To highlight that discrepancy, organizations including Equal Pay Today and Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In are promoting Tuesday, Aug. 7, as Black Women’s Equal Pay Day. Black women are only paid 63 cents for every dollar white men earn. Black women, on average, are paid 38 percent less than than white men and 21 percent less than white women. Pay disparities remain consistent across different levels of education, according to the Economic Policy Institute. That’s a big difference, especially when 80 percent of black mothers are the primary breadwinners for their families.
The Huffington Post
August 8, 2018
“It’s reflective of gender and racial discrimination that we know exists in the workplace and in terms of what opportunities are available to women of color,” said Valerie Wilson, the director of the Economic Policy Institute’s Program on Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy.
Bloomberg News
August 8, 2018
According to a study by The Economic Policy Institute, union membership is one of the key factors that can help determine if black women are paid fairly for their work: “Black women have traditionally faced a double pay gap—a gender pay gap and a racial wage gap. EPI research has shown that black women are paid only 65 cents of the dollar that their white male counterparts are paid. However, unions help reduce these pay gaps. Working black women in unions are paid 94.9 percent of what their black male counterparts make, while nonunion black women are paid just 91 percent of their counterparts.”
UFCW
August 8, 2018
Thea Lee, the president of the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, said, “Just on a number of fronts, this is a silly claim.” (Thea quoted throughout)
PRI’s The World
August 8, 2018
Two Colorado counties are among those with the 10 highest top-to-bottom income ratio, according to a recent report from the Economic Policy Institute.
The report analyzes income inequality across 3,061 U.S. counties, 916 metropolitan areas and all 50 states, plus Washington, D.C. The report examines how the top 1 percent of people and the remaining 99 percent fared during 2015, the latest data available. (whole story)
9News
August 8, 2018
Economic inequality in the Berkshires is growing. According to a new report of the Economic Policy Institute, the wealth gap in the Berkshires is larger than the gap in the western Massachusetts’ three other counties. Studies by the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation confirm the EPI findings. Peter Taylor, President of the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, joined Carrie Saldo to shed light on both reports.
WGBY
August 8, 2018
Liberals and union groups view Tuesday’s vote in Missouri as an opportunity to begin reversing the momentum that has weakened unions to their low point in several decades. About 226,000 workers in Missouri are members of unions, or about 9 percent of the workforce, according to federal statistics. “We are seeing an attack on unions being sustained all over the place — the courts, private employers, the administration,” said Janelle Jones, an analyst at the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank. “This vote could represent the pendulum swinging back to workers and away from corporate interests.”
The Washington Post
August 7, 2018
The Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank, estimates that there would be 60,000 fewer union members in the Missouri private sector if the state’s right-to-work law takes effect. According to the same analysis, the worker in a right-to-work state earns roughly 3.1 percent less in hourly wages than a similar worker in a state without such a law.
The Huffington Post
August 7, 2018
A no vote on Tuesday would repeal the right-to-work law. A yes vote would make Missouri a right-to-work state, which would be a costly mistake. Wages in right-to-work states are 3.1 percent lower than those in non-right-to-work states, according to a study from the Economic Policy Institute. As a result a full-time, full-year worker in a right-to-work state will earn about $1,558 less annually.
August 7, 2018
A new report from the Economic Policy Institute shows that income inequality continues to grow in the United States, including in two metro regions on the Treasure Coast. The report, which used the latest available data to analyze how the top 1 percent and everyone else across the U.S. have fared between 1917 and 2015, found the top 1 percent in Jackson, Wyoming, earns a whopping 132 times more than everyone else. However, that doesn’t mean the bottom 99 percent there are not faring well. Their average income is $122,447, which is more than double the average income — $50,107 — of the bottom 99 percent nationwide. (whole story)
Treasure Coast Palm
August 7, 2018