EPI in the news

• Campaigns revving up in fight over Missouri’s right-to-work referendum

   

  In a 2011 briefing paper for the Economic Policy Institute, authors Gordon Lafer and Sylvia Allegretto note that right-to-work states are concentrated in the South, where significant changes dating to the 1950s have altered the economy — including the advent of air conditioning, better roads, desegregation and “massive federal investments in these states’ education systems.” “Any one of these factors is more likely than right to work to account for the more rapid growth of manufacturing in Southern states,” the paper says. (2011 study cited throughout)

  St. Louis Post Dispatch | July 17, 2018
• If You Live in Missouri, Vote ‘No’ on Proposition A

  Proposition A will drive down wages for Missouri families: If it passes, Proposition A will drive down wages for all Missourians. New research from the Economic Policy Institute shows that “right to work” laws like Proposition A are associated with lower wages and a weaker middle class. EPI found that wages were 3.1% lower in states with right to work laws like Proposition A. EPI’s Heidi Shierholz said, “If Missouri goes in the direction of right to work, we will see that the wages of workers, including those that are not in unions, will decline. Most middle-class workers spend their wages on things like food and clothes at local retailers.” The wage decline will harm businesses where middle-class workers shop.

  AFL-CIO | July 17, 2018
• What progressives like about Trump’s trade war

   

  Trump has responded to this reality with massive tariffs — something some progressive economists agree with, at least in principle. “Tariffs are sorely needed to retaliate for theft of intellectual property, state-owned enterprises, overcapacity, and other forms of unfair trade, including more than a decade of massive currency manipulation,” Robert Scott of the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) told me. (Rob quoted throughout)

  The Week | July 16, 2018
• Are shippers rushing to beat the tariffs? The Port of Oakland reports record imports.

   

  U.S. imports totaled $2.9 trillion last year and exports $2.35 trillion, leaving a trade deficit of $550 billion. But Robert E. Scott, senior economist and director of trade and manufacturing policy research at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., said the U.S. economy overall is $20 trillion and doesn’t expect the tariffs to “move the dial.” “Even if tariffs double or triple, it remains a small part of the economy,” Mr. Scott said.

  The Mercury News | July 16, 2018
• What is Prop A? A closer look at the “Right to Work” ballot question

  The Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a nonprofit think tank that researches “the impact of economic trends and policies on working people in the United States,” according to its website, released a study this week that analyzed this legislation’s impact on workers. The study stated that, while the “unions are required to represent every employee covered by a union contract,” in states with Right to Work legislation “this, in practice, means providing expensive benefits to many workers who have not paid their fair share.” It also found that the average employee earned 3.1 percent less in hourly wages in Right to Work states than the average worker with similar characteristics in non-“Right to Work” states. (whole story)

  The Mexico Ledger | July 13, 2018
• Research opens window into pay gap between Hispanics and whites

  If you feel like academic researchers waste time studying information that seems obvious, you’re not alone. For instance, a recent paper published on the website of the Economic Policy Institute concludes that whites continue to out-earn and have lower rates of unemployment than Hispanics. This has been the case for about four decades so will probably come as no surprise to anyone. Still, we can’t simply acknowledge these sad facts and move on. The details of the data tell a few stories that can guide us in shaping policy for the fastest-growing demographic segment of our workforce. (whole column)

  Arizona Daily Star | July 13, 2018
• Could Missouri’s right-to-work vote be a ‘turnaround’ for labor? Unions hope so.

   

  According to the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, which opposes right-to-work, the policy is not associated with job gains, but it is associated with wage losses.

  The Kansas City Star | July 11, 2018

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