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.
New Census Bureau data indicate that the middle class is receiving close to the smallest-ever share of the nation’s income.
Allowing more Americans to bargain collectively and instituting novel ways to bargain across industries and occupations will help reduce gender and racial pay gaps.
Authors Angela Hanks and David Madland discuss how compensation for today's young workers fare far worse than younger workers a generation ago and how a modernized training system can change that.
Author David Madland explains how state and local policymakers can help American workers resist recent efforts to limit their ability to act collectively.
David Madland argues that Bruce Bartlett's claim that redistribution is the key to fighting inequality is only part of the solution to rebuild the middle class.
Jennifer Erickson and David Madland explain the effect that fees could have on your retirement savings.
David Madland argues for raising the minimum wage to $9 an hour.
In order for the economy to work properly again, all workers need to have the right to join a union and to rely on the law, writes David Madland.
David Madland explains how a strong middle class is the key to economic growth in Democracy Journal.
