According to the Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit think tank, there were 12.2% fewer K-12 school bus drivers across the nation in 2024 than in 2019.
In addition, weekly pay for bus drivers since 2019 have decreased 2.8% nationally after you adjust for inflation, according to the same study.
The Frederick News-Post
July 14, 2025
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement may conduct audits of employees’ I-9 forms – the federal employment authorization documents every U.S. worker must fill out. Employers are given time to make corrections if errors are found. But if problems persist, or investigators find a pattern of violations, fines from ICE can range from $288 to $28,619 per worker, depending on the type and severity of the violation, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
“When employers are punished, the punishment and fines levied on employers are so minimal that they are unlikely to be effective at deterring illegal conduct, and the harshest penalties are rare because the legal standard for them is difficult to prove and they are reserved for repeat violators,” a report from the Economic Policy Institute said.
Argus Leader
July 14, 2025
The DOE, now apparently a federal agency in name only, said it was pausing the disbursements for further review even though Congress passed and the president signed the bill in March. Funds were to be allocated on July 1.
According to the Economic Policy Institute, money in “targeted districts” would be used to support “before and after school programs ($1.4 billion), English language learning ($890 million), migrant education ($375 million), academic enrichment ($1.3 billion) and professional development of staff and teachers ($2.2 billion).”
Nebraska Examiner
July 14, 2025
According to the Economic Policy Institute, the COVID-19 pandemic made this disparity worse because Black women experienced the highest rates of job loss …[Paywall].
Forbes
July 14, 2025
At least 26 states have initiated DOGE-style efforts of varying kinds, according to the Economic Policy Institute based in Washington, D.C.
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Analysts at the pro-labor Economic Policy Institute say that governors and lawmakers, primarily in the South and Midwest, are using DOGE to breathe new life into long-term agendas to consolidate power away from state agencies and civil servants, dismantle public services and benefit insiders and privatization advocates.
“It’s not actually about cutting costs because of some fiscal responsibility,” EPI analyst Nina Mast said.
Associated Press
July 14, 2025
President Donald Trump’s deportation plans could cost nearly 6 million jobs, according to an analysis released Thursday.
If successful, Trump’s goal of deporting 4 million people over four years will cost jobs held by both immigrants and U.S.-born workers, according to the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute.
EPI’s analysis found California, Florida, New York and Texas will have the highest number of job losses, because of larger immigrant populations in those states.
Stateline
July 11, 2025
In 2023, child care for infants in Arkansas cost only 1.8% less than four-year public college tuition and 22.5% less than the average rent cost, according to a study released earlier this year by the Economic Policy Institute.
Mountain Home Observer
July 11, 2025
The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) warns a move toward privatization would “harm the national economy while devastating many vulnerable households and communities, notably homebound seniors, people in rural areas, and residents of low-income urban neighborhoods,” while giving competitors a windfall for shedding those obligations.
In EPI’s report, “The War Against the Postal Service,” the research group also noted, “Career jobs in the Postal Service are good jobs for workers without bachelor’s degrees. Postal workers are better compensated than many other workers with similar education, years of experience, and hours worked. … The corporations that stand to gain will do so not because they are more efficient than the Postal Service, but because they can shed public service obligations and pay their workers less.”
Chicago Crusader
July 11, 2025
Chandra Childers, a senior policy and economic analyst at the Economic Policy Institute, recently outlined the impact of Trump’s cuts and public sector disinvestment on Black women.
“The public sector includes workers in federal, state, and local government that we all rely on to educate children across the region, care for sick and elderly family members, ensure food and water are safe to consume, provide public transportation and sanitation services, and ensure access to a wide range of other public services,” wrote Childers. “The decline in public-sector job quality across the South disproportionately harms Black workers, especially Black women, their families, and communities.”
NewsOne
July 11, 2025
While undocumented immigrants greatly contribute to the Social Security system, it isn’t an uplifting talking point for immigrant advocates since these workers don’t get any benefits themselves, said Daniel Costa, director of Immigration Law and Policy Research at the Economic Policy Institute, in a 2019 Marketplace interview.
Marketplace
July 11, 2025