Media clips

• Trump Says ‘Don’t Be Afraid of COVID-19.’ But Do You Honestly Think You’d Get the Same Level of Care?

  As of June 2020, 8 million people have lost their insurance due to pandemic-related job loss. When family members attached to those plans are factored in, 15 million people have been left uninsured. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a challenge to the Affordable Care Act in November. Many fear that the court could repeal the act, especially if Judge Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed. Nearly 30 million people would lose their health insurance, estimates the Economic Policy Institute.

  Well and Good October 9, 2020
• CWA Exposes AT&T’s Failures on Broadband and Good Jobs

  The reports, released by CWA, the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, and the Economic Policy Institute, cover digital redlining, AT&T’s use of subcontractors, and the effect of subcontracting and union-busting campaigns on wages for telecommunications workers.

  Communications Workers of America October 9, 2020
• Few in number, Black residents in Appalachia push for justice

  Between the last quarter of 2007, also the last quarter before the Great Recession, and the first quarter of 2020, the unemployment rate for white Kentuckians declined 1.1 percentage points, according to an Economic Policy Institute analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

  GazetteXtra October 9, 2020
• This Is an Emergency: Americans Need Relief, and Trump Is Standing in the Way

  Workers in several sectors face a full-blown crisis. According to White House economics reporter Jeff Stein, 40 percent of all restaurants face closure in the next six months. Some 50,000 airline workers face layoffs. And the Economic Policy Institute’s Heidi Shierholz told me that more than 20 million jobless workers face an income reduction of more than 60 percent on average.

  Common Dreams October 9, 2020
• The $185 million campaign to keep Uber and Lyft drivers as contractors in California
  But contrary to the Yes campaign’s positioning, there’s nothing in California law that prevents companies from providing such flexibility to workers, regardless of employment status, as some labor experts have pointed out. Terri Gerstein of the Harvard Labor and Worklife Program and Economic Policy Institute called it a “faux concern.”
  CNN October 9, 2020
• Puerto Rican-American Factory Worker Tells His Story of Economic Struggles in ‘The Disrupted’

  Before the negative impact COVID-19 had on the economy this year, many Americans working in manufacturing plants saw their jobs disappear over the last few years. According to the Economic Policy Institute, nearly 1,800 factories shut down during the Trump administration between 2016-2018.

  Remezcla October 9, 2020
• Layoffs Keep Coming With Jobless Claims at ‘Staggeringly High’ Levels

  Add in the people who are still waiting to receive their benefits or hear about the status of their applications and the number rises to over 26 million, says Heidi Shierholz of the Economic Policy Institute (see the chart below). Shierholz cautions, though, that the data is far from perfect, and is almost certainly distorted by backlogs, double-counting and fraud. “All this means nobody knows exactly how many people are receiving unemployment insurance benefits right now,” she said, “which is another reminder that we need to invest heavily in our data infrastructure and technology.”

  The Fiscal Times October 9, 2020
• Harris took more hits than Pence in a night of vice-presidential dodgeball

  China: Biden was unambiguous that China is a problem for the United States and not a friend. Harris completely booted the issue, speaking as if she was at an Economic Policy Institute roundtable — talking consumer prices and Xi Jinping’s approval rating. There is not much that Democrats and Republicans agree on, but both groups think China is a menace.

  The Hill October 9, 2020
• Trump’s Anti-Worker Labor Board

  As Celine McNicholas, Margaret Poydock, and Lynn Rhinehart of the Economic Policy Institute wrote in their October 2019 report “Unprecedented: The Trump NLRB’s Attack on Workers’ Rights”: “The Trump board has repeatedly reversed long-standing board precedent, weakening workers’ rights and giving more power to employers. In the two years that Republicans have held the majority on the board, they have overturned NLRB precedent in more than a dozen cases. All of these decisions overturning precedent favor employers.” In most cases, the Board has issued these types of rulings without even bothering to solicit public input, a reversal of its normal practice.

  Labor Notes October 9, 2020
• Harris says GOP push to end Obamacare means ‘They’re coming for you.’ How to make sure you stay insured

  And even without those losses, the coronavirus pandemic has caused the ranks of the uninsured to swell. Amid historic levels of unemployment, as many as 12 million Americans may have lost their health insurance since February, according to a recent study by the Economic Policy Institute.

  CNBC October 9, 2020