Thomas A. Kochan

Professor, MIT’s Sloan School of Management

More than 20 years ago, a national commission...concluded that American labor law was failing to deliver on its promise to provide workers the ability to form a union and gain access to collective bargaining.

Today’s workforce doesn’t want to have to fight their employer to improve their working conditions.

Who Really Speaks For American Workers?

Thomas A. Kochan writes that, since the New Deal, a core principle of American labor policy is that workers should have the right to be their own, independent voice at work. So why isn't that the case? Pictured: Members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees march on the Las Vegas Strip July 20, 2016, to urge management at Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's hotel to negotiate a contract with workers. (Michelle Rindels/AP)

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Economy

Opinion

No worker should fall through the cracks.

Labor laws are supposed to provide workers fair access to collective bargaining...

Good Gig? New Employment Proposals For Contract Workers Could Make It Better

Thomas A. Kochan: "The gig economy, best embodied by Uber, Lyft and Task Rabbit, may account for less than 1 percent of the workforce today, but it has sparked a debate over what to do about all those who make their living outside of standard employment relationships." (noeltock/Flickr)

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Business

policy

…the decline in unions accounts for between 20 and 30 percent of the rise in income inequality and stagnant wage growth experienced over the last several decades.

The role of unions is now front and center on the American political agenda.

Organized Labor's Challenge In 21st Century America

Tom Kochan: "Can labor adapt to a changing workforce and economy and once again become the innovative force that helped build a strong middle class?"
Pictured: Marchers start the annual Labor Day parade on Monday, Sept. 7, 2015, in Pittsburgh. (Keith Srakocic/AP)

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Politics

Election 2016

 ...these courageous employees had the good sense to ignore all the prevailing legal doctrines and constraints.

Market Basket Shows Power Of Organized Labor Without Unions

Just as the public rallied in support of Market Basket employees, the broad American public will need to get behind this set of reforms.

Market Basket And America's Outdated Labor Law

The recent Market Basket dispute demonstrates that America's labor law is in dire need of reform. Pictured: Market Basket employees hold signs and wave to passing supporters outside the supermarket in Haverhill, Mass., Monday, Aug. 18, 2014. (Elise Amendola/AP)

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Longstanding family feuds are hard to overcome but eventually enough rationality prevailed to produce a sensible deal.

Market Basket Reaches Deal To End Standoff

More than ever [Arthur T.'s] steady leadership will need to be visible to all. American business leaders: watch, learn and act accordingly and you too will gain goodwill that is hard to measure but easy to see.

After The Market Basket Deal, Congratulations And Thanks

Thomas Kochan: "First and foremost an enormous thank you goes to the courageous and loyal employees and their families who stood up, together, for each other, for the culture Arthur T. nourished over the years and for fairness in business and employment practices." Pictured: Market Basket meat manager Bob Dietz, of Methuen, Mass., front right, hugs cashier Mary Olson, of Chelsea, Mass., after watching a televised speech by restored Market Basket CEO Arthur T. Demoulas at a store location, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2014, in Chelsea. (Steven Senne/AP)

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History is littered with the detritus of bitter labor disputes that ended badly, and of private equity buyouts that decimated once thriving companies...the fact that the Market Basket dispute’s trajectory seems to be heading there is worrisome, to say the least.

What is the right price for an asset that comes with the task of hiring a new workforce in communities where the current workforce is respected, known to all and ready to fight for their company and their jobs?

Market Basket: The Worst Case Scenario

Why community, state and regional leaders have an enormous stake in resolving the Market Basket fiasco. Pictured: Protesters hold signs during a rally at Market Basket in Tewksbury, Mass., Tuesday, Aug. 5, 2014. Thousands of Market Basket supermarket employees and their supporters are calling for the reinstatement of their fired CEO, even as the company began a three-day job fair to replace employees who have refused to work during a revolt that is costing the supermarket chain millions. (Elise Amendola/AP)

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The independent members of the board of directors have a responsibility to act, not in the interests of one or another faction of the Demoulas family, but in the best interests of the company. It is time for them to do their job. If the owners don’t accept their decision, they should resign.

It is also time for leaders across New England to use their good offices to get this conflict resolved. It has gone beyond the point of a private family feud or even a parent company-employee dispute. It has and will affect the welfare, perhaps even the safety, of our communities.

An Open Letter To Market Basket Directors And All New England Leaders: Time To End This Dispute

The MIT Sloan School of Management professor says the stakes are too high, and there is too much for all involved to lose, to let the conflict escalate further. Pictured: Protesters holding "Arthur T" signs taunt an occupant of a car driving from a Market Basket Supermarket job fair in Andover, Mass., Monday, Aug. 4, 2014. (Elise Amendola/AP)

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...Market Basket owners and employees remain in a downward spiral. If not reversed, and soon, the result will be a substantial reduction in the value -- if not the total liquidation -- of the owners’ assets and the loss of many, if not all, employees’ jobs.

Economist: Market Basket Employee Protest Is ‘Unprecedented’

...it is important not to deny what is new here: a brave assertion by thousands of people with much at risk to protect their livelihoods and to demand leadership they can trust.

How Market Basket Can Right Its Course

Thomas Kochan: "Unless there is a change of course... all parties -- owners, employees and customers -- will lose."  Pictured: Market Basket assistant managers Mike Forsyth, left, and John Surprenant, second from left, hold signs while posing with employees in Haverhill, Mass., Thursday, July 24, 2014, in a show of support for Arthur T. Demoulas. The former chief executive of the Market Basket supermarket chain whose ouster has led to employee protests, customer boycotts and empty shelves, says he wants to buy the entire company. (AP)

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...these employees are taking on the horde of Wall Street analysts who criticize companies that choose to pay employees well and build a loyal customer base rather than just maximize shareholder returns.

...the protests reveal just how out of date, irrelevant and inadequate America’s labor laws have become.

Thomas A. Kochan

Recently published

Who Really Speaks For American Workers?

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Good Gig? New Employment Proposals For Contract Workers Could Make It Better

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Organized Labor's Challenge In 21st Century America

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Market Basket And America's Outdated Labor Law

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After The Market Basket Deal, Congratulations And Thanks

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Market Basket: The Worst Case Scenario

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An Open Letter To Market Basket Directors And All New England Leaders: Time To End This Dispute

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How Market Basket Can Right Its Course

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In Market Basket Protests, Three Lessons For Corporate America

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