Even when owners choose to keep their doors open, they often deploy a range of anti-union strategies — legal and illegal — to discourage unionization attempts. According to a 2019 Economic Policy Institute study, in over 40 percent of union campaigns across industries in the United States, employers are charged with violating workers’ legal rights. In 90 percent of union campaigns, employers hold anti-union meetings and rallies intended to dissuade workers from unionizing.
In These Times
August 27, 2021
“While the 2020 tip rule failed to include quantitative estimates of the impact of changes to the dual jobs regulations, the [nonprofit think tank] Economic Policy Institute estimates workers could lose $705 million annually,” according to the congressional Democrats’ letter.That loss of income “is significant for tipped workers, who are generally low-wage workers and experience poverty at higher rates than non-tipped workers.”
Law360
August 27, 2021
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