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
Amid growing conversation about millennial workers and their relationships to unions, the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) recently released a report highlighting the impact that collective bargaining can have. Here are three interesting takeaways.
The decline in union membership over the last 20 years may contribute to the lasting impression of these groups as predominantly white, predominantly male, and primarily based in the manufacturing sector. However, per EPI’s report, about 10.6 million of the 16.3 million workers covered by a union contract in the United States in 2016 were women and/or people of color. (whole story)
Refinery29
September 1, 2017
Earlier this year, the Economic Policy Institute released a report that found that Asian women get paid 88 cents and white non-Hispanic women earn 81 cents for every dollar that non-Hispanic white men get paid. Meanwhile, black women get paid 65 cents and Hispanic women get paid 59 cents for every dollar earned by a white man. The report was released in time for this year’s International Women’s Day when women across the U.S. gathered to call for equal pay.
Marketplace
September 1, 2017
“I think it’s disappointing, but not unexpected,” Celine McNicholas, a labor lawyer for the Economic Policy Institute, told Bloomberg BNA. McNicholas was a National Labor Relations Board official in the Obama administration. McNicholas said the ruling was based on “flawed logic.”
Bloomberg BNA
September 1, 2017