Dignity of Work Institute

Dignity of Work Institute Launched by Sherrod Brown and dedicated to the people who make this country work. Creating an economy where all work is valued.

06/12/2026

How much do McDonald's workers make?

The answer is more complicated than a single hourly wage.

As this worker explains, what often matters just as much as your pay rate is how many hours you actually get. Schedules can change week to week, making it difficult to predict what you'll bring home at the end of the month.

When we talk about work and whether it’s paying off, no one understands the details better than the Americans actually doing the job.

For years, app-based work has been framed as flexible and innovative – but often without the stability, transparency, or...
06/11/2026

For years, app-based work has been framed as flexible and innovative – but often without the stability, transparency, or worker voice that many jobs once provided.

Now, 70,000 rideshare drivers in Massachusetts have won the right to bargain together, marking one of the biggest labor organizing victories in decades.

Workers shouldn’t have to choose between flexibility and security. We should be able to build jobs that offer both. Workers know what they need at work to succeed – this is what happens when they are at the center of solutions.

06/05/2026

We were told that if you worked hard, got the degree, and kept pushing, things would eventually pay off. Instead, many people are dealing with debt, burnout, unstable work, and wages that still don’t feel like enough.

Does this feel familiar?

The economy is growing; the official unemployment rate is low, so why does finding a job still feel impossible for so ma...
06/05/2026

The economy is growing; the official unemployment rate is low, so why does finding a job still feel impossible for so many workers?

The supposedly “strong economy” isn’t translating into more opportunity, stability, or better pay.

Workers are sending hundreds of applications and hearing nothing back. Entry-level jobs now require years of experience. More people are underemployed, taking jobs below their qualifications just to get by.

As companies slow hiring and reshape workplaces around AI, more workers are left feeling like the rules have changed. GDP growth alone doesn’t guarantee that work is paying off.

This is what collective action can achieve.After more than two years of negotiations, 40,000 UC workers reached a tentat...
05/29/2026

This is what collective action can achieve.

After more than two years of negotiations, 40,000 UC workers reached a tentative deal that includes raises, healthcare cost protections, expanded leave, and more workplace stability.

As one union leader put it, workers should not have to choose between “paying for healthcare and paying for groceries.”

That’s dignity at work.

05/28/2026

Behind your favorite shows, movies, and commercials are crews of workers making every shot come together.

Creative industries run because of the people doing this work every day, yet
when they do their jobs well, this work becomes invisible once the final product hits the screen.

This article calls it “the exhaustion tax.” Working people don’t need yet another new, made-up term to tell them what th...
05/27/2026

This article calls it “the exhaustion tax.” Working people don’t need yet another new, made-up term to tell them what they already know – they’re working too hard for too little pay, and that doesn’t leave them with time or energy left to run the gauntlet of looking for a new, better-paying job.

When getting a new job is one of the main ways workers can increase pay, improve benefits, or find better working conditions, a slower job market leaves more people stuck where they are.

Workers are stuck in jobs that don’t pay enough, feeling like more effort isn’t leading anywhere better, and asking: Why isn’t work paying off?

05/26/2026

For 24 years, Monica has helped keep the campus running — first as a custodian, and now as a dining hall cashier. She knows the students, cheers them on before tests, remembers what meals make them excited, and helps make campus feel like a community.

But workers like Monica were not getting paid what they earned.

That’s why stories about fair pay and dignity on the job matter. ISU dining hall workers organized and demanded better pay that reflects the value of the work they do – and by standing together, they won, and are getting the raise they’ve earned.

At Illinois State University, hundreds of dining, building services, and grounds workers were being underpaid. Workers w...
05/22/2026

At Illinois State University, hundreds of dining, building services, and grounds workers were being underpaid. Workers went on strike for nearly a month, and their organizing brought the university administration to the table. Now they have a tentative agreement.

It’s a reminder of what workers can make possible when they come together and demand what they’ve earned: a workplace that recognizes the value of the people who keep it running.

05/21/2026

A paycheck that covers your bills, benefits you can actually use, management that empowers you, on-the-job training and career advancement?

That shouldn’t be rare – it should be the baseline.

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Columbus, OH

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