EPI in the news

• Essential but ignored: How day care powered the pandemic workforce

  A report from the Economic Policy Institute cites a median hourly wage for child care workers of $10.31 an hour.

  Cronkite News | August 27, 2021
• Will Rhode Island’s Hospitality Labor Force Bounce Back?

  Heidi Shierholz, an economist with the Economic Policy Institute, argues there isn’t a labor shortage outside of the hospitality and leisure industries. The classic sign — rising wages — is confined to that sector and, even with a boost in pay, leisure and hospitality have only risen to their pre-pandemic levels, she says. In a survey by One Fair Wage, more than half of respondents say they considered leaving their restaurant jobs due to low wages and tips.

  …

  The Economic Policy Institute’s Shierholz says there won’t be any real realignment of the economy without massive policy changes, including raising the minimum wage and rate of unionization.

  “There’s a ton of evidence that employers of low- and middle-wage workers have had the power to suppress workers’ wages, and that dynamic has been growing for decades,” she says. “We can pay our lowest paid workers more. Instead, the minimum wage is 30 percent less than it was in 1968.”

  Rhode Island Monthly | August 27, 2021
• Biden’s Gambit: A Finger in the Dike

  The Economic Policy Institute reports that “from 1978 to 2020, CEO pay based on realized compensation grew by 1,322%, far outstripping S&P stock market growth (817%) and top 0.1% earnings growth (which was 341% between 1978 and 2019, the latest data available).” It adds, “In contrast, compensation of the typical worker grew by just 18.0% from 1978 to 2020.”

  Counterpunch | August 27, 2021
• America’s Racial Wealth Gap is Enormous and Getting Worse

  Black-white wage gaps are large and have grown larger in the last 20 years, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

  …

  That wage gap was 26.5% in 2019, according to the Economic Policy Institute. The gap has remained between 18% and 22% for workers with high school education, college degrees and advanced degrees.

  The EPI report found that white workers are paid more than Black workers at almost every education level, including those with advanced degrees. For example, college-educated white workers earn an average of $35.90 an hour while Black workers at the same education level earn only $27.81.

  Capital and Main | August 27, 2021
• The Social Determinants Of Work

  Childcare has always been an issue and now we are forced to reckon with its direct economic and social impact. Research by the Economic Policy Institute estimated that “an investment that capped child care expenditures at 10 percent of family income could increase overall women’s labor force participation enough to boost GDP by roughly $210 billion”.

  Forbes | August 27, 2021
• Concerns About Workplace Safety as Meatpacking Plants Recruit Foreign Visa Workers

  To qualify as an H-2B employer, a company must pay a wage equal to or above the industry’s prevailing wage or the area’s minimum wage. But, across all industries, H-2B workers are often paid less than U.S. workers, according to the progressive think tank Economic Policy Institute.

  Another requirement for a company hiring H-2B visa labor is to show a shortage of available workers. However, according to an EPI report, the U.S. economy shows no sign of labor shortages in the industries that often use H-2B visas. DOL data in the report shows about 5 million unemployed workers in occupations with H-2B approvals.

  Civil Eats | August 27, 2021
• David Kamper

  Terrorists Bombs at Kabul’s Airport Kill U.S. Marines, Afghan Civilians and Taliban Guards | Growing Pressure For Vaccine Mandates Puts Grandstanding GOP Governors in a Bind | The 100th Anniversary of America’s Largest Labor Uprising

  Background Briefing with Ian Masters | August 27, 2021

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