On average, teacher salaries were about 27% lower than those of college graduates working in other professions in 2024, according to the Economic Policy Institute. That gap was 6.1% in 1996.
Michigan Independent
September 9, 2026
It’s no secret that our weak, outdated labor law is failing the millions of workers who want unions at their workplaces. Republicans have repeatedly blocked federal legislation to strengthen the law. This untenable situation has been made worse by President Trump destroying the independence of the National Labor Relations Board, firing Gwynne Wilcox and installing appointees who are poised to further weaken workers’ rights.
Federal legislation to restore and strengthen workers’ ability to form and join unions is urgently needed. Our country needs a strong, vibrant, worker-driven labor movement. Unions are good for all workers. The improved wages and benefits unionized workers win at the bargaining table have positive spillover benefits for non-union workers. And unions are crucial to our democracy, as a check on corporate power and as active participants in elections and public policy. Where unions are strong, states have better labor standards, higher investments in healthcare and education, and less voter suppression, among other benefits.
On Labor
September 9, 2026
“Slowing nominal wage growth suggests workers don’t have the leverage to bid up their wages. Even with low unemployment, the depressed hires rate means workers aren’t finding new jobs to raise their wages,” Elise Gould, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, wrote on Bluesky.
HR Brew
September 9, 2026
The Economic Policy Institute released a new tool calculating how much taxpayers in every U.S. state and county are paying for the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign, and the numbers show a Colorado taxpayer is fronting $2,397 to cover direct enforcement costs.
9News (Denver)
September 9, 2026
We’ve reached an inflection point where many working Americans feel like neither party is responsive to their needs. They have been sold a false bill of goods that if you work hard, you will be able to succeed. Instead, they continue to be crushed by rising prices and widening inequality. Americans are tired of waiting for an economy that will work for them and their families.
Reversing this trend requires bold action, and we see an opportunity for millions of workers to join a movement to demand more for working people. Research indicates that tens of millions of workers would join a union if they had the opportunity.
American Prospect
September 8, 2026
Atlanta Journal Constitution
September 8, 2026
Portland Press Herald
September 8, 2026
The cost of child care varies widely by state and by the child’s age. In Mississippi, where costs are the lowest, families pay an average of $7,220 per year for infant care and $6,571 per year for 4-year-old care, according to a 2025 analysis by Economic Policy Institute. Families in Washington, D.C. have the highest annual costs at $29,809 on average for infant care and $23,877 for 4-year-olds. Though D.C. offers free preschool for three- and four-year-olds, EPI notes that not all families may be able to access those programs due to availability or other barriers.
CNBC
September 8, 2026
Heidi Shierholz, president of the Economic Policy Institute, a progressive thinktank, said she was stunned by some of Trump’s anti-worker actions, especially by his order last year chopping the minimum wage that federal contractors must pay their employees, to $13.30 an hour from $17.75. That move caused some workers to lose over $9,000 a year in pay.
This year, Trump rescinded a Biden-era regulation that made overtime pay available to more salaried workers. As a result, 4.3 million workers will no longer qualify for time-and-a-half overtime. (Two federal courts in Texas had ruled against Biden’s overtime regulation.) In his years as president, Trump has never pushed to raise the $7.25-an-hour federal minimum wage, which has greatly eroded in value since it last increased in 2009.
“The Trump administration is systematically weakening policies and institutions that give workers a voice, that give workers protections and that hold employers accountable,” Shierholz said. “He’s been doing that from day one, and since then it has absolutely continued and accelerated. You see attacks on every kind of worker protection from safety and health to wage and hour protections. Policy after policy after policy goes directly against the interests of workers.”
The Guardian
September 8, 2026
The figure comes from the Economic Policy Institute’s Cost of Deportations Calculator. It begins with the National Priorities Project’s estimate that …[paywall].
Cincinnati Enquirer
September 8, 2026