Acknowledgements

We are grateful to an incredible team of colleagues who helped make this report possible. First and foremost, a huge thank you to our research team which, in addition to ourselves, included Roselyn Miller and Autumn McDonald. They were a “dream team” that brought thoughtful insights, expertise, and passion to the research process, interviews, and synthesis. A special thanks to Roselyn Miller, whose passion, wisdom, and energy improved this report in many ways. Her Spanish language skills and tireless work enabled our discussions with Hispanic workers and her thoughtful feedback is reflected in the forthcoming pages. A big thank you to Molly Martin and Rachel Alexander for their support on the ground in Indianapolis and Oakland, respectively. Also, thank you to Sam Webster brought her photographic skills and enthusiasm for the project on the road.

Maria Elkin, Joanne Zalatoris, Angela Spidalette, and the entire New America communications team were tremendous partners in bringing the report to life. Dana Ju was instrumental in managing relationships with partners and securing the financial resources that made the project possible. Mary Alice McCarthy and Tara McGuiness provided valuable feedback and policy input to our synthesis. Cecilia Muñoz believed in this project from its earliest days and supported us at every turn.

Our team is grateful to the partners, funders, and experts who contributed to this project. We are particularly grateful to Andrew Dunckelman at Google.org and Michele Jawando at Google for their generous support for this project and their enthusiasm for bringing the dignity and voices of workers into the future of work conversation. We are also thankful for their understanding when the project timeline needed to extend several months to accommodate parental leave.

External consultants Emily Tavoulareas and Amber Schleuning provided invaluable expertise, training, and support as we designed the research, executed the field work, and synthesized our findings. Paulina Plata was extremely helpful in our recruitment efforts. We are deeply grateful to Alan Hanson, Jim Araby, Simone Mock-Williams, Tiffany Flowers, and their colleagues at the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW), Maria Maldonado at Fight for $15, Wendy Weiner and Leslie Frane at SEIU, and Gina Davis at LISC for their help in introducing us to many of the workers whose voices are documented in the forthcoming pages. We thank Annelies Goger, Cecilia Muñoz, Roselyn Miller, Iris Palmer, Tara McGuinness, and Mary Alice McCarthy for their thoughtful feedback on the report draft. And thanks to Sabrina Detlef for her copyediting of this report.

Above all, the entire team at New America would like to thank the workers who lent their time, candor, and generosity of spirit to this report. We are humbled and grateful that you entrusted us with your stories and personal experiences. We dedicate this report to your hard work and voices.