See excerpt: This week, Senator Hatch will reportedly introduce “fast track” (trade promotion authority) legislation in the Senate, to help President Obama complete the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade and investment deal with eleven other countries in Asia and the Americas. “Fast Track” authority would allow the President to submit trade agreements to Congress without giving members of Congress the opportunity to amend the deal. Experience has shown that these trade and investment deals typically result in job losses and downward pressure on the wages of most American workers. The last thing America needs is renewal of fast track and more trade and investment deals rushed through Congress.
The administration has claimed that the TPP will create jobs, but it will not. There are other policies that have attracted bipartisan support, including ending currency manipulation and rebuilding infrastructure that could each create millions of U.S. jobs. President Obama has limited political capital to expend with the Republican-controlled Congress and he must choose his policies wisely.
The Huffington Post
April 13, 2015
At least 17 percent of the U.S. workforce is coping with an unstable schedule, ranging from irregular or on-call hours to rotating shifts, that adds stress and leads to unpredictable earnings, according to a study published by the left-leaning think tank Economic Policy Institute.
CBS News
April 13, 2015
The only brief time since 1979 that we’ve had strong wage growth at all income levels was in the late 1990s under Bill Clinton (in fact, according to the Economic Policy Institute, wage growth then was strongest for the bottom 40 percent).
Daily Beast
April 13, 2015
In this mix, where does Hillary Clinton see labor reforms like strengthening workers’ ability to bargain collectively and paid family sick leave? How would she work with Congress to pass such measures? (Josh Bivens, Economic Policy Institute).
The Nation
April 13, 2015
Changes were then made to immigration law to reduce admissions, decreasing the foreign-born population until it fell to about 9.6 million by 1970. Meanwhile, during this low-immigration period, real median compensation for U.S. workers surged, increasing more than 90 percent from 1948 to 1973, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
American Prospect
April 10, 2015
Changes were then made to immigration law to reduce admissions, decreasing the foreign-born population until it fell to about 9.6 million by 1970. Meanwhile, during this low-immigration period, real median compensation for U.S. workers surged, increasing more than 90 percent from 1948 to 1973, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
The Washington Post
April 10, 2015
If you want a perspective on the losses from the trade status quo and so-called free trade agreements, you’ll find it at the liberal-leaning Economic Policy Institute, including this essay on potential job losses and lower wages if TPP is approved.
Seattle Times
April 10, 2015
The liberal Economic Policy Institute releases a new report this morning on workplace scheduling that confirms two commonly held assumptions: that poor workers are more likely to have erratic work schedules and that such scheduling has a negative effect on family life. “By industry, irregular scheduling is most prevalent in agriculture, personal services, business/ repair services, entertainment/recreation, finance/ insurance/real estate, retail trade, and transportation communications … The prevalence is reduced for union members, married workers, government employees, whites, men, and workers with a higher level of education.”
Politico
April 10, 2015
Thornswood’s experience is more widespread than you might think. At least 17 percent of all workers have irregular schedules that don’t look like the typical 9-5, Monday through Friday, according to a new study from the Economic Policy Institute. About 10 percent is given irregular and on-call shifts, while another 7 percent have split (two different shifts in one day) or rotating ones.
Think Progress
April 10, 2015
But Wyden opponents say his stance on trade is particularly problematic in Oregon, where more than 60,000 jobs have been lost in the past decade due to liberalized trade deals, according to a study by the Economic Policy Institute.
Daily Beast
April 9, 2015