How Transportation Technology Can Combat Forced Labor

The topic of the Law and Mobility Program’s 2023 Conference considered how we might reimagine transportation technology in a way that combats the systemic vulnerabilities that leave certain populations more likely to experience forced labor.

This question matters in particular because transportation touches everything people do from shipping goods to commuting to work to recreational activities to community development. Furthermore, the automobile industry has an enormous global footprint with many layers within the supply chain, making it a great example for other industries to consider environmental, social, and governance (ESG) challenges in their own contexts. There are many notable historical examples of the impacts of emerging transportation technologies on labor conditions and access to dignified employment, and paying attention to the lessons learned from those outcomes may help policymakers better anticipate the equity outcomes of regulatory decisions.

After articulating why this topic is important in the transportation technology space, Law and Mobility Program researchers identified four categories through which to understand the research. The categories were organized by population and include: 1) people working in the raw material and mining sectors harvesting the relevant materials to construct the technology such as cobalt and copper; 2) people working in the transportation industry in United States such as transit operators, truck drivers, and mechanics; 3) the user of the emerging transportation technology in their commute to work, and; 4) the nonuser community member whose access to employment or daily commute may be radically altered in an attempt to accommodate new technologies such as changes to bike lane, sidewalks, increased urban sprawl, or public transit routes.

The type of analysis for each category varied. At the conference, panelists explored many historical examples and identified questions and theoretical frameworks through which to best understand the needs of the communities.

Media Link: “Conference Explores How Transportation Technology Can Combat Forced Labor”

The 2023 Conference Report can be found below:

Brittany Eastman, How Might We Reimagine Transportation Technology to Combat Forced Labor: Conference Explanations and Recommendations from The Law and Mobility Program’s Annual Conference 2023, 2023 J. L. & MOB.
Available at: https://repository.law.umich.edu/jlm/vol2023/iss1/3