Some of the most innovative and consequential policymaking happens at the state and local level, and we have to make sure that policymakers at every level of government are doing what’s best for working people, and prioritizing anti-racist, equity-promoting policies. EARN’s impeccable research and strong partnerships with grassroots allies are critical to that achieving that goal.”
Biography
David Cooper is director of the Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN), a national network of nearly 60 state- and local-level policy research and advocacy organizations coordinated by the Economic Policy Institute. He assumed the leadership of EARN in October 2021, after serving as senior economic analyst and EARN deputy director. As EARN director, Cooper works to expand the network’s reach and deepen its impact by strengthening partnerships between EARN groups and grassroots organizations, labor unions, and community advocates. He also works to expand EARN groups’ ability to provide rigorous analysis that centers people of color and is grounded in the real-world experiences of workers and families.
In his time with EARN, Cooper has overseen a vast expansion in the program’s research and analytical capacities and a more explicit focus on the experience of Black and Brown workers—building up the data, research, and policy resources available to support EARN groups’ worker, racial, and gender justice work. He has guided EARN’s creation of new training programs, workshop series, state-level data tools, and a robust technical assistance infrastructure to assist policy researchers and advocates throughout the country. With support from the EARN team at EPI, EARN groups have shaped numerous state and local policy debates, providing timely and credible analyses that have helped secure critical pro-worker, equity-promoting policy reforms, such as higher minimum wages, expanded access to overtime, paid leave benefits, fair scheduling protections, and stronger collective bargaining rights.
As part of EPI’s research team, Cooper’s work on the minimum wage, wage theft, social insurance, and state labor markets has been used by policymakers in city halls and statehouses across the country, as well as in Congress and the White House. His analyses on the impact of minimum wage laws have been instrumental in dozens of state and local minimum wage debates since 2011. He has testified in many states and cities on the challenges low-wage workers and low-income families face.
Cooper has been interviewed and cited by numerous media, including the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal. He has appeared on many local and national news programs, including the Public Broadcasting Service’s “NewsHour,” CNBC’s “Closing Bell,” National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered,” and American Public Media’s ”Marketplace.”
Education
Master of Public Policy, Georgetown University
Bachelor of Arts, English and Government, Georgetown University
Areas of expertise
State labor markets • Minimum wage • Wage theft • Poverty • Inequality and social mobility
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The school bus driver shortage remains severe: Without job quality improvements, workers, children, and parents will suffer
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More than 8 million workers will get a raise on New Year’s Day: 23 states and D.C. will see minimum wage hikes ranging from $0.23 to $1.50 an hour
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The value of the federal minimum wage is at its lowest point in 66 years
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Rising minimum wages in 20 states and localities help protect workers and families against higher prices
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Proposed New York state minimum wage increases would lift wages for more than 2 million workers through 2026: Minimum wages would range by region from $16.35 to $21.25 per hour by 2026
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All states must set higher wage benchmarks for home health care workers
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Raising pay in public K–12 schools is critical to solving staffing shortages: Federal relief funds can provide a down payment on long-needed investments in the education workforce
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Twenty-one states raised their minimum wages on New Year’s Day: Federal action is still needed
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Preempting progress in the heartland: State lawmakers in the Midwest prevent shared prosperity and racial, gender, and immigrant justice by interfering in local policymaking
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Ensuring the high road in Cannabis: Legalization offers a chance to make the cannabis industry a model of good jobs—if workers are given a voice
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Cutting unemployment insurance benefits did not boost job growth: July state jobs data show a widespread recovery
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There is no justification for cutting federal unemployment benefits: The latest state jobs data show the economy has not fully recovered
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Calls to establish a regionally adjusted federal minimum wage are dangerously misguided
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Raising the Delaware minimum wage to $15 by 2025 would raise wages for nearly 120,000 workers and strengthen the state’s economic recovery: Testimony of David Cooper in support of SB 15 before the Delaware Senate Labor Committee
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The American Rescue Plan clears a path to recovery for state and local governments and the communities they serve
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Raising the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2025 would lift the pay of 32 million workers: A demographic breakdown of affected workers and the impact on poverty, wages, and inequality
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So-called right-to-work is wrong for Montana: Research shows RTW law would not boost jobs and could lower wages for both union and nonunion workers
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Strong wage standards are especially important for heightened-security job sites: Testimony in support of HB685, the Secure Maryland Wage Act of 2021
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CBO analysis confirms that a $15 minimum wage raises earnings of low-wage workers, reduces inequality, and has significant and direct fiscal effects: Large progressive redistribution of income caused by higher minimum wage leads to significant and cross-cutting fiscal effects
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A $15 minimum wage would have significant and direct effects on the federal budget
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Twenty states raised their minimum wages on New Year’s Day: Federal action is still needed
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Voters chose more than just the president: A review of important state ballot initiative outcomes
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Preempting progress: State interference in local policymaking prevents people of color, women, and low-income workers from making ends meet in the South
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Cuts to the state and local public sector will disproportionately harm women and Black workers
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Now is still a good time to raise the minimum wage
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Updated state unemployment numbers: In 10 states, more than one in six workers are receiving or have filed for regular unemployment
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Without federal aid to state and local governments, 5.3 million workers will likely lose their jobs by the end of 2021: See estimated job losses by state
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Without federal aid, many state and local governments could make the same budget cuts that hampered the last economic recovery
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Every state in the country reported its highest initial unemployment claims ever either last week or the week before
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Nearly 20 million workers will likely be laid off or furloughed by July: Updated state numbers project further job losses due to the coronavirus