Media clips
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Research from the Economic Policy Institute (link is external)(EPI) echoes the perspective of “Public Sector Union Alliance.” To figure out who these wealthy individuals are EPI reviewed over 1,000 financial transactions. EPI’s research indicates that, “The fair share cases are being financed by a small group of foundations with ties to the largest and most powerful corporate lobbies. These organizations and the policymakers they support have succeeded in advancing a policy agenda that weakens the bargaining power of workers. In Janus, these interests have focused their attack on public-sector workers—the workforce with the highest union density.” EPI created this chart based on the financial transactions they scoured. (table included)
Workday Minnesota February 27, 2018 -
Labor unions and their supporters have also argued that the state workers are being used in a corporate scheme to undermine worker rights. The Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a progressive research nonprofit, tackled the issue Feb. 21 in a paper that allegedly found the case is a coordinated effort financed by wealthy donors.
Inside Sources February 27, 2018 -
For example, a 2011 study by the Economic Policy Institute, which is partially funded by unions, found that right-to-work laws depress overall wages by 3.2% on average, and reduce employer-sponsored healthcare coverage by 2.6%. A 2017 study by University of Illinois professor Robert Bruno found that the passage of right-to-work laws in Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin lowered real hourly wages by 2.6% on average.
CNN Money February 27, 2018 -
The labor-oriented Economic Policy Institute and Mary Bottari of In These Times have documented that the anti-Abood coalition includes right-wing groups such as the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, and the State Policy Network. They and other sponsors of these legal cases and related legislative initiatives are affiliated with the Koch brothers, the Sarah Scaife Foundation, the Mercer Family Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation.
Los Angeles Times February 26, 2018 -
I’m not ready yet to hold a funeral for working people and the right to organize in this country,” says Celine McNicholas, labor counsel for the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank. EPI weighed in on the case, filing a friend-of-the-court brief on behalf of AFSCME. “This is a challenge but it’s also a wake-up call” to overhaul how unions interact with their membership, McNichols says. The labor movement, she says, “will rise to the challenge as we always have” to negotiate with management on behalf of, in this case, public-sector employees. Exactly what the new model of workplace representation looks like, however, “is a really good question,” she says. (Celine quoted throughout)
U.S. News and World Report February 26, 2018 -
Work hours in America are oddly distributed. Speaking very broadly, white people work longer than people of color, men work longer than women, and people with advanced educations work longer than those without. That’s led to a lot of commonly peddled narratives about the overworked professional class, or insufficient work ethic among lower classes. This is mostly nonsense. And a new study shows us exactly why. Valerie Wilson and Janelle Jones of the Economic Policy Institute just released a big new dive into work hours. They focused on Americans in their prime work years, ages 25 to 54. They sliced the data by race, gender, and education, as well as by hours worked per week and weeks worked per year. (whole story)
The Week February 26, 2018 -
Las mejoras en los ingresos de muchos trabajdores de bajos recursos en EEUU ha llegado en los últimos dos años de la mano de la subida de los salarios mínimos en muchos estados y el hecho de que algunas grandes empresas de adaptarse a estos. Pero también porque están trabajando más horas. Según ha verificado el Economic Policy Institute (EPI), entre 1979 y 2016 los ingresos anuales medios de los trabajadores (entre 25 y 45 años) crecieron un 30.2%. Pero eso es una media que enmascara la realidad de unos aumentos que han sido muy diferentes para distintos tipos de trabajadores. Los ingresos pueden subir porque suba la compensación por horas, porque se trabajen más o por una combinación de ambas cosas. (whole story)
El Diario February 26, 2018 -
Many Americans have gone a long time without getting a raise — even as their cost of living has gone up. That’s left most with only one option to keep their heads above water: Work more. Average annual earnings for people in their prime working years (ages 25 to 54) increased 30.2% after inflation between 1979 and 2016, based on an analysis of datafrom the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit think tank that advocates for low-to-moderate income Americans. For the most part, however, that growth isn’t a reflection of higher hourly wages — instead it’s an indication that people are working more hours, researchers found. (whole story)
Market Watch February 23, 2018 -
Smith said public-sector unions have been a way into the middle class for many African American families, like hers. Janelle Jones, with the Economic Policy Institute, looked at median hourly wages for African Americans in government jobs. “So black women make $17.92 in the public sector, and $13.08 in the private sector,” she said. Jones said black men in government jobs also make more. If the Supreme Court rules against AFSCME, and the union can’t collect the non-member fee, it could undermine public-sector unions in 22 states, which would still have to represent everyone, whether they paid or not. “And so a weaker union is going to be less able to protect its workers, and the people who basically need the most protection are those who are usually discriminated against,” Jones said.
Marketplace February 23, 2018 -
For unions, it’s not about an individual union detractor’s free speech but about the necessary and lawful right of workers to free association. For rank-and-file workers, securing a well-managed collective-bargaining process is an issue of economic justice. The Economic Policy Institute points out that the public sector serves as a bulwark of economic stability and equity for black women, who make up 18 percent of public-sector employment. Weakening state collective-bargaining systems would basically weaken a 1.5 million-strong community of black women workers nationwide in schools and government agencies.
The Nation February 23, 2018