The people who take care of America’s children, and make it possible for their parents to work outside the home, are paid less than dog trainers or janitors. “Despite the crucial nature of their work, child care workers’ job quality does not seem to be valued in today’s economy,” wrote Elise Gould, the author of a 2015 report by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). Child care workers — including people who care for children in day care centers, in preschools, as nannies, through religious organizations, and in other facilities — are paid almost 40 percent less than all other workers.
VOX
March 9, 2017
Women make up 47 percent of the workforce, according to economist Kate Bahn of the left-leaning Center for American Progress. But it’s unclear how many of those women chose — or were able — to strike. “Even as the economy has improved, there’s still a lot of economic insecurity,” said Elise Gould, an economist with the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. That point was highlighted by some critics of the march, engaged in an emerging debate over whether women were undervalued, or whether the strike was elitist; “the chasm between the haves and the have-nots is creating tension within the feminist movement,” the Washington Post writes.
PBS News Hour
March 9, 2017
International Women’s Day kicks off today with the aim of promoting gender equality across every arena, including workplace pay. Overall, women get paid 83 cents for every dollar that men do. But that wage gap can be even wider for women with different levels of education and for women of color, according to the Economic Policy Institute. The institute 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.
Marketplace
March 9, 2017
The city’s union construction workers are increasingly diverse with strong representation of African-Americans, while nonunion workers are mostly Hispanic and earn far less than their unionized counterparts. The new data on the makeup of the industry comes from a comprehensive analysis by the Economic Policy Institute and will present a new hurdle for nonunion contractors, who are already on the defensive politically as Gov. Andrew Cuomo has allied himself with construction unions
Crain's New York
March 9, 2017
And a smaller share of American women are even in the workforce than their peers in developed countries such as Canada and Germany, according to the Economic Policy Institute…It’s a mistake to think the issue gender equality affects only the female half of the American population, as EPI economists Elise Gould and Jessica Schieder wrote in a research note on Tuesday. “The health of the female workforce is hugely important to the health of the overall labor force,” they noted. “Policies like paid parental leave and subsidized child care increase parental labor force participation, which would boost the economy.”
CBS Moneywatch
March 8, 2017
And these folks typically have little or nothing saved for retirement. The Economic Policy Institute estimated last year that half of American families with workers in their prime had $17,000 or less in savings. And too many U.S. seniors — at least 10 % — already are living in poverty.
Los Angeles Times
March 8, 2017
Some worker advocates don’t want to see the program expand by restoring the exemption for returning workers. They say it’s still flawed, leaving foreign workers unprotected. “There are major reforms that are needed to the program” said Daniel Costa, director of immigration law at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington. “I don’t think it’s a smart idea to expand.”
The Boston Globe
March 7, 2017
Daniel Costa, immigration law and policy researcher at the Economic Policy Institute, said the suspension could slow but not halt the stream of visa holders. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, known as USCIS, has placed temporary halts on premium processing before, he said.
San Jose Mercury News
March 7, 2017
“So there is something else putting downward pressure on claims,” said Heidi Shierholz, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank… Ms. Shierholz surmises more people are falling through the cracks of the unemployment-insurance system, possibly because of more precarious work arrangements as contractors or temps, or difficulty applying to and qualifying for the state-run programs.
Wall Street Journal
March 7, 2017
The Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces executive order has three major outcomes, according to Heidi Shierholz, director of policy at the Economic Policy Institute, and the former chief economist at the Department of Labor. It protects workers, it protects tax-payer interests and it levels the playing field for government contractors. “It’s a very clear siding with unscrupulous government contractors over the workers,” Shierholz says of the efforts to undo the regulation. For Trump, in particular, she thinks it’s a bad move to have this be rolled back under his watch because “at, least optics-wise, has tried to say over and over that he’s on their side.”
Bustle
March 7, 2017