Add one more thing to the list of retro things young Americans are rediscovering: Unions. According to the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think tank, 76 percent of new union members in 2017 were under 35. That’s pretty significant, considering that workers 34 and under make up just 40 percent of the country’s total workforce. In short, young workers may be kicking off a trend that could strengthen a labor movement that’s been brought to its knees by decades of attacks from employers, corporations, and hostile lawmakers.(Snapshot image included)
Mother Jones
February 9, 2018
According to a recent study by the Employee Rights Advocacy Institute for Law and Policy, 80% of Fortune 100 companies have used arbitration agreements to settle workplace disputes since 2010. Another recent paper, by the Economic Policy Institute, found that more than 60 million American workers are now bound by the agreements.
Los Angeles Times
February 9, 2018
Last week, President Trump’s Department of Labor (DOL) hid an internal analysis that showed that its so-called tip-pooling rule would allow employers to pocket billions in workers’ tips. They claimed that they were “unable to quantify” the rule’s effects. But we now know that they did, in fact, conduct an analysis—they just didn’t want the American public to see the result, so they buried it. I discussed what happened and what this policy is all about with Heidi Shierholz, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute and former chief economist at the Department of Labor under President Obama. (whole interview with Heidi)
Talk Poverty
February 8, 2018
A study by the Economic Policy Institute shows the plan could take as much as $13 billion away from tipped workers each year. (EPI mentioned in video around 2:05)
KSDK
February 8, 2018
John speaks around 1:24-2:06. EPI research cited throughout.
Salon
February 8, 2018
A new analysis by the Economic Policy Institute looking at employment in counties that managed to land a fulfillment center in the last 15 years found no evidence that overall employment increased, and in some instances employment even fell relative to comparison counties. The implication was that the commitments made to win Amazon’s facilities ― subsidies likely worth over $1 billion dollars in total ― usually were enough of a drag on the rest of the economy, either by imposing a higher tax burden or diverting resources, to more than offset any jobs and spending created by Amazon.
The Huffington Post
February 8, 2018
A new report by the Economic Policy Institute points to a similar conclusion. “When Amazon opens a new fulfillment center, the host county gains roughly 30 percent more warehousing and storage jobs but no new net jobs overall, as the jobs created in warehousing and storage are likely offset by job losses in other industries,” researchers wrote. Luring in companies like Amazon is, the Economic Policy Institute argues, an ineffective strategy to boost local employment. (whole story)
The Inquisitr
February 7, 2018
But the Economic Policy Institute estimates workers across the U.S. will lose $5.8 billion every year if the new rule goes into effect, and a study by the Restaurant Opportunities Center United and the National Employment Law Project found that the median share of hourly earnings that come from tips account for 58.5 percent of servers’ income and 54 percent of bartenders’ earnings.
Bay Area News Group
February 7, 2018
If the proposed rule goes on the books, it would put some of the most vulnerable workers in the country at the mercy of dishonest and unscrupulous employers. As a result, according to the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, tipped workers stand to lose $5.8 billion a year—more than 16 percent of the estimated $36.4 billion in tips they earn each year, or an average loss of $1,000 per year per worker.
Slate
February 7, 2018
The Economic Policy Institute studied the change proposed by the Labor Department, and concluded it would reduce the average waiter’s income by $1,000 a year. Heidi speaks at 1:18-1:28.
NBC Washington
February 7, 2018