Wage growth remained stalled in August
Politico/Marianne LeVine
Elise Gould, senior economist at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, said that “this level is still more than enough to bring workers off the sidelines and have them participating in the economy.” … Part of the reason could be continuing slack in the labor market that’s attributable to the Great Recession, according to Gould, of the Economic Policy Institute. Today’s jobs report put August labor force participation at 62.9 percent, unchanged from July and close to its lowest level since the 1970’s.
Politico
September 5, 2017
Not everyone agrees with that view. Daniel Costa, director of immigration law and policy research at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, said the recruitment standards for the H-2B program aren’t sufficient to give U.S. workers a real crack at the job. “The requirements aren’t that onerous, and the DOL isn’t really checking all that much,” Costa said. H-2B employers are required to offer a so-called prevailing wage — defined as the average wage paid to people in a similar role in the same area — but Costa said the benchmark should be higher. A rider inserted in a 2016 spending bill, and re-upped again this year, allowed employers to use their own private wage surveys rather than Labor Department data to calculate prevailing wages. “There’s always some sort of loophole,” Costa said. (Daniel quoted throughout)
Politico
September 4, 2017
However, union membership nationally is on the decline, according to the Economic Policy Institute, which “proposes public policies that protect and improve the economic conditions of low- and middle-income workers.”
KPBS
September 4, 2017
Larry appears on hour 3 to discuss the labor day report.
Union City Radio
September 4, 2017
Today is Labor Day. What better time to recognize the importance of unions in giving working people a voice and “unrigging” our economy. There was a time when most people understood the importance of creating a balance between the power of corporations and the rights of workers. A generation of pro-corporate propaganda has eroded public support for unions and left most workers on their own, at the mercy of corporations. The Economic Policy Institute explains here why unions matter and why they should be revived.
Diane Ravitch's Blog
September 4, 2017
In a report released just last week by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a number of tangible economic benefits were outlined on how unions continue to push progress. The report found that unions strengthen democracy by giving workers a political voice, reduce inequality and are essential for low- and middle-wage workers’ ability to obtain a fair share of economic growth. It found that unions raise wages for both union and nonunion workers and significantly boost wages for women and lessen racial wage gaps. Unions improve the health and safety practices of their workplaces and support strong families and retirement security with better benefits and due process, EPI found.
Cincinnati Enquirer
September 4, 2017
Her experience wasn’t uncommon. On average, black women are paid significantly less than men overall and white women for the same jobs, according to a July report by the not-for-profit Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. Women typically earn 80 cents for every dollar a man makes for the same job. For black women, that number slips to 67 cents relative to white men, according to the report, despite education, years of experience and location. (EPI cited and Janelle quoted throughout)
The Miami Herald
September 3, 2017
However, since 2016, eight states, including Alabama, Kentucky and Iowa, have passed laws pre-empting local wage laws, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Reuters
September 2, 2017
Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, said there is still room for improvement, though, pointing to recent slides in the gains made by young workers and black workers. “When you think about wanting to reach all corners of the labor market, you think about… those people that historically have had elevated unemployment rates,” she said. “Those are the ones that are batted around the most, and those are the ones that stand to gain the most,” she said.
NBC News
September 1, 2017
Workers have a lot less to celebrate on Labor Day this year, in part thanks to a series of state laws passed in recent years that block cities from raising the minimum wage or requiring companies to provide paid sick leave – according to a new report by the Economic Policy Institute. Marni von Wilpert, the study’s author, found that when workers organize at the local level to demand better standards, state legislatures have been quick to step in. “We’ve seen a lot more minimum-wage pre-emption laws throughout the country since 2013,” she says. “We’ve had 15 laws by 15 states passed since 2013. And that’s really when these business groups have come out and started to argue for pre-empting cities from doing this.” She’s talking about the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, a pro-business group that creates model legislation that can be used across multiple states. ALEC has successfully made the case to lawmakers that operating in a state with a patchwork of different labor regulations makes it hard for businesses to adapt their operations. (whole story)
WXPR
September 1, 2017