There has been strong payroll employment growth nationally, said Elise Gould, a senior economist for the Economic Policy Institute (paywall).
Lansing State Journal
September 2, 2022
“In union elections, everyone is looking around to see who else is in; to judge whether they believe that their co-workers are capable of coming together to force management to pay more than it wants,” a 2020 report from the Economic Policy Institute, a progressive think tank, explains. “A large collective action—such as everyone wearing union buttons or t-shirts—gives employees confidence that they have the collective power to stand up to management.”
Quartz
September 2, 2022
Joining together to make things better, from a bake sale to a barn-raising, is a longstanding and heartwarming American tradition. But when workers get together, watch out: Employers routinely violate federal law, reports the Economic Policy Institute, by harassing or firing workers involved in union organizing campaigns.
The Progressive
September 2, 2022
A new report from the Economic Policy Institute found the so-called teacher pay penalty is at an all-time high nationwide, but is particularly high in Colorado.
The report’s author, and Economic Policy Institute research associate, Sylvia Allegretto, describes the teacher wage penalty as how much teachers earn relative to their non-teaching professional peers.
Aspen Public Radio
September 2, 2022
The reason why the U.S. doesn’t have a federal paid leave policy is related to why we don’t have a better child care policy, more sick days or other safety net provisions, said Elise Gould, a senior economist with the Economic Policy Institute.
Grid News
September 2, 2022
When it comes to the health of American democracy, unions also get the goods as the Economic Policy Institute report explains that there are fewer restrictive voting laws in states with the highest union density while over 70 percent of low-union-density states have passed voter suppression laws between 2011 and 2019.
San Diego Union Tribune
September 2, 2022
Arkansas teachers make 20.5% less than college-educated workers in other fields, according to a recent report from the Economic Policy Institute.
Axios
September 2, 2022
Quotes David Cooper on minimum wage increases and inflation (paywall).
Pew Charitable Trust
September 2, 2022
A study published by the Economic Policy Institute examined staffing shortages in public K-12 schools and it pointed to COVID concerns as a factor in nonteacher staff shortages.
“But the reality is that staff shortages in K-12 schools are a problem that policymakers in much of the country have had for decades,” the organization said.
In addition to being exposed to COVID-19, the Economic Policy Institute reported that public education support workers are paid low wages and work limited hours.
“The combination of low pay and limited hours makes these front-line jobs less attractive to return to—or apply to,” the organization said.
Newsweek
September 2, 2022
In California, many teachers grapple with housing affordability because — like many educators throughout the United States — they are underpaid. The state’s instructors earned 15.5% less than their college-educated non-teaching peers from the years 2014 through 2019, according to data collected from the Economic Policy Institute.
Business Insider
September 2, 2022