A new Economic Policy Institute report finds workers in the 26 states with right-to-work laws earn nearly 7% less on average than those in states without them, a gap that has more than doubled over the last decade.
“Right-to-work is kind of a misnomer,” said Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute who co-authored the report.
Gould said these laws do not offer workers any job protections.
“Instead, what they do is prohibit any requirement that workers covered by union contract either join the union or contribute toward the cost of union representation,” she said.
Marketplace
September 8, 2026
The signatories range from environmental, labor, and legal groups to those focused on faith, housing, immigration, LGBTQ+ rights, reproductive freedom, and more. They include the ACLU, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Drug Policy Alliance, Economic Policy Institute, Giffords, Greenpeace USA, Human Rights Campaign, Indivisible, National Education Association, Oxfam America, Public Citizen, and Union of Concerned Scientists.
Common Dreams
September 8, 2026
The Economic Policy Institute projected in July 2025 that if deportations reach the scale Trump promised, millions of citizen workers will in fact lose their jobs along with deported immigrants, due to the economic interdependence of citizens and noncitizens in the workplace. If 3.3 million immigrant jobs are destroyed, the EPI argues, 2.6 million citizen jobs will be too. Construction and child care labor sectors would especially decline.
Brooklyn Rail
September 8, 2026
2,$358 is what it costs each American taxpayer on average to finance this analysis by the Economic Policy Institute.
Putting that amount into perspective would mean, according to the same institute, funding more than 925,000 teachers or healthcare for more than 5 million veterans or Medicaid for almost 12 million people.
N+ Univision
September 8, 2026
Another major reason is teacher pay. The average teacher salary in the United States was $74,495 in 2024-25. On average, teachers earned 73.1 cents per dollar compared with professionals with similar experience and education in 2024, according to a study from the Economic Policy Institute. Back in 1996, that number was at 93.9 cents.
Gulfshore Business
September 8, 2026
In his first year since returning to power — even before his reckless decision to go to war against Iran had hiked gas prices and economic uncertainty —Trump had “actively made life less affordable for working people,” according to the Economic Policy Institute.
The Hill
September 8, 2026
A second DOL proposal would make it easier for employers to classify workers as independent contractors, a change the organization said is risky for home care workers, who already face a heightened chance of being misclassified. The Economic Policy Institute estimates misclassification costs a worker between $7,719 and $10,963 a year in lost wages, benefits and protections
McKnight’s Senior Living
September 8, 2026
Richard Stern and Josh Bivens talked about the how the U.S. economy and its impact on Americans could influence the 2026 midterm elections.
C-SPAN Washington Journal
September 8, 2026
A new Economic Policy Institute calculator gives that contradiction a price tag. It starts with the National Priorities Project’s estimate that the federal government plans to spend $268.9 billion on mass deportation during the second Trump administration, then allocates the cost according to each community’s share of federal income taxes. By that method, Columbus’s share is about $535.4 million, or roughly $1,760 for each Columbus tax filer who owes federal income tax after credits.
Columbus Underground
September 3, 2026