There has been a long-running fight over whether ride-share and food-delivery workers should be classified as employees. The companies and some drivers have relied upon the independent contractor model, saying it is more flexible.
But that business model deprives the workforce of the protections that employees get, said David Cooper, director of state policy and research at the progressive Economic Policy Institute. He has raised concerns that tax-free tips could reduce pressure to raise wages and lead to an expansion of tipping.
Workers, he said, are “just sort of being doubly screwed by this proposal.”
The Wall Street Journal
April 1, 2025
Multiple agencies, even those unaffected by the order, such as the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), American Postal Workers Union (APWU), Economic Policy Institute (EPI), and American Federation of Musicians (AFM), have condemned the dissolution of collective bargaining for federal workers.
HR Digest
April 1, 2025
According to SmartAsset, if you want to make it into the top 1% nationwide, you’ll need to earn $787,712 a year. Want to know what that breaks down to? A monthly income of $65,643. And if you’re going by the Economic Policy Institute’s numbers, you’d need even more—$819,324 a year, or $68,277 a month.
Benzinga (via Yahoo! Finance)
April 1, 2025
Although we think of most minimum wage workers as young and without family responsibilities, according to the Economic Policy Institute, “tipped workers are also more likely to be single parents — especially women workers.”
Boulder Daily Camera
April 1, 2025
According to the Economic Policy Institute, in September 2024, there were 200,000 bus drivers nationwide. That’s down about 12% compared to September 2019. The report from the organization shows the key issue that drives the shortage is because of low pay.
ABC 15 (Arizona)
April 1, 2025
Other reasons for tariffs include national security concerns, bolstering key points in supply chains and countering monopolization of critical imports, Economic Policy Institute economists Adam Hersh and Josh Bivens have said, per CNN.
Deseret News
April 1, 2025
The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) has long criticized trade agreements and advocated tariff protection for the manufacturing sector. Thea Lee, a recognized progressive voice on trade issues, was president of the EPI from 2017 to 2021 before serving as Deputy Undersecretary for International Labor Affairs in the Department of Labor from 2021 to 2025. Lee and EPI chief economist Josh Bivens have shaped the EPI’s trade agenda.
In February 2025 (updated in March 2025), EPI published a “Fact Sheet” on tariffs with extensive comments on Trump’s agenda.
The Daily Economy
April 1, 2025
Detroit News
April 1, 2025