Heidi Shierholz, former chief economist at the Labor Department, said she sees the current frustrations as the continuation of a 40-year-trend of workers losing bargaining power. She said many were right to feel underpaid before the pandemic began; now the risk makes their earnings feel like an insult.
“We had an extremely unbalanced system before, where the growth of the economy has been captured largely by the people at the top, and not broadly shared, for decades,” said Shierholz, now the policy director at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. “Policymakers should absolutely be stepping in and making sure these workers have hazard pay.”
The Huffington Post
May 5, 2020
Another privilege denied disproportionally to Black people is the ability to work remotely to protect themselves, their families and their communities from the spread of COVID-19. According to the Economic Policy Institute, only 1 in 5 Black employees are able to telework. Those who are keeping America running right now — those on the front lines of this pandemic such as grocery store clerks, home health aides and warehouse employees — are more likely to be Black. What choice do these folks have but to show up for work? Having to make the crucial decision of risking your life while living paycheck to paycheck is largely falling on Black Americans.
The DC Line
May 5, 2020
The Economic Policy Institute reported that for every 10 people who successfully filed for unemployment over the last month, three to four others tried to apply but couldn’t get through the system, and another two people were unable to because the process was too difficult.
The Independent
May 5, 2020
Not to mention the effect the loss of employment, and the resulting financial stress, is having on millions. This week, the number of jobless claims increased by 3.84 million, bringing the unemployment tally to a whopping 30.3 million, which experts say is an undercount. “The Economic Policy Institute earlier this week estimated that the current claims level probably undercounts by as much as 12 million those who are eligible for benefits but not getting them due to the inability to file or other roadblocks,” reports CNBC.
The Patriot Post
May 5, 2020
A survey conducted in mid-April by Economic Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C. think tank, shows that for every 10 people who said they successfully filed for unemployment benefits during the previous four weeks, 3-4 people “tried to apply but could not get through the system to make a claim.”
Gainesville Times
May 5, 2020
The left-leaning Economic Policy Institute found that for every 10 people able to successfully file for unemployment, three to four couldn’t get through the system to make a claim, and one to two chose not to because it was too difficult. In total, the study concludes that 9 million to 14 million eligible people were thwarted from accessing benefits by these systemic failures.
The Washington Examiner
May 5, 2020
Forty percent of the revenues of black-owned businesses are in the five most vulnerable sectors — including leisure, hospitality and retail — compared with 25 percent of the revenues of all U.S. businesses.
New York Times
May 5, 2020
There are other avenues to protect small businesses and their employees in this time of crisis, and these mechanisms would reach more people and help more communities. For example, as the Economic Policy Institute notes: A paycheck guarantee program would be far simpler to administer and would more effectively stabilize employment and business in this moment.
NC Policy Watch
May 5, 2020