Support Decent Work for All as a Public Health Goal
A Forum to Promote "Decent Work" in the United States
Decent Work Heading link
In 2022, the American Public Health Association adopted the policy, “Support Decent Work for All as a Public Health Goal in the United States”. This forum aims to advance this policy by providing a space for worker and community organizations, labor unions, workforce development providers, high road employers, policy advocates and public health researchers to share work in the field and research that advances this policy.
ILO Definition Heading link
In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the International Labor Organization’s definition of Decent Work as an integral part of its 8th Sustainable Development Goal, accompanying the goals of Economic Growth and Full and Productive Employment. The ILO introduces the concept of “Decent Work” as:
“Decent work sums up the aspirations of people in their working lives. It involves opportunities for work that is productive and delivers a fair income, security in the workplace and social protection for all, better prospects for personal development and social integration, freedom for people to express their concerns, organize and participate in the decisions that affect their lives and equality of opportunity and treatment for all women and men.”
Four Pillars of Decent Work and Examples of Topic Areas Heading link
Stable Jobs
- Widening Income Gap
- Privatization
- Downsizing and Layoffs
- Job Precarity, temporary or gig work
- Job Misclassification
- Job insecurity
- Unstable Hours or Work Schedule
- Low Wages
- Workforce Investment Programs
Fundamental Right
- Declining Union Density
- “Right to Work” Laws
- At-Will Employment
- Collective Bargaining
- Control over Daily Tasks
- Control over Scheduling
- Work-Life Balance
- Quantitative Demands (workloads)
- Lean Staffing
- Worker-Owned Cooperatives
Social Protections
- Paid Sick, Family and Medical Leave
- Pensions and Retirement
- Social Security
- Employment Benefits
- Workers Compensation
- Unemployment Insurance
- Childcare
- Universal Healthcare Coverage
- Long Term Care Coverage
- Guaranteed Income Programs
- Work Requirements for Benefits
Comprehensive Approaches
- Workers Excluded from OSHA, FLSA,
and/or NLRA- Agricultural Workers
- Domestic Workers
- Self-Employed “Contractors”
- Public Employees
- Worker Misclassification
- Weak regulatory protections
- Gaps in collection of work-related
data/research- Measures of wellbeing
- Measures of underemployment
- Inclusion of emerging precarious jobs
- Measure impact of stresses
- Measure effectiveness of interventions
- Co-enforcement of labor standards