An examination of the same data by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) shows that while unionization levels dropped nationally in 2020, unionization rates rose because union workers have seen less job loss than non-union workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Where workers have been able to act collectively and bargain through their union, they have been able to secure enhanced safety measures, additional premium pay, and paid sick time, during the pandemic,” said EPI Director of Policy Heidi Shierholz. “Due to this, unionized workers have had a voice in how their employers have navigated the pandemic, including negotiating for terms of furloughs or work-share arrangements to save jobs. This likely played a role in limiting overall job loss among unionized workers.”
Researchers at EPI also point out that another factor explaining these figures is that industries with lower unionization rates, like leisure and hospitality, have tended to experience the most job loss during the pandemic, while sectors with higher unionization rates, like the public sector, have tended to see less job loss.
Workday Minnesota
January 26, 2021
“Unionized workers have had a voice in how their employers have navigated the pandemic, including negotiating for terms of furloughs or work-share arrangements to save jobs,” said Heidi Shierholz, policy director at the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington think tank. “This likely played a role in limiting overall job loss among unionized workers.”
She attributed more than half the gain in the rate of union membership to job losses among nonunion workers.
Newsday
January 26, 2021
After decades of declining unionization, in the middle of a pandemic, “the share of the workforce that’s represented by a union jumped up, from 11.6 percent to 12.1 percent,” said Heidi Shierholz, senior economist and director of policy at the Economic Policy Institute.
Shierholz said more than 20 million workers lost their jobs last year, union and non-union alike. But she said union workers “lost fewer jobs than their nonunion counterparts. And so the unionization rate actually rose.”
She said unions successfully negotiated furlough and work-share arrangements to preserve jobs.
NPR Marketplace
January 26, 2021
Advocates have also noted the policy’s potential to cut into racial and gender inequity. In cheering the Raise the Wage Act on Tuesday, the left-leaning think tank Economic Policy Institute said 23% of workers who would benefit from the policy are Black or Latina women.
CNBC
January 26, 2021
Mary Kay Henry, president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which played a pivotal role in backing the Fight for $15, sees considerable momentum behind a $15 minimum.
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“A $15 minimum is the single most concrete way to reduce racial inequality, put money in people’s pockets and make material change in people’s lives,” Henry said. The Economic Policy Institute, a progressive thinktank, found that raising the minimum to $15 would help 25% of Black workers, 19.1% of Hispanic workers, 13.1% of White workers and 10.8% of Asian workers.
The Guardian
January 26, 2021
Also impacting the statistics, however, is the fact that COVID-19 hit industries with smaller union presences, such as hospitality and leisure, especially hard. About half of the increase in the unionization rate in 2020 was the result of the pandemic’s concentrated impact on less-unionized job sectors, according to an analysis from the Economic Policy Institute. (The other half can be attributed to union workers faring better than nonunion workers in their same industries.)
Time Magazine
January 25, 2021
The Paris News
January 25, 2021
Emma Garcia and Elaine Weiss discussed the serious issues in their article published by the Economic Policy Institute titled “COVID-19 and student performance, equity, and U.S. education policy.”
“Research regarding online learning and teaching shows that they [teaching and learning] are effective only if students have consistent access to the internet and computers and if teachers have received targeted training and supports for online instruction.”
Kinston Free Press
January 25, 2021
The Economic Policy Institute said Pennsylvania’s minimum wage is set equal to the federal minimum wage by statute.
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The EPI says 29 states in total have increased the minimum wage, some through legislation, others through ballot initiatives. Ballot initiatives are not part of the Pennsylvania legislative process.
KYW Newsradio
January 25, 2021
“Where workers have been able to act collectively and bargain through their union, they have been able to secure enhanced safety measures, additional premium pay, and paid sick time, during the pandemic,” said Heidi Shierholz, the executive director of policy at the pro-union Economic Policy Institute.
Chattanooga Times Free Press
January 25, 2021