We have a good idea who these workers are in Vermont. According to the Economic Policy Institute, most of these workers are over 20 years old. In other words, they are not teenagers trying to make a little cash for pocket money, as opponents of minimum wage increases sometimes claim. Rather, 40 percent of minimum wage earners are the head of their household. We also know from the data that the majority of these workers are not working just part-time. In fact, Vermonters who earn minimum wage are more likely to work full-time than in any other New England state.
Bennington Banner
February 24, 2020
“It is worth noting the absolutely staggering differences in prices for health care paid in the U.S. relative to our rich country peers,” Josh Bivens, research director at the Economic Policy Institute, who was not involved with the new study, told Newsweek. “Given this, and given that other countries largely control these costs by centralizing them, it seems to me that the by far most-likely development would be for national health costs to fall under a well-managed M4A [Medicare For All] plan,” he said.
Newsweek
February 24, 2020
While I used my home state for this example, this disparity is true across the United States (which you can see by using this Economic Policy Institute calculator). Even though the Department of Health and Human Services has set a standard for childcare—saying it shouldn’t cost more than 7% of a family’s annual income—it costs more than that in each of the 50 states. Per Fortune, in 28 states and Washington D.C., childcare actually costs more than the average tuition and fees at a state college.
Hello Giggles
February 24, 2020
Younger workers are joining unions at a historic rate. A whopping three-quarters of people who joined labor unions in 2017— the most recent year for which data is available—were under the age of 35, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s a significant change. In the past, younger workers have been less likely to join unions than older members, the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) reports.
So what’s causing this seismic shift?
“Millennials [those born between about 1980 and 2000] graduated high school and college in the wake of the Great Recession, and many have experienced high student debt, years of high unemployment, low wages, and expensive healthcare bills,” says Kayla Blado, director of media relations at EPI, president of the Nonprofit Professional Employees Union and author of several articles on millennials and labor. “This has driven many to support and join unions to help realize a higher standard of living.”
NEA Today
February 24, 2020
The Economic Policy Institute estimates that wage theft costs workers — especially low-wage workers — roughly $50 billion a year. Companies commonly do this by adjusting time sheets or clocking out workers for breaks or lunch even if they don’t take them.
The Economic Policy Institute notes that in 2016, the median black worker earned 75 percent of what the median white worker earned in an hour. Meanwhile, the median black household earned just 61 percent of the income the average white household earned in a year.
Cheapism
February 21, 2020
What We’re Reading
- Providing unpaid leave was only the first step; 25 years after the Family and Medical Leave Act, more workers need paid leave [Economic Policy Institute]
Oklahoma Policy Institute
February 21, 2020
From 2006 to 2016, nearly half of the workers at nonunion job sites in the city were Hispanic or Latino, compared with about 30 percent at union sites, according to Lawrence Mishel, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think tank. The slice of workers at nonunion sites who are Hispanic or Latino is probably more than 50 percent now, Mr. Mishel said.
The New York Times
February 21, 2020
While the growing economy has created jobs, many don’t pay well, said Lawrence Mishel, distinguished fellow at the Economic Policy Institute.
The success of Lyft and Uber is an indicator, he said, because the companies are constantly losing drivers and signing up more, signaling a reservoir of people who need money.
“It is evidence that the regular job isn’t so good,” said Mishel.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution
February 21, 2020
According to a report by the Economic Policy Institute, the United States is short about 110,000 teachers, and that number is expected to double by 2025.
WHAS 11
February 21, 2020