Industry Standards Boards: A New Policy Approach to Improve Labor Quality for Working Families

Abstract

U.S. workers have endured a half-century of labor quality decline, a troubling trend in a powerful social determinant of health. Industry standards boards (ISBs) are a burgeoning policy solution across the United States through which tripartite teams of employers, employees, and governmental representatives recommend or directly enact labor standards for a labor sector. In this article, we review relevant labor policy, the current state of ISBs, and recommendations for forming and implementing ISBs. We close by summarizing practice implications for frontline social workers and social work researchers, including recommendations to advocate for ISBs for labor sectors employing our clients and members of our communities and our profession.