These proposed reforms could reap huge benefits. According to an Economic Policy Institute study, money invested in the manufacturing of durable goods (products intended for long-term use), including hydropower equipment, has one of the highest job multipliers of any industry. That means when federal projects adhere to Buy American policies and taxpayer dollars are invested in products manufactured domestically, good-paying and long-term jobs are created and sustained at home.
Philadelphia Inquirer
August 27, 2021
Well over half of American private sector workers are now subject to mandatory arbitration, according to research by the Economic Policy Institute, and consumers routinely sign binding arbitration agreements, often unknowingly, for a gamut of products and services. The process takes a range of legal disputes out of court and into a forum that’s unfamiliar, where decision makers are even less diverse than the federal bench and legal profession as a whole, and where outcomes tend to favor businesses.
Reuters
August 27, 2021
Relying on estimates from Economic Policy Institute, a worker advocacy think tank, NELA said that establishing a 20% cap on the amount of time a worker…[pay wall]
Law360
August 27, 2021
“Because of the potentially higher rates of unionization in the industry, they have the opportunity to really set standards,” David Cooper of the Economic Policy Institute told Motherboard. Cooper recently had the opportunity to look over multiple union contracts provided by the UFCW and found that they set wage floors that are well above state minimum wages among other competitive benefits.
The New York legislation also sets a goal of providing 50 percent of business licenses to people disproportionately affected by the criminalization of marijuana. “I think it’s all well and good to write legislation that provides the support for entrepreneurship for folks who are formerly incarcerated. But the reality is the vast majority of people who are going to work in a legal cannabis industry are not going to be business owners, they’re going to be rank and file employees,” Cooper said. “We need to have structures and standards in place that make sure that those folks can make a decent living in the industry.”
VICE
August 27, 2021
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 (via Washington Post)
August 27, 2021
In an analysis of national public school teacher data, the Economic Policy Institute found that most teachers are not highly satisfied with their professional development experiences.92 The study found that only 50 percent of teachers have release time from teaching for professional development, and only 28 percent received reimbursement for conference and workshop fees.93 Furthermore, a TNTP survey of teachers and school leaders found that teachers feel they are not getting clear information about their strengths and weaknesses to improve their instruction.94 Half of the teachers surveyed did not think the assistance they were receiving helped them improve their practice.95 These surveys illustrate that teachers want quality professional development experiences and need support to engage in learning that improves their practice.
Center for American Progress
August 27, 2021
“I don’t think of the last few months as either vindication or repudiation, yet,” said Josh Bivens, director of research at the Economic Policy Institute and a longtime enthusiast of policymakers seeking a high-pressure economy.
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Still, “I think the benefits of carrying on the go-for-growth strategy will come,” Mr. Bivens said, noting exceptionally strong job creation in recent months.
New York Times
August 27, 2021
A report from the Economic Policy Institute cites a median hourly wage for child care workers of $10.31 an hour.
Cronkite News
August 27, 2021
Heidi Shierholz, an economist with the Economic Policy Institute, argues there isn’t a labor shortage outside of the hospitality and leisure industries. The classic sign — rising wages — is confined to that sector and, even with a boost in pay, leisure and hospitality have only risen to their pre-pandemic levels, she says. In a survey by One Fair Wage, more than half of respondents say they considered leaving their restaurant jobs due to low wages and tips.
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The Economic Policy Institute’s Shierholz says there won’t be any real realignment of the economy without massive policy changes, including raising the minimum wage and rate of unionization.
“There’s a ton of evidence that employers of low- and middle-wage workers have had the power to suppress workers’ wages, and that dynamic has been growing for decades,” she says. “We can pay our lowest paid workers more. Instead, the minimum wage is 30 percent less than it was in 1968.”
Rhode Island Monthly
August 27, 2021