Both before and after the pandemic, support for unions among the general public has been rising, according to the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. That coincides with a rise in labor actions within the waste and recycling industry, experts say.
Waste Dive
September 2, 2025
According to the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank that tracks minimum wage data nationwide, the current highest minimum wage in the country is $21.16 in Burien, Washington. Several other municipalities in that area — including Seattle; the suburban cities Renton, SeaTac and Tukwila; and King County — have their own minimum wages north of $20 per hour.
Portland Press Herald
September 2, 2025
“The research shows very clearly that when you deport immigrant workers, native-born workers lose jobs as well,” said David Cooper, director of state policy and research at the Washington-based Economic Policy Institute, a think tank affiliated with the labor movement. And the Economic Policy Institute report predicts that Trump’s mass deportation effort — if implemented — could eventually cost U.S.-born workers 2.6 million jobs, with the biggest disruptions expected in Florida, Texas and California, states heavily reliant on immigrant labor. That’s because the hiring of immigrant workers helps support job creation for native-born workers, Cooper said.
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That legislation also heavily favors the wealthy, with 65% of benefits going to the top 10% of earners, according to the Penn-Wharton budget model, a nonpartisan research initiative. The lowest-income households are expected to lose out due to cuts in benefits, including Medicaid and SNAP. “This bill is a transfer of money from the poorest households in America to the richest households in America, full stop,” Cooper with the Economic Policy Institute said.
Capital & Main
September 2, 2025
According to the Economic Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, CEO pay increased 1,085 percent from 1978 to 2023, while the average worker’s earnings rose 24 percent.
The Columbian
September 2, 2025
In 2019, the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C., a nonprofit and nonpartisan think tank focused on economic policy, found that of 3,061 counties in the nation, Saratoga County ranked 28th in income inequality, just three spaces below San Francisco.
Albany Times Union
September 2, 2025
In Massachusetts, 148,000 jobs could be lost if the administration carries out its intention to deport 4 million people over four years, according to the Economic Policy Institute, as employers grapple with a reduced labor force and struggle to stay open.
The Boston Globe
September 2, 2025
Meanwhile, data from the Economic Policy Institute shows a growing productivity gap. Since 1980, worker productivity has grown 1.4% annually, while hourly compensation has grown only 0.6%.
KOB-TV (New Mexico)
September 2, 2025
The share of unionized workers in 1979 was 27%. That percentage fell to just 11.6% in 2019. Along with it, so did the wages of middle-class workers. According to a study by the Economic Policy Institute, declining union membership decreased the median worker’s wages by $1.56 per hour. Had union density remained at 1979 levels, workers would have earned another $3,250 a year.
The Press Democrat
September 2, 2025
According to the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, roughly 60 million workers in the U.S. wanted to join a union but couldn’t in 2024. Recent organizing pushes at vehemently anti-union franchises like Starbucks and REI, meanwhile, suggest that the appetite for employee protections and fair wages is only growing.
Capital & Main
September 2, 2025
“The analysis compares median earnings data from the U.S. Census Bureau with cost-of-living estimates from the Economic Policy Institute to assess how far a graduate’s income goes across the country,” the travel and credit website Upgraded Points reported.
Voice of San Diego
September 2, 2025