As millions enjoyed Labor Day with backyard barbecues, millions more reported to low-wage jobs, working unpredictable hours and facing difficult conditions that have come to characterize work for too many Americans. Over the past decade, as concerns about the “future of work” emerged among employers, policymakers, academics, and workers, some have expressed worry over an impending robot apocalypse poised to eliminate countless jobs. While research has found these concerns to be overblown, the real challenges of the future of work are unfolding around us – low pay, unsafe conditions, and deteriorating worker power – conditions that inhibit security and exacerbate inequality.

While the challenges that define the “future of work” have shifted, some solutions are more promising than ever. Some who warned of automation pointed to a universal basic income as a means of providing cash to replace wages. Regardless of robots, the potential for universal cash transfers is more promising than ever – not to replace employment, but to facilitate it. The future, it turns out, has not given us a shortage of jobs. It has given us a shortage of good jobs – and cash transfers are not a consolation for displacement, but a tool to rebalance power between workers and employers. Instead of letting more benefits expire or establishing more stringent eligibility criteria, we need to be introducing and making permanent universal programs that establish a floor of security upon which to build a robust, sustainable, and equitable labor market.

The vacant job postings that have filled recent headlines reflect the challenges of today’s labor market. These unfilled jobs are characterized by stagnant wages, unpredictable schedules, lack of voice in the workplace, and little investment in workers’ careers. Work in these jobs brings the constant uncertainty of not knowing whether you can pay rent, cover utilities, afford groceries, access transportation, or seek medical care, preventing planning for the future and pushing long-term financial health further out of reach.

The foundational security provided by cash assistance allows workers to escape this trap into promising full-time employment. It provides a level of certainty that allows workers to act with dignity, whether that means taking on a new job, organizing for change at their workplace, or pursuing training opportunities. Instead of replacing work entirely, cash transfer programs have the potential to empower workers to demand more from their jobs.

Read the full article about cash transfers for jobs by Shelly Steward at The Aspen Institute.