The Challenge
Americans face higher unemployment and fewer economic opportunities than at any point in recent history.
Millions of American workers have been left economically insecure by the fraying of our social safety nets in recent decades, and these effects have only worsened as the economy has contracted in the last two years. Health care costs are often more than workers can afford, employers trim benefits, and the government no longer guarantees a safety net. Inequality and disparities have widened to historic proportions, intensifying among the working poor.
Our Strategy
The Foundation’s Protecting American Workers’ Economic Security: Campaign for American Workers initiative, recognizes that there is danger in the growth of economic insecurity, but there is also opportunity. We have the chance to reexamine federal priorities with regard to the US social contract.
Our initiative focuses on three primary strategies:
- Promoting policies and tools to increase savings and retirement security
- Fostering demonstrations that ensure more secure and portable health care coverage
- Supporting evidence-based analysis of proposed and current policies on economic security of American workers, particularly the most vulnerable and disadvantaged workers
Key Outcomes
This initiative strives to measurably improve economic security among vulnerable workers in the United States during their working lives and in retirement. We expect to:
- Improve knowledge and understanding among policymakers and thought leaders of the need for and pathways to a new social contract to improve economic security.
- Implement public-private partnerships, new institutional arrangements and pilot projects that result in workers having greater access to health care, predictable savings and retirement income.
- Explore policy and program innovations that help guide federal and state legislators on workable options to increase economic security through access to quality jobs and health care, and easier, more effective ways to save for today and in retirement.
