According to an Economic Policy Institute report earlier this year, tipped workers in the South are paid the second lowest median wage of any region. Hispanic workers in the South are also overrepresented in tipped work.
According to research by Nina Mast, a policy and economic analyst with the Economic Policy Institute, the subminimum wage in the U.S. is rooted in the exploitation of formerly enslaved Black workers and dates to the Civil War. Though tipping was eliminated in Europe, it grew in popularity in the U.S. and as racial hostilities and discrimination allowed employers to codify the practice.
AL.com
September 9, 2024
For Black Americans, this has turned into a national 2:1 unemployment ratio compared to our white counterparts, according to a recent report by the Economic Policy Institute, meaning there are twice as many unemployed Black Americans as white Americans.
Breaking this down state-by-state, the EPI learned that Kentucky is the only state with an unemployment rate of over 10% at 11.3% for Black Americans. Washington, D.C. was not far behind with a rate of 9.9%. The states with the lowest rates were South Dakota (3.1%), Vermont (3.3%), and Maryland (3.4%).
Thegrio.com
September 9, 2024
U.S. employers break federal law in around 40 percent of all union elections, according to the Economic Policy Institute. But not all employers take this approach, and research suggests that unions can actually be good for business by reducing turnover and improving worker safety.
Triple Pundit
September 9, 2024
According to the Economic Policy Institute, the second quarter of 2024 saw a slight softening in a strong labor market as the national unemployment rate rose to 4%.
The national Black unemployment rate also rose to 6.3%. They’re statistics that spotlight an issue that local organizations are trying to address with campaigns and new legislation.
Spectrum News 1
September 9, 2024
The change would “absolutely” impact moderate-income workers, said Heidi Shierholz, president of the Economic Policy Institute. But, she said, “the vast majority of tipped workers do not bring in huge tips in a fine dining establishment.”
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But if there’s a benefit to the discussion about potentially ending taxes on tips, it’s that it’s “helpfully shining a light on tipped workers,” Shierholz added. She said she hopes that the conversation doesn’t end ultimately with taxes, but “brings it home” that “we also need to address the wage side.”
PBS Newshour
September 9, 2024
Recent years have seen relative spikes in work stoppages across industries, according to analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute.
The think tank highlighted the University of Michigan as one example. Graduate student workers at the flagship went on a five-month strike in 2023, the longest stoppage that year. Both sides filed charges against the other with the National Labor Relations Board.
Higher Ed Dive
September 9, 2024
The July jobs report, which showed a relatively paltry 114,000 positions added to the economy, was hardly a disaster. But it was a surprise slowdown. And in an election season, that makes it ripe for cherry-picking.
“The overreaction to monthly numbers is the most predictable thing in the world,” said Heidi Shierholz, president of the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank. “It feels extra important because there’s an election coming … that seems to add fuel to the overreaction fire.”
Monthly jobs numbers are volatile, so it’s important to zoom out and look at the longer trend, Shierholz says. For most of the Biden administration — and nearly half of Trump’s administration — unemployment was under 4%, hovering around half-century lows.
CNN Business
September 9, 2024
Restaurants have wanted to get their hands on all the tip money coming into their establishments for years, says Heidi Shierholz, president of the progressive Economic Policy Institute. With Trump as president, “they finally found an administration that would do it for them.”
Axios
September 9, 2024
In fact, two adults without kids would need nearly $30,000 more per year in San Francisco than in Miami to cover costs for housing, food, transportation, taxes, health care and other necessities, according to estimates from the Economic Policy Institute.
CNBC
September 6, 2024