Media clips

---

• The union battle against corporate power isn’t a fair fight

  Union membership has decreased over the past 40-plus years, and it is no coincidence that the average wage of the American worker has increased only 14% during those same 40-plus years. Read that again. It took more than 40 years for us to get a whopping 14% increase in our wages. And how much did CEO wages increase from 1978 to 2020? According to the Economic Policy Institute, CEO wages increased by 1,322%. I am appalled by this, and you should be, too

  Anchorage Daily News January 21, 2022
• Column: Teachers responded to a calling; the least we can do is treat them with respect

  For one, we as a society just seem content with the fact that teachers are underpaid, something that has long been reported by groups like the Economic Policy Institute. In 2020, EPI reported that educators nationally make 81 cents on the dollar, or 19 percent less, compared to other professionals with similar experience and credentials. That gap has increased significantly over the past two decades, going from 6 percent in 1996 to 19 percent in 2019.

  San Diego Union Tribune January 21, 2022
• School districts are asking parents to be substitute teachers as Omicron hits classroom staffing

  Education officials and advocates say the extreme shortages result from a long-term dearth of teachers in the U.S., driven by a weak recruiting pipeline and years of sub-par pay. The so-called teacher wage penalty, which measures the gap between teachers and similarly educated professionals, has grown since the mid-1990s, according to a study by the Economic Policy Institute. 

  Fortune January 21, 2022
• Union Membership Dips In 2021 As Jobs Return

  economist who now leads the progressive Economic Policy Institute, … The union representation rate will likely drop further as the economic (paywall).

  Law360 January 21, 2022
• The Number Of U.S. Workers Who Belong To Unions Fell In 2021

  The Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank that studies collective bargaining, noted that the share of workers who are represented by a union fell significantly last year but merely returned to its pre-COVID level. The short-lived increase in union representation in 2019 was probably the result of the pandemic economy: Jobs in largely non-union fields like hospitality disappeared quickly, then returned last year, pulling the union membership rate down.

   
  The Huffington Post January 21, 2022
• 2021 was a year of labor action—but it didn’t translate into more unionized workers

  It’s a reality that seems disconnected from those prominent examples of union activity and from polls that show high union favorability among workers across the country. Yet, this disconnect can be explained by the country’s outdated labor laws, which also points to the need for new labor policies, says Heidi Shierholz, president of the nonprofit think tank Economic Policy Institute, who served as the Department of Labor’s chief economist under the Obama administration.

  Fast Company January 21, 2022
• For Unions, Membership Gap Tells Tale of Legislative Failures

  “If policymakers fail to act, the downward trends in unionization will likely continue and the post-pandemic economy will be marked by widespread inequality and wage stagnation for working people,” Heidi Shierholz, president of the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, told reporters Thursday. “So the stakes are really high.”

  Bloomberg Law January 21, 2022
• What the Black Death’s Labor Shortage Can Tell Us About Our Own

  So despite current workers’ fierce desire for change, the ongoing pandemic’s labor shortage, and period of increased wages likely won’t bring long-lasting positive benefits, said Elise Gould, a senior economist, at the Economic Policy Institute.

  Vice News January 21, 2022
• Fair and inclusive markets: Why fostering dynamism matters

  Mishel, L (2018), “Yes, Manufacturing Still Provides a Pay Advantage, But Staffing Firm Outsourcing is Eroding It”, Economic Policy Institute, Report.

  VoxEU January 21, 2022
• A Marxist Cheer for the Last Frontier

  The dividend’s popularity is easy to understand in the context of its notable impact on the people of Alaska. Research from the Economic Policy Institute shows that income for the poorest fifth of Alaskans in the last decade has increased 28 percent, 2.5 times more growth than the national average. $2,000 can make all the difference for Alaskans on the verge of poverty. Rural Alaskans use the dividend to survive, buying fuel to heat their homes for the cruel winter ahead. In the case of Native Alaskans, a study conducted by the University of Alaska-Anchorage estimates that without the yearly dividend payments, over 10,000 more Natives would live below the federal poverty line. 

  Brown Political Review January 21, 2022