Black women are uniquely disadvantaged in the workforce despite the critical role they play in the economy, argued lawmakers and experts during a discussion Thursday. The Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a progressive research nonprofit, hosted the discussion to examine the state of black women in the economy. Democratic Reps. Keith Ellison and Bonnie Watson Coleman talked before a panel of experts who detailed how black women contribute to the economy and the problems they still face. (whole story)
Inside Sources
February 16, 2018
Janelle speaks 5:26-8:19ish
NPR's Code Switch
February 15, 2018
The question of why american workers’ wages have stagnated for decades even as their productivity—how many goods or services they can produce or deliver—climbed higher has befuddled many an economist and policy-maker. According to the Economic Policy Institute, from 1973 to 2014 most workers barely saw any increase in pay, adjusted for inflation—about a 9 percent raise overall, or just 0.2 percent a year. Yet in that same period, productivity rose 72 percent, or 1.33 percent a year.
The Nation
February 15, 2018
This year, it’s even more clear that strong unions will rely on young workers. A new analysis by the Economic Policy Institute shows that 76 percent of the nationwide increase in union membership in 2017 was made up of workers under 35.
AFSCME
February 15, 2018
Nor should there be any doubt why employers would engage in such strong-arm tactics. Data compiled by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) reveal that employees are less likely to prevail over employers in arbitration than in a real court, and when employees do prevail in arbitration, they typically receive much less money. (table included)
Think Progress
February 14, 2018
About 55 percent of private sector employees are subject to mandatory arbitration, according to a study released last year by the progressive Economic Policy Institute. That translates to 60.1 million workers, according to the data. Companies also use arbitration clauses to prevent employees from joining together in class action suits. That means if a group of female employees were all harassed by the same man, they would each have to sue the company individually. That’s a huge disadvantage to such women, already far less empowered than the company they’re fighting.
The Huffington Post
February 14, 2018
Another witness on the committee’s panel was having none of it. Economist Monique Morrissey of the labor-oriented Economic Policy Institute explained the drawbacks from employers’ “avoiding legal responsibility for these workers,” including the workers’ inability to maintain their standard of living in retirement, lower wages and lower Social Security. Morrissey threw cold water on employers’ claims that the novel “gig” arrangements are incompatible with traditional employment benefits. First of all, she observed, these arrangements are not so novel. Second, they’re really just stratagems to cut labor costs. “They should already be employees,” she said of “independent contractors” employed by companies such as Uber and Lyft. “I don’t have any sympathy for companies who want it both ways.” (Monique cited throughout)
Los Angeles Times
February 13, 2018
Critics counter that the legal status of those business models shouldn’t be allowed to go unchallenged. “It is important not to fall into the trap of accepting these arrangements as inevitable and innovative when the situation might better be described as a race to the bottom,” said Monique Morrissey, economist with the union-affiliated Economic Policy Institute at the same hearing.
The Washington Examiner
February 13, 2018
The only problem? Many states, already strapped for cash, are unlikely to come up with the needed funding. State and local governments already account for 77 percent of public infrastructure spending in the U.S., according to the Economic Policy Institute. And more than half of states have faced budget shortfalls during the last two years, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
CBS Moneywatch
February 13, 2018
Josh Bivens, an economist with the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think tank, said the country isn’t well prepared for the next recession. “We have managed to make UI incredibly non-protective,” Bivens said. “If we want the UI system to not be a complete joke in the next recession, it’s going to depend on Congress and the president.”
February 12, 2018