #DemocratizingWork trajectory, commented on its key developments since 2020, and highlighted hopeful developments, like the Expert Committee on Democracy at Work set up by the Spanish Government’s Ministry of Labor.
Next, we wanted to hear from the community of signatories! So we engaged in rich exchange during breakout sessions about the future of our initiative. What emerged was not only a sense of how far we’ve come, but also a shared clarity about the needs and work that lie ahead.
This is our next step: the #DW core group is going to carefully review the notes from the breakout sessions, which captured the insights, and diverse perspectives of our global community. In the coming months, the core group will reconvene to synthesize these contributions and shape a roadmap for the future. We look forward to sharing the outcomes with you and inviting your continued engagement!
