EPI in the news

• Denver teachers are next to take to the picket line

  While the district and DCTA argue over the amount of the raise, both agree that teachers need one. Teacher pay continues to lag behind the pay of other college-educated workers, according to a 2016 report published by the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank. “In 2015, public school teachers’ weekly wages were 17 percent lower than those of comparable workers—compared with just 1.8 percent lower in 1994,” the report states. Expect to see more strikes, particularly in cities like Denver, where a tech boom has increased the cost of living for all workers.

  The Brookings Institution | March 22, 2019
• With teachers in the lead, more workers went on strike in 2018 than in any year since 1986

  Until the mid-1990s, teachers were paid almost as much as other educated workers, according to the Economic Policy Institute’s analysis of Labor Department data. As of 2017, the most recent year for which data is available, they were paid an average of 18.7 percent less. Their 7.6 percent advantage in benefits does not close the gap.

  Washington Post | March 22, 2019
• 2019 Minimum Wage Act Would Help Black Workers More Than White

  In January, Democrats introduced the 2019 Raise the Wage Act, a bill that would gradually increase the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2024, up from the current federal minimum of $7.25, set in 2009. New research from the nonprofit Economic Policy Institute found that the bill could help black workers more than white.

  Newsweek | March 20, 2019
• Minimum wage hike passes House with phased-in raise for tipped workers

  Eight states do not have a lower minimum wage for tipped workers. New Mexico’s rate, $2.13, is the federal minimum, used by 17 states, according to the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute.

  Santa Fe New Mexican | March 20, 2019
• A Kansas City Activist Takes The Minimum-Wage Fight To Washington

  “I think there is a long journey ahead, but at the same time we’ve seen a lot of political success,” said Ben Zipperer of the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. “There are a lot of states and local areas that are passing minimum-wage increases.”

  KCUR | March 20, 2019
• Teacher strikes made 2018 the biggest year for worker protest in a generation

  Until the mid-1990s, teachers were paid almost as much as other educated workers, according to the Economic Policy Institute’s analysis of Labor Department data. As of 2017, the most recent year for which data is available, they were paid an average of 18.7 percent less. Their 7.6 percent advantage in benefits does not close the gap.

  Washington Post | March 20, 2019
• Denver teachers are next to take to the picket line

  While the district and DCTA argue over the amount of the raise, both agree that teachers need one. Teacher pay continues to lag behind the pay of other college-educated workers, according to a 2016 report published by the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank. “In 2015, public school teachers’ weekly wages were 17 percent lower than those of comparable workers—compared with just 1.8 percent lower in 1994,” the report states. Expect to see more strikes, particularly in cities like Denver, where a tech boom has increased the cost of living for all workers.

  The Brookings Institution | March 20, 2019

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