While there are policies that seek to enforce minimum wage laws and prevent wage theft, it’s still prevalent in low-wage jobs. While the minimum wage in California is $16.04, more than twice the federal minimum wage of $7.25, wage theft is still prevalent. In 2017, the Economic Policy Institute found throughout 10 of the most populous states, 17% of low-wage workers are affected by wage theft. For the Californian worker being impacted, this comes out to $3,400 in yearly stolen wages.
Next City
August 19, 2022
Amid reports of teacher shortages across the U.S. numbering in the hundreds of thousands, along with violent and vicious far-right attacks on public schools, new research shows that teacher salaries are now at record lows.
A report published by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) on Tuesday finds that, while there has long been a pay gap between teachers and comparable college graduates, that gap has recently reached its highest level since EPI began recording such data.
In 2021, the report found, teachers’ weekly pay was 23.5 percent less on average than that of other college graduates, adjusted for age, education, race and state of residence. This means that teachers made about 76 cents on the dollar compared to other college graduates.
Truthout
August 19, 2022
The most rapid growth in the American standard of living took place between 1949 and 1969. During that period, family incomes grew at a faster rate than productivity — partly due to rapidly growing wages but also due to the increased number of women entering the workforce, which boosted family incomes,” according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Forbes
August 19, 2022
Teachers’ weekly wages and total compensation have worsened over time compared to non-teacher, college-educated professionals, according to an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute.
Average weekly wages of public school teachers increased just $29 from 1996 to 2021, from $1,319 to $1,348 when adjusted only for inflation. In comparison, weekly wages of other college graduates rose by $445, going from $1,564 to $2,009 during the same period.
This ”teacher pay penalty″ discourages college students from teaching careers and makes it challenging for school districts to retain teachers, the EPI report said.
K-12 Dive
August 19, 2022
C-SPAN Washington Journal
August 19, 2022
The Economic Policy Institute said targeted policy action is urgently needed to address teachers’ wages and without it there’s, “no reasonable expectation of reversal in sight for pandemic-stressed schools and those who serve public education.”
Teachers in the U.S. haven’t seen a significant bump in their pay in over 20 years, despite a global pandemic and skyrocketing inflation, and the trend risks retaining and attracting future teachers.
The average weekly wages of public school teachers, adjusted for inflation, increased just $29 from 1996 to 2021—from $1,319 up to $1,348. Teachers have consistently earned less than their nonteacher college-educated counterparts and that wage penalty was found in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
That’s according to a new report by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), which analyzed data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) focusing on weekly teacher wages for those with at least a bachelor’s degree.
The Hill
August 19, 2022
By the numbers: The pay gap between public school teachers and others with college degrees in Colorado is the largest in the nation, at 35.9%, according to the Economic Policy Institute, which advocates for fair pay for low- and middle-income workers.
Axios
August 19, 2022
C-SPAN Washington Journal
August 17, 2022
Cites EPI data in a chart on minimum wage.
Bloomberg
August 12, 2022