EPI in the news

• Guest column: Union rights for New Orleans city workers would benefit all

  For example, the Economic Policy Institute recently studied the role of public sector unions in reducing racial and gender inequality between workers in the public and private sector. They noted how “[i]n states where employers are required to bargain, Black and Hispanic workers earn more in local government than in the private sector, where they face large racial pay gaps.”

  The Advocate | June 9, 2023
• Statement from Jared Bernstein on the Passing of William Spriggs

  He was also a thoroughly lovely man. Bill was one of the first economists I met when I began my career at the Economic Policy Institute in the early 1990s. I was too naïve to know how unusual he was and thought “wow, professional economists are much cooler than I thought they’d be.”

  The White House | June 9, 2023
• RIP William Spriggs: Tributes Pour In For Chief AFL-CIO Economist And Noted Howard University Professor

  The Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a nonprofit organization that frequently addresses racial disparities in the economy and counts Spriggs as a former employee, mourned his death by remembering him as “a fierce proponent of racial and economic justice whose influence as a public intellectual and economist reached across academia, labor, think tanks, positions in the Clinton and Obama administrations, and the civil rights community.” Springss broadened “discussions about race and economics within these critical institutions” and “worked tirelessly behind the scenes to expand representation of people of color within the economics profession and mentor the next generation of economists,” EPI said.

  NewsOne | June 9, 2023
• Child Labor in the USA: What Employers Need to Know

  In another study published in March, Jennifer Sherer and Nina Mast of the Economic Policy Institute also made the case for stronger laws. They took note of a decline in youth workforce participation over the past 20 years, indicating that more young people are continuing their education “in order to increase their long-term employability and earnings.”

  “Putting off work in order to obtain more skills and education is a positive trend — for both individuals and the economy — not one that should be slowed or reversed,” Sherer and Mast argued.

  Triple Pundit | June 9, 2023
• As DeSantis touts governing chops, state of Florida has thousands of open jobs

  Texas spent nearly 58% of its funding.

  “The question is, ‘How seriously does the government take the task?’ If your government is committed to rebuilding the public sector, you’ll make the investment,” said Dave Kamper, a senior state policy coordinator with the Economic Policy Institute.

  Tampa Bay Times | June 9, 2023
• Black unemployment spikes, and women bear the brunt

  Valerie Wilson, director of the Economic Policy Institute’s Program on Race, Ethnicity and the Economy, noted that the loss of income caused by unemployment can affect any household, but can exacerbate financial difficulties for Black families, who are less likely to have savings or multiple earners of income.

  Thegrio.com | June 9, 2023
• Pa. Democrats push workers’ tax credit bills into position for full House vote

  The average cost of infant care in Pennsylvania has risen to $11,842, according to estimates by the Economic Policy Institute.

  PennLive | June 9, 2023

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