These changes have been criticized by a number of advocacy organizations. “This is absolutely a wage cut for migrants who are H-2A farmworkers,” Daniel Costa, the director of immigration law and policy research at the Economic Policy Institute said. “H-2A farmworkers will not benefit from any natural wage growth that occurs for three years—during what farm owners are saying is a severe labor shortage, which is exactly when you would expect wages to grow in a free market.”
Food & Wine
November 18, 2020
Similarly, the CBO study found a $15 minimum wage would could also mean an increase in pay for 10 million people who already earn slightly more than this hourly wage. David Cooper, senior economic analyst at the Economic Policy Institute, noted that raising the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2024 would lift the pay of 40 million workers and help some people make enough to get out of poverty.
Business Insider
November 18, 2020
Even before the pandemic, schools were facing shortages in both teachers and substitutes in some states. The pandemic has made it even harder to fill substitute vacancies in places like Indiana and Colorado. Additionally, one analysis out of the Economic Policy Institute found the US hasn’t been employing enough people in schools to keep up with enrollment since after the Great Recession.
“As of September 2019, the start of the most recent pre-pandemic school year, local public education jobs were still 60,000 short of their September 2008 level, and they were over 300,000 lower than they would have needed to be to keep up with public school enrollment,” Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute wrote in the blog post.
Business Insider
November 18, 2020
About 2.2 million people have paid jobs in homes in the United States. Many are employed informally and not covered by labor law protections such as sick pay, according to the Economic Policy Institute think-tank.
Thomson Reuters Foundation News
November 18, 2020
The Economic Policy Institute reports that, as of September, public K-12 education employment is more than half a million jobs below last year’s numbers and 890,000 below where it would have to be to keep up with growth in student enrollment since 2008. About half of those roles are teachers—others include counselors, teaching assistants, roles in special education, food service and more.
Enterprise Ledger
November 18, 2020
Citing Economic Policy Institute multipliers for the construction industry — 5.5 direct jobs and 10.9 indirect jobs created for every $1 million of construction cost — Sullivan estimates that Fidalgo Flats will cost $4 million to build and could result in 22 direct jobs and 44 indirect jobs.
Anacortes American
November 18, 2020
Still, Trump was right that America’s free-trade policies have been a failure. Since 2000, the United States has lost roughly five million manufacturing jobs and more than 91,000 factories. And as the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) has reported, America’s ongoing trade deficit with China cost 3.7 million U.S. jobs between 2001 and 2018.
Inside Sources
November 18, 2020
The Economic Policy Institute estimates that twenty-five million workers have taken a big hit over the course of the pandemic, a number that includes seven million who’ve experienced cuts in pay and hours, three million who are unemployed but misclassified, and four and a half million who’ve dropped out of the labor force.
Jacobin
November 18, 2020
The measure’s success could endanger independent contractors outside the gig economy, too. That includes janitors and home health aides, who also do not typically qualify for minimum wage, overtime protection, paid leave or unemployment insurance, said Margaret Poydock, a policy associate at the Economic Policy Institute, a pro-labor think tank. “Prop 22 showed that companies and big corporations can buy their way out of providing protections for workers under the law,” she said.
Washington Post
November 18, 2020
Labor advocates say that Uber’s and Lyft’s plan to take the legislative model and deep pockets to other states amounts to an assault on workers rights for not just gig workers but all independent contractors.
“Prop 22 showed that companies and big corporations can buy their way out of providing protections for workers under the law,” said Margaret Poydock, a policy associate for the Economic Policy Institute, a pro-labor think tank.
Washington Post
November 18, 2020
The Economic Policy Institute reports that, as of September, public K-12 education employment is more than half a million jobs below last year’s numbers and 890,000 below where it would have to be to keep up with growth in student enrollment since 2008. About half of those roles are teachers—others include counselors, teaching assistants, roles in special education, food service and more.
Enterprise Ledger
November 18, 2020
Citing Economic Policy Institute multipliers for the construction industry — 5.5 direct jobs and 10.9 indirect jobs created for every $1 million of construction cost — Sullivan estimates that Fidalgo Flats will cost $4 million to build and could result in 22 direct jobs and 44 indirect jobs.
Anacortes American
November 18, 2020
Still, Trump was right that America’s free-trade policies have been a failure. Since 2000, the United States has lost roughly five million manufacturing jobs and more than 91,000 factories. And as the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) has reported, America’s ongoing trade deficit with China cost 3.7 million U.S. jobs between 2001 and 2018.
