Media clips

Congress’s most ambitious attempt to strengthen unions in years is set for a House vote next week

The bill would create penalties for employers that violate federal labor law by retaliating against workers who are trying to unionize. Currently, no such penalties exist. Economists and labor law experts say that this means companies have few disincentives for breaking the law. About 40 percent of companies whose workers vote to unionize are charged with violating federal law during union campaigns, according to federal data obtained by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute.

The Washington Post February 3, 2020
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February 3, 2020
Congress’s biggest obstacle

CBO does not factor in the benefits of carbon emissions reductions when estimating environmental policy. “There’s a social cost of carbon that the government uses,” says Josh Bivens, director of research at the Economic Policy Institute. “That should go in and be reflected.” Bivens adds that CBO’s estimated job loss in the Affordable Care Act was based on assumptions that people with more secure insurance coverage would voluntarily give up work. “If people are voluntarily moving out of the labor force, it’s hard to say it’s a big crisis,” he notes.

The American Prospect February 3, 2020
“Respect for Graduate Student Workers Act” introduced in House and Senate

According to a December 2019 report by the Economic Policy Institute, “At a time when worker advocates are demanding that more workers have the right to a union and collective bargaining, the Trump board’s graduate teaching assistant proposal demonstrates a fundamental lack of understanding that graduate teaching assistants are an integral part of the modern academic workforce.”

People’s World February 3, 2020
Businesses are cutting back their investments
Consumers are feeling better about the economy because, after a long economic recovery, a lot of people have low expectations, according to Josh Bivens, director of research at the Economic Policy Institute.

“They have really beaten down expectations, and so if you look over the past year, unemployment is pretty low, wages are doing not great but OK. Maybe they’re like, ‘This is as good as it’s been for a while,’” Bivens said.
Marketplace February 3, 2020
Teachers and other school supporters rally for increased state funding.

The true cost of education is more than adequate pay for teachers, which according to the Economic Policy Institute is 31% less in Virginia for college graduates than their peers, ranking the state third-worst in the nation.

Style Weekly February 3, 2020
Despite more state money, Clark County teachers still coming out of pocket for supplies

The average Nevada public school teacher spends $543 of their own money on school supplies, the sixth highest amount in the country, according to an August state-level analysis conducted by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. In Clark County, educators reported to the Clark County Education Association that they pay an average of $1,000 per year on school supply costs, some of which is reimbursed, CCEA president Vikki Courtney said.

Las Vegas Sun February 3, 2020
House Democrats to vote to override state ‘right-to-work’ laws, boosting labor movement

Unions and their allies argue that right-to-work laws encourage economic “free riders” since unions are legally obligated to represent all workers, even nonmembers. “Repealing right to work is fair to workers, individually and collectively, and fairer than the right-to-work system,” said Lynn Rhinehart, senior fellow at the Economic Policy Institute, a left-of-center nonprofit think tank. “It’s not fair to have a system where some workers pay dues or fees toward the cost of that representation while others get the benefits but pay nothing.”

Washington Examiner February 3, 2020
Non-Compete agreements: One size may not fit all

In December 2019, the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) released a report that revealed a continued increase in the use of non-competition agreements in the workplace. According to the EPI study, between 36 and 60 million American workers have entered into non-competition agreements that, to varying degrees, would operate to preclude the employee from accepting employment with or providing services to a competitor. However, the landscape for whether a non-compete agreement is enforceable is consistently changing under specific state laws. Nonetheless, while non-competition laws may vary from state to state, several common requirements are present in most state’s analyses of enforceability.

JD Supra February 3, 2020
Cities prepare for the worst as Trump’s food stamp cuts near

By some accounts, Ohio has yet to recover from the recessions of the early and late 2000s. A healthier job market has not led to significantly higher wages. In 2018, five of Greater Cleveland’s 10 most common jobs — retail sales, food preparation and service, cashiers, waiting tables and janitorial and cleaning work — did not pay enough for people to afford food without assistance, according to Policy Matters Ohio, a liberal research organization.

The New York Times February 3, 2020