Robert Scott, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., says the changes contemplated in the PRO Act, coupled with the surge in demand for labor that Biden’s infrastructure plan would unleash, would benefit workers: “It will give them more leverage and reduce the market power of the employer.”
Bloomberg
April 23, 2021
Labor unions are key backers of Mr. Biden’s presidency, and several of his early immigration-policy decisions have shown some deference to their concerns.
“H-2B visas are intended for use during times of labor shortages, but the latest unemployment rates for the main H-2B industries are sky high,” said Daniel Costa, director of immigration law and policy research at the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal critic of guest-worker programs.
Mr. Costa pointed to March data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showing an unemployment rate of 19.9% in the hospitality industry and 11.8% among restaurant workers.
The Wall Street Journal
April 23, 2021
It is common for unions to file similar objections in the wake of failed union elections. In fact, such charges are filed in 41.5% of all union election campaigns, according to the Economic Policy Institute. EPI did not track how many of these charges that the National Labor Relations Board ultimately found to be merited, resulting in further investigation.
Business Insider
April 23, 2021
EPI economist Valerie Wilson joins us for a conversation about the economic costs of racism, and which policies could help further racial equality.
Pitchfork Economics
April 23, 2021
Child-care providers, like Briggs, are overrepresented among individuals living below the poverty line and have a median hourly wage of $10.31 an hour, according to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), making it challenging to save money.
The Lily
April 23, 2021
Nonpartisan groups have provided detailed analyses describing the benefits of raising the minimum wage for Delaware’s diverse population and for the economy, as well. According to David Cooper, senior analyst at the Economic Policy Institute, with the minimum wage at $15, SB 15 would increase the wages of almost “122,000 Delaware workers or approximately 28 percent of the state’s wage-earning workforce.” Yet, one of Sussex County’s representatives, Ruth Briggs King, 37th District, Sussex County, opposes SB 15 because she believes the bill will hurt business more than help.
Cape Gazette
April 23, 2021
Far more than highly touted entrepreneurship, it’s union membership that has been the dam that has prevented the Black working class from being totally swept under by accelerating economic inequality. Surveys from the Economic Policy Institute show that the wages of unionized Black workers are 14.7 percent higher than those of their non-union counterparts, while the difference between unionized non-Hispanic white workers and their non-union counterparts is just 9.6 percent. Black workers are also 15 percent more likely than the population as a whole to be in unions.
The American Prospect
April 23, 2021
And low-wage essential workers are among the least likely to have paid time off, said Elise Gould with the Economic Policy Institute. They also often have less schedule flexibility, predictability and job security than white-collar workers.
“They may not have a lot of power to negotiate for when the best time is to have the vaccine so that they make sure they don’t have to work the next day in case there’s side effects that impact them,” she said.
NPR Marketplace
April 23, 2021
Features interview with Robert E. Scott.
KPFA
April 23, 2021