The link between workers’ bargaining power and inflation is apparent to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, who in March noted the need to “get wages down.” But as economist Josh Bivens at the Economic Policy Institute argues, we don’t need a recession to inhibit worker bargaining power. Worker bargaining power is already inhibited. Workers’ real wages have declined over 3%—average hourly earnings growth of 5.2% has been exceeded by inflation of 8.6%.
Forbes
June 17, 2022
As of 2020, about two-thirds of workers covered by a union contract were women and people of color, according to the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute.
Bloomberg Law
June 17, 2022
The last time workers were able to quit, sit out for a little, and still support themselves was in the 1960’s, Cappelli said. The left-leaning Economic Policy Institute finds that the minimum wage in 1968 would be worth $10.59 in 2021 dollars — far more than today’s $7.25 minimum wage.
Business Insider
June 17, 2022
“My goodness, it lies at the heart of the issue,” said Marokey Sawo, a state economic analyst at the Economic Policy Institute. “What we see manifested here is part of a larger picture of systemic oppression, and it is tied to three things: who does the care work, what type of work it is, and who receives it.”
Capital and Main
June 17, 2022
Pushback against noncompetes comes as some organizations, including the Economic Policy Institute — which the White House cited in its original directive to the FTC — estimate that the agreements cover millions of U.S. workers, including low-income workers and those earning state or federal minimum wages.
HR Dive
June 17, 2022
The average annual cost of child care for an infant in Wisconsin is $12,567 according to a study by the Economic Policy Institute. This makes infant care in Wisconsin 48.3% more expensive than the average in-state tuition for a four-year public college. The average annual cost of college in 2020 was $8,475 and $9,994 for housing.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
June 17, 2022
Organizations like the Economic Policy Initiative and Groundwork Collaborative have pointed to the need to rein in excessive corporate profits while people struggle. A recent post from the Economic Policy Institute debunked the top five myths being pushed about inflation, including that larger corporate profit margins have nothing to do with inflation. The post also highlighted how investing in families could restrain inflation, not worsen it.
NewsOne
June 17, 2022
But the reduction in supply was met with increased demand as Americans started purchasing durable goods to replace the services they used prior to the pandemic, said Josh Bivens, director of research at the Economic Policy Institute.
CNET
June 17, 2022
Robert E. Scott is senior economist and director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy Research at the Economic Policy Institute, a think tank that …(paywall).
Industry Week
June 17, 2022
Teresa Ghilarducci is the Schwartz Professor of Economics at the New School for Social Research. She’s the co-author of “Rescuing Retirement” and a member of the board of directors of the Economic Policy Institute.
Bloomberg
June 17, 2022