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Full-Text Articles in Labor and Employment Law
Beyond Citizens United: Democratizing The Economy In The Wake Of The Small-Dollar Revolution, Jay Hedges
Beyond Citizens United: Democratizing The Economy In The Wake Of The Small-Dollar Revolution, Jay Hedges
Journal of Civil Rights and Economic Development
(Excerpt)
Citizens United increases the power of corporations over our political process. Under current corporate governance laws, permission for corporations to behave as political actors ignores the consent of a particularly important constituency of these business entities—labor. This neglect of workers reveals three democratic crises resulting from the corporate structure in the United States, which have only intensified following Citizens United. First, while the political speaking-power of corporations has been substantially increased, these entities lack legitimacy to speak on behalf of their labor constituency. Second, the use of corporate profits, generated by the corporation’s labor force, as the means …
Corporate Social Responsibility And Crowdwashing In The Gig Economy, Miriam A. Cherry
Corporate Social Responsibility And Crowdwashing In The Gig Economy, Miriam A. Cherry
Faculty Publications
(Excerpt)
Within this Article, I elaborate on the term “crowdwashing,” a neologism. Even though many online platforms describe themselves as “communities” that are part of the “sharing economy,” this “sharing” terminology is largely a misnomer when describing the activities of larger commercialized on-demand platforms. Rather than referring to volunteer efforts for collective benefit, many references to “sharing” in the “sharing economy” refer to the concept of commodification of previously underutilized assets. For example, consider receiving money for the rental of a spare bedroom through AirBnB or the sale of small, previously unproductive periods of time to complete tasks on Amazon’s …
The Global Dimensions Of Virtual Work, Miriam A. Cherry
The Global Dimensions Of Virtual Work, Miriam A. Cherry
Faculty Publications
(Excerpt)
Recently, unusual “factories” have appeared in Third World countries; these factories do not manufacture goods, but instead feature computer workers, typing and clicking away, playing video games, collecting coins and swords, and fighting monsters. Known as “gold farmers,” these workers are paid to harvest virtual treasures for online gamers in the developed world. First World gamers want to advance quickly within their online role-paying games of choice and, tired of the repetitive tasks necessary to build a high-level character, would prefer to pay others to do the work. As a result, gold farming operations have appeared in many countries …
Working (With) Workers: Implementing Theory, Miriam A. Cherry
Working (With) Workers: Implementing Theory, Miriam A. Cherry
Faculty Publications
(Excerpt)
The topic of this symposium issue sponsored by the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) is the role of the labor and employment law professor as a public intellectual. Despite the baggage accompanying the phrase "public intellectual," the symposium topic is an important one, for the term carries more meaning than a mere "talking head" or "media figure" can express. To make theoretical ideas more accessible to others, to connect theory and practice, to explain academic or scholarly ideas in a way that the public can understand—these ideas resonate with my philosophy of the law professor's role. In fact, …