Imagine giving 33.5 million American workers a raise, helping 6.2 million ease the pinch of poverty, and increasing the total annual wages for minimum-wage workers by $92.5 billion. All that and more is made possible by increasing the federal minimum wage to $15, according to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).
The nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank conducted research to see which Americans would be affected by the Raise the Wage Act — legislation recently passed in the House of Representatives that aims to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour. EPI found that the bill would impact almost every working American, although in different ways.
Who. What. Why
August 5, 2019
While the CBO report’s headline result still links the minimum wage to job loss, its estimates of those losses range from no significant job loss to 3.7 million job losses. Economic Policy Institute economist Ben Zipperer says the low-job-loss scenario is an acknowledgment that raising the minimum wage hasn’t proven to be as dangerous as researchers once feared. But he still found the CBO’s median estimate overly pessimistic.
The Washington Post
August 5, 2019
This is a trend that King believes will only increase as younger generations age into the working class. As a 2016 report from the Economic Policy Institute points out, people of color are expected to make up the majority of the U.S. working class by 2032. Likewise, the working class is becoming increasingly female. In 1960, just a third of working-class laborers were women, but now their numbers are equal to men. Both of these changes should be good news for millennials and Gen Z, as both report workplace diversity is among the single most important qualities a potential employer could have.
MEL Magazine
August 5, 2019
Wage gains have been strongest this year for workers earning $12 to $14 an hour and those at the top end of the pay scale who earn more than $60 an hour, according to a new analysis from the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute.
The Washington Post
August 5, 2019
While black unemployment levels are low, they are twice as high as white unemployment rates at the national level and in 14 states and the District of Columbia, according to data available from 21 states and Washington, D.C., analyzed by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) in April.
ABC News
August 5, 2019
While serving on the AFL-CIO Executive Council, Bahr was active on the International Affairs Committee, the Industrial Union Council and the committees on Capital Stewardship, Community Partnerships, Political Education, Public Affairs, Women Workers, Political Funding and more. He also served on the boards of the National Labor College and Union Privilege, as well as secretary-treasurer for the Economic Policy Institute.
AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka (UMWA) mourned the loss:
Morty was a brother, a friend and a first-class leader. All workers are better off for his service and solidarity. The best way to honor his legacy is to confront the challenges of our time, from inequality to technology, with poise, purpose and passion.
AFL-CIO
August 5, 2019
The groups ranged from Americans for Prosperity and Heritage Action for America and FreedomWorks to the Economic Policy Institute, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG), and the Progressive Policy Institute, among others.
The Northwoods River News
August 5, 2019
Some recent number crunching by the Economic Policy Institute reveals that the average annual cost for day care in New York State is $15,394-a-year. That makes New York the sixth most expensive state in the country. By comparison, in-state tuition at a four-year public college costs $7,456 less per year.
WBEN 930 AM
August 5, 2019
The average annual cost of infant care in California, according to the Economic Policy Institute, is more than $16,900. That’s a little more than $1,400 per month, NBC San Diego reports.
Police Magazine
August 5, 2019
Paying for day care is one of the largest expenses per month for families. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the average cost of infant child care in Missouri is about $800 a month.
St. Louis Public Radio
August 5, 2019