Hear me out…
If employees earned equity in companies they worked for that they kept until either sold, the company closed, etc., whether you worked for 1 company for 30 years or 8 companies for 30 years total, you would end up with a retirement package that didn't rely on only the money you, yourself, can afford to deduct from your pay. And don't get me wrong, the equity would be on top of a 401K. It could work similarly to stock but would apply to any company, public or private.
For roles that directly contribute to the development or design of a product, they should also get residuals on the sales and licensing of the products. This isn't to say a lion's share. But as the employee progressed in their career and collected many of these minor passive income streams and equity pools, they could end up with substantial savings with continued income.
Vacation/sick time should also be nationalized, with companies paying employee's PTO into a bucket managed by the DoL that accrued on a scale but starts at 3 weeks and maxes at 3 months or something substantially higher than it is now.
Companies wouldn't have to cash out your PTO when you leave, as you would just take it with you. You could use it to augment employment benefits or just take a vacation between jobs/contracts without worrying about income.
Anyone who works a substantial amount of their life should be far more able to retire, sometimes early, and maybe still have an income that doesn't rely on the government or taxing future generations. Everyone would have protected PTO that was company independent and managed by a 3rd party based on clearly written laws that don't leave it entirely up to the employer as to when and how much vacation an employee can take.
We need unions, and the unions need to be demanding things like this.