An evening with William B Gould

Organised by the Institute of Employment Rights and the Haldane Society

About the Conference

Whatever the future brings in terms of the EU and international trade deals, developments in labour law will be central to the debate. In the UK, attacks on trade unions, the decline in collective bargaining and the growth of the “gig” economy and Artificial Intelligence (AI) have all had a negative impact on workers’ rights. Unions are challenging and winning legal cases on worker status. But a more radical, transformative change to the employment relationship is clearly needed if workplace power is to be rebalanced.

How does the UK situation compare to workers’ rights in the US and what can we learn from recent developments in America? Bill Gould, past Chair of the National Labor Relations Board has vast experience of American labour law. He has adjudicated on cases involving trade union struggles to win recognition and has played a central role in monitoring and enforcing labour standards on unwilling and often hostile employers. His insights into past and present battles between employers and workers can help focus a discussion on the kind of strategies and policies needed to change the nature of workplace relations and the role of the State.

Bill Gould will be joined at this FREE event by John Hendy QC.

Bill Gould is author of A Primer on American Labor Law, 6th edition, published May 2019. Signed copies of the book will be available to purchase at the event.

Cost

This event was free to attend.

Speakers

Bill Gould, Stanford University Download paper

John Hendy QC, Chair of the IER