Josh Bivens, chief economist and research director at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), told Newsweek in a previous article that these actions could trigger a “steep recession.”
Newsweek
February 4, 2025
“REI is committed to negotiating in good faith with our stores that have chosen union representation,” the company wrote in a statement. “The collective bargaining process—especially when negotiating a first contract—can be lengthy.”
But Margaret Poydock, a senior policy analyst at the Economic Policy Institute, expresses skepticism. Poydock tells NPQ that employers can use various strategies “to delay and lengthen negotiations—to diminish solidarity and, you know, potentially morale for workers. I think employers see first contract negotiations as, like, a way to potentially beat the union.”
Nonprofit Quarterly
February 4, 2025
The Economic Policy Institute noted that “although the latest BLS data show a decline in the unionization rate, many workers continued to make organizing gains within auto manufacturing, hospitality, public education, and healthcare.”
Common Dreams
February 4, 2025
Earlier this year, the Economic Policy Institute found that right-to-work laws actually hurt state economies, rather than spurring economic activity as its proponents would hope. Workers in right to work states are paid on average 3.2% less than similar workers in non-right-to-work states.
The Highlander News
February 4, 2025
The Economic Policy Institute released a study this fall that projected that more than 563,000 workers in Michigan would earn over $1.3 billion in additional wages each year. For the 100,000 tipped workers who would benefit, it would mean a $6,669 raise. Women and people of color would likely benefit the most, as they make less on average in tipped service positions, and often have to endure harassment from customers who control their wages.
More Perfect Union
February 4, 2025
The Economic Policy Institute noted that “although the latest BLS data show a decline in the unionization rate, many workers continued to make organizing gains within auto manufacturing, hospitality, public education, and healthcare.”
Common Dreams
February 4, 2025
Economic objections have also been raised. Dr. Josh Bivens of the Economic Policy Institute previously told Newsweek that “the long-term consequences would be catastrophic” and “guaranteed to cause a steep recession” as federal grant funding is pulled out of the economy.
Newsweek
February 4, 2025
Margaret Poydock, senior policy analyst for the Economic Policy Institute, told Newsweek: “Employer opposition to unions and weaknesses in federal labor law are the contributing factors to the decline in unionization. This impacts all workers, and is not specific to demographics, industry, and occupational shifts.”
“Compared to the overall unionization rate (11.1%), the difference between men (11.3%) and women (10.8%) is small. The larger issue is there are far more workers who want a union than currently have union representation: surveys indicate that more than 60 million workers would join a union if they could.
Newsweek
February 4, 2025
In a statement, the Economic Policy Institute warned that freezing federal funding “risks throwing the U.S. economy into chaos.”
The statement, written by Samantha Sanders and Josh Bivens, warned that risks increased the longer uncertainty over federal funding persisted.
“The federal government gives $1 trillion in grants to state and local governments alone, for everything from physical infrastructure and public safety to health and social services,” they wrote. “Removing this money from the economy would represent a huge economic shock.”
Kansas City Beacon
February 4, 2025
Sanders and other proponents argue that increasing minimum wages would reduce poverty and stimulate economic growth by boosting consumer spending. Heidi Shierholz, president of the Economic Policy Institute, said, “Having a weak minimum wage is bad for the overall economy.” She added that raising the minimum wage also narrows racial and gender wage gaps.
Benzinga (via Yahoo! Finance)
February 4, 2025