Inside Sources
November 18, 2020
The Economic Policy Institute estimates that twenty-five million workers have taken a big hit over the course of the pandemic, a number that includes seven million who’ve experienced cuts in pay and hours, three million who are unemployed but misclassified, and four and a half million who’ve dropped out of the labor force.
Jacobin
November 18, 2020
The measure’s success could endanger independent contractors outside the gig economy, too. That includes janitors and home health aides, who also do not typically qualify for minimum wage, overtime protection, paid leave or unemployment insurance, said Margaret Poydock, a policy associate at the Economic Policy Institute, a pro-labor think tank. “Prop 22 showed that companies and big corporations can buy their way out of providing protections for workers under the law,” she said.
Washington Post
November 18, 2020
Labor advocates say that Uber’s and Lyft’s plan to take the legislative model and deep pockets to other states amounts to an assault on workers rights for not just gig workers but all independent contractors.
“Prop 22 showed that companies and big corporations can buy their way out of providing protections for workers under the law,” said Margaret Poydock, a policy associate for the Economic Policy Institute, a pro-labor think tank.
Washington Post
November 18, 2020
A different estimate from the left-leaning think tank Economic Policy Institute (EPI), which has conducted some of the most extensive research on the subject matter and its economic effects, suggests that about 33.5 million workers would see higher pay, almost two-thirds of them women and 6.2 million currently living in poverty.
Bankrate
November 17, 2020
In a report published in September, the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute found that teachers are paid less than other college-educated workers with similar experience, which discourages graduates from entering the teaching profession and contributes to teacher turnover, a problem that’s particularly sharp in areas with higher concentrations of people of color. The pre-pandemic teacher turnover rate of 8% in the US is much higher than in places like Finland, Singapore, and Ontario, Canada, which are known for high-achieving school systems and teacher attrition rates closer to 3% or 4%.
Quartz
November 17, 2020
“It’s been a political game,” said Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute. “The answer is obvious.
“It’s not a question of what should we do?” she added. “It’s a question of do it.”
CNBC
November 17, 2020
Before COVID-19 hit, the Economic Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, found Latinos were already suffering from higher unemployment rates, significant wage gaps and lower household incomes than their white counterparts.
WFAE 90.7
November 17, 2020
Fresh off his election win, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Congress should focus its energy on approving a new coronavirus stimulus bill “by the end of the year” and it would possibly “do more for state and local governments.” That would be a relief, because without any more money, 5.3 million workers could lose their jobs by the end of 2021 if municipalities don’t get a bailout, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Silicon Valley
November 17, 2020
“Everyone who follows this recognizes that the main obstacle to raising minimum wages is Republican legislatures,” says Ben Zipperer, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute, who has testified in Congress in support of lifting the federal minimum to $15.
Bloomberg
November 17, 2020
Before COVID-19, minority groups comprised much of the nation’s low wage earners. In a wage report issued by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), the group documents how much less African American and Latinx workers are paid than White workers. The numbers show that both Black and Latinx workers have a history of making less income than White workers. By 2019, Black wages were 75.6% of White wages, and Latinx wages were 74.6%.
Coalition on Human Needs
November 17, 2020
Moody’s estimated that Biden’s overall economic plan, which includes health care investments, could create up to 18.7 million new jobs. A recent Economic Policy Institute report found that a similar plan that includes both clean energy and infrastructure investments, coupled with rebalancing trade, could create up to 12.9 million new jobs.
Alliance for American Manufacturing
November 17, 2020
Plus, the more that graduates earn, the more tax dollars they contribute over time, according to the Economic Policy Institute. In turn, educated people want to live somewhere where they will get a good return on their educational investment.
Hispanic Network
November 17, 2020
“The bottom line is that many workers will see a massive drop in living standards and increases in poverty,” said Heidi Shierholz, director of policy for the Economic Policy Institute.
Reuters
November 17, 2020
“Levin has both the knowledge and the expertise and the connections, both in the labor movement and in the broader progressive movement, including the environmental movement, to really be effective and a forceful advocate for families,” Economic Policy Institute President Thea Lee, who worked with Levin at the AFL-CIO, told POLITICO.
Politico
November 17, 2020
Trump promised a surge of new factory construction, something that largely hasn’t happened, noted the Economic Policy Institute in an August study reporting “nearly 1,800 factories have disappeared under Trump.” The study also found a loss of manufacturing jobs accelerating due to the pandemic.
NBC News
November 17, 2020
“Let’s hope they don’t carry the price for so long,” said Elise Gould, senior economic at the Economic Policy Institute.
Patch
November 17, 2020