David Madland is a senior fellow and the senior adviser to the American Worker Project at American Progress.
He has been called “one of the nation’s wisest” labor scholars by Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne Jr. Mary Kay Henry, president of Service Employees International Union, says his work “is creating a North Star for how we increase workers’ power in the economy and democracy.”
Madland writes about the economy and American politics, especially the middle class, economic inequality, labor unions, retirement policy, and workplace standards. He is the author of Re-Union: How Bold Labor Reforms Can Repair, Revitalize, and Reunite the United States (Cornell University Press, 2021) and Hollowed Out: Why the Economy Doesn’t Work without a Strong Middle Class (University of California Press, 2015).
He appears frequently on television including on PBS, CNN, MSNBC, and Fox and is a regular guest on radio talk shows across the United States. His work has been cited in numerous publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The New Yorker. He has also testified before Congress as well as several state legislatures.
Prior to his work at American Progress, Madland worked on economic policy for then-Rep. George Miller (D-CA). He received his doctorate in government from Georgetown University and has a bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Berkeley. His dissertation about the decline of the U.S. pension system received the “2008 Best Dissertation Award” from the Labor and Employment Relations Association.
Unions help narrow the gap between working families and the superrich.
Union membership significantly increases wealth for all households, but Black and Hispanic families gain the most.
As lawmakers debate economic recovery investments, they must ensure that all companies receiving government funding comply with job quality standards.
David Madland's new book explains how to design a new labor system for today's economy with enhanced rights for workers, incentives for union membership, and greater sectoral bargaining.
Federal policymakers can raise funds and support unions with two policy reforms.
David Madland explains how a proposed law in California, the FAST Recovery Act, would vastly improve fast-food workers' rights in the state by creating a sectoral council.
David Madland argues that lawmakers and the Biden administration prioritize labor law reforms in the American Jobs Plan given that strengthening unions and collective bargaining rights will be critical for the United States' long-term economic recovery.
A sectoral council is well-suited to address the fast-food industry’s unique challenges and improve working conditions.
Involving unions and worker groups in navigator programs would help more people understand and get the unemployment benefits they deserve.
To ensure that workers are afforded the dignity they deserve, state and local officials must act now to strengthen worker power in the workplace and beyond.
