EPI in the news

• Brooklyn Pol’s $30 Wage Gambit Puts NYC Bosses on Notice

  Nurse and labor advocates argue that the current $17 minimum leaves workers struggling just to keep the lights on. “And to actually just meet your basic needs, you need to earn about $38 per hour. Today, we’re just asking for $30,” Nurse said in coverage of the proposal’s launch. Backers point to Economic Policy Institute modeling that projects roughly 1.68 million New Yorkers, about 36.7% of the city’s wage-earning workforce, would still be making less than $30 an hour by 2030 if nothing changes. EPI provides the analysis that supporters are leaning on.

  Hoodline | April 30, 2026
• Teacher pay in Florida worst in the country — again. FEA blames DeSantis, GOP-majority Legislature

  A family of two with two kids in Miami-Dade County would need to make $120,900 annually to live a modest and adequate lifestyle, according to calculations by the Economic Policy Institute. For Broward County it estimates $124,800 and $127,260 for Palm Beach County.

  WLRN | April 30, 2026
• Democratic lawmakers introduce bill to raise federal minimum wage to $25 an hour

  As of 2022, nearly 6 in 10 jobs paid less than $25 an hour, a separate BLS report from September 2024 found. Around 66 million U.S. workers, or around 45% of the workforce, earned less than $25 an hour in 2026, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a labor-focused policy think tank.

  CNBC | April 30, 2026
• Data: Where NH ranks when it comes to teacher compensation, student enrollment

  Public educators’ wages “have fallen further behind those of similarly educated college graduates in other professions, widening the teacher pay gap,” according to the National Education Association. The organization cited a report from the Economic Policy Institute that found teachers earned an average of 73.1 cents per dollar compared with people in similar professions in 2024.

  Concord Monitor | April 30, 2026
• The Progressive Caucus Unveils Its Contract with America

  Overtime pay: The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 requires all eligible salaried employees to receive no less than time and a half for every hour worked above 40 in a week. This amendment to the FLSA from Casar would expand that minimum to double time. The higher wages would put limits on overworking employees, and there are other provisions in the legislation to safeguard against that as well. The caucus estimates that over 13 million workers would feel this benefit, supported in polling by 69 percent of the public. “True affordability comes when working people earn enough to cover the costs of living with dignity and security,” said Heidi Shierholz, president of the Economic Policy Institute.

  American Prospect | April 30, 2026
• Unions Ask Congress To Enact Worker-Friendly AI Legislation

  Cites EPI & AFL-CIO letter to Congress [paywall]. 

  Law360 | April 30, 2026
• Is East Lansing truly a finer college town than Ann Arbor? You tell us

  The average monthly cost of living in East Lansing is around $3,500 per month, according to the Economic Policy Institute, compared with $4,200 in Ann Arbor.

  Detroit Free Press | April 30, 2026

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