California Future of Work Commission: Opening Remarks

September 10, 2019

Mary Kay Henry

International President, SEIU

Good morning.

I’m Mary Kay Henry, President of the Service Employees International Union. For almost a century, SEIU has worked to help service and care workers come together to improve their lives and their jobs—including many who have been excluded from basic standards and protections at work.

As co-chair of this commission, I am proud to serve working Californians  alongside James Manyinka.

This commission provides us with an important opportunity to build upon our multiple perspectives to serve our multiple needs.

Together, we can explore a future of work that harnesses technological advancement for the benefit of everyone.  Doing this will require that we look at ways to reset the relationship between companies, workers and our communities.

It is no surprise that this kind of groundbreaking collaboration is being led in California.

I spent the early part of my career here, organizing workers. Today, SEIU represents 700,000 hard working Californians. I have experienced first-hand how Californians can come together across government, the public and private sectors to provoke the kind of change Governor Newsom has compelled us to help provoke—a dream he calls a California for All.

California has served as ground zero for developing the technologies and app-based platforms that have changed the way goods are processed and delivered and services and care are provided. 

Now we must ensure California also serves as ground zero for building a future that’s good for our communities, good for workers and their families, and good for business.

Automation and artificial intelligence are key to this conversation and so is the input from the working people that both adapt to and implement these technologies.

As I talk with working people I hear both a willingness to be part of progress but an anxiety that too often that progress has been one-sided.

The reality for working people across our economy is that they work two and three jobs, often more than five days a week, more than eight hours a day just to put food on the table, a roof over their heads and take care of their families.

Even though we are living through a long economic expansion, most families across our economy are still struggling.

We can not build a California that truly works for all on a foundation of precarious, insecure work that doesn’t pay people enough to afford their basic needs.

That is the reality we have been called together to grapple with.

Changes in our economy are creating wealth -- a lot of it right here in the Golden State. With that creation of wealth comes an incredible opportunity to invest in people and communities so that we can build an economy where everyone can thrive.

We can only seize this opportunity if we have the courage to adopt the kind of policies and build the kinds of structures that direct wealth to the places where it can lead to real opportunity for all.

And it can start right here in California.

This is not the first time California has changed.

It’s not the first time we’ve had to rethink how our economy works.

In the last century, America completed a massive shift of work from farms to factories. It was not easy or painless. But we rewrote the rules to make sure that more Americans could share in the gains their work created.

Working people, elected leaders, and some forward-thinking business leaders joined together to reimagine the economy.

They created new standards.

They empowered working people to form unions so they could be part of shaping our society.

Unions have been a key pillar in developing the social compact between government, companies and working people that built the middle class.

We are living through another massive shift in how we live and work. 

Our economy has moved from being manufacturing centered to being driven by service and care work constantly evolving through technology.

Technological change gives consumers unprecedented convenience and saves them time. This same technological change can also make life better for workers if the gains are shared with workers.

The efficiencies from innovation can provide workers new pathways for career growth if working people are part of building the future economy.

But this new work has been fissured, subcontracted, franchised, and freelanced in ways that produce more profit and flexibility for corporations, but far less security and stability for workers.

It’s time to rethink how working Californians can have a say in shaping the work and economy of the future.

To build confidence in California’s future, working people need to be free to join together in worker organizations. 

Together we can find new pathways to empower working Californians with the kind of jobs that build strong communities.

California has a proud history of leadership and innovation.

As the fifth largest economy in the world, California is uniquely positioned to serve as the hub for a future that can be replicated across the world.

To get there, together, let’s use this opportunity to think in new and different ways to inspire what is possible: a future economy -- designed in California -- that creates sustainable, inclusive prosperity for all.

And now it’s my distinct honor to introduce the leader who has prioritized tackling inequality and harnessing California’s innovative spirt. He has challenged us to help him chart this path forward. Please join me in welcoming California’s Governor Gavin Newsom.