Labor, Regulation, and the Changing Economy

Pulitzer Center grantee Rick Barrett, along with a politically diverse panel of experts, will participate in a conversation at Washington University in St. Louis on labor and regulatory policy. 

This discussion will highlight workforce trends, tariffs, immigration, and the potential changes ahead. Expect thoughtful insights, informed debate, and a range of perspectives on labor, one of the most pressing issues shaping our economy.

This event is presented as part of the Campus Consortium partnership between the Pulitzer Center and Washington University’s Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy.

Expert panelists: 

• Rick Barrett is a a Pulitzer Center grantee and a business news reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and USA TODAY Network-Wisconsin. Barrett has written extensively on reshoring, manufacturing, and trade. 
• Jake Rosenfeld is a Weidenbaum Center resident fellow and department chair of Sociology at Washington University in St. Louis. Rosenfeld is the author of You're Paid What You're Worth and Other Myths of the Modern Economy (2012) and What Unions No Longer Do (2014). 
• Jonathan Wolfson is chief legal officer and policy director at the Cicero Institute, which develops and advocates for state-level policies in health care, public safety, homelessness, education, regulatory reform, and the workforce. He previously led the policy office at the U.S. Labor Department during the first Trump administration and served as a policy analyst at the White House Council of Economic Advisers during the George W. Bush administration. 

Event moderator: 

• Pauline Kim is a Daniel Noyes Kirby professor of law at Washington University's School of Law, and is the co-author of WorkLaw: Cases and Materials, one of the leading textbooks on employment law. In addition, Kim has published dozens of articles and book chapters on issues affecting workers, including privacy, discrimination, and job security.

For more information, visit the Weidenbaum Center events page.