About
About the National Institute for Workers’ Rights
The National Institute for Workers’ Rights (NIWR) is a nonprofit think tank and action platform dedicated to building worker power among those who are not represented by a union. We aspire to a future in which all workers are treated with dignity and respect, and if their rights are violated, workers can get swift justice. Sadly, this aspiration is far from reality in America today.
The reality is that women continue to be paid less than men and are too often forced to endure sexual advances (or worse) to keep their job. Black and brown workers are unfairly seen as less than competent and so passed over for promotions. Warehouse and delivery workers are forced to work in the extreme heat brought on by climate change. Cashiers are given an “assistant manager” title and then forced to work 50 or 60 hours a week without getting overtime. Farmworkers and construction workers sacrifice their bodies for the job only to suffer from wage theft, where they’re not even paid for the hours they work.
Our Approach and Impact
The National Institute for Workers’ Rights focuses primarily on the private enforcement of workplace law. If we can better enforce workplace law, we can build worker power and make it more likely that workers are treated with dignity and respect. Our goals are to ensure that 1) employers have a greater incentive to follow the law than to violate their workers’ rights and 2) when workers are harmed at work, they receive justice. Through our relationship with the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA), we have access to the “on the ground” expertise of what is working and not in enforcing workplace law. And we know what changes in federal and state policy would make a difference.
Since our founding in 2008, we have made our most significant contributions on the issue of forced arbitration, where we were an early leader in identifying and highlighting the importance of the issue, conducted an important public opinion study, published academic symposia, created toolkits and fact sheets for policymakers and advocates, and disseminated online resources to highlight the human dimension of workers denied access to the courts. We have also highlighted the improper use of “summary judgment” in employment cases, where judges throw out workers’ claims before a jury can consider them, and the lack of protections for workers in the gig economy.
We are now pursuing projects that use a variety of tools such as:
- Research on how the law is and is not enforced
- Public education of workers on their rights
- Training advocates to better enforce the law
- Educating state and local policymakers about how to strengthen enforcement
- Narrative change around how and why individuals enforce the law
Our Work
NIWR’s work falls under three pillars:
Economic Dignity
We aspire to a future in which all workers are treated with dignity and respect. We focus on shaping policy to achieve that reality. As leading policymaker Gene Sperling has put it, “the value of economic dignity reveals both the most admirable ideals and the brutal hypocrisy in our history.”
Workplace Justice
Too often, employers violate workers’ rights and get away with it. We’re working to make it easier to enforce the law and get justice.
The Future of Worker Advocacy
Workers need help to get the justice they deserve. The U.S. needs more advocates with the background and expertise to earn workers’ trust and get justice, and more support and new tools for workers who have to navigate the justice system alone.
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