Media clips

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• How training boosts home health caregiver, aide workforce

  Home health aides don’t earn high wages. A 2022 Economic Policy Institute report shows that even in the highest-paying states, wages for home health aides are under $18 an hour. That leads to significant churn in the home health aide labor market, which can exacerbate this public health issue.

  Tech Target July 17, 2024
• The Teamsters and the GOP Had a Moment Last Night

  [Trump] reshaped the National Labor Relations Board, the federal agency that enforces labor law and investigates unfair labor practices. Led by a Trump appointee, the NLRB made what the Economic Policy Institute described as an “unprecedented” number of decisions “overturning existing worker protections.” The rulings constrained employees’ ability to form unions, organize at the workplace, and bargain with management. 

  Mother Jones July 17, 2024
• Capital Has No Borders—Why Should We?

  “Immigrants are not hurting U.S. workers,” says Daniel Costa, the director of immigration law and policy research at the Economic Policy Institute. ​“In fact, they’re helping in terms of job growth.” Their contributions are ​“one of the main reasons” the economy avoided a recession in 2023, says Costa. They are also critical for the future of the country. 

  In These Times July 17, 2024
• New Hampshire Became 26th State to Enact its Version of Model CROWN Act

  A July 1, 2024, article from the Economic Policy Institute (“EPI”) (prior to New Hampshire’s July 3rd enactment of the measure) contains the following graphic:

  The EPI article also notes:

  “While becoming law in 25 states is critically important, the bill still has a long way to go to protect everyone. More than 10 states have considered CROWN Act bills in the past few years but failed to pass them, including Florida, New Hampshire, and Ohio.”

  JD Supra July 17, 2024
• Iowa child labor law faces pushback for conflicting with federal guidelines

  “We want them to get work experience, but we want it to be a positive experience that doesn’t set them up for potentially missing school, or I mean, worst case scenario, suffering a disabling injury that’s going to affect them for the rest of their lives,” Jen Sherer from the Economic Policy Institute said.

  Iowa News Now July 17, 2024
• Labor leaders object to Iowa State child labor law

  ”We really can’t characterize this as anything other than a crisis”, said Jen Scheer, senior state policy coordinator for the economic policy institute.

  She says child labor laws enacted last year in Iowa are violating the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act. ”Those provisions that were included in the 2023 Iowa law… are in direct conflict with federal law.”

  KCRG (Iowa) July 17, 2024
• Actually, the Job Market Isn’t So Bad for Gen Z College Grads

  Labor data shows that underemployment — the rate of those with college degrees who are working jobs that don’t require degrees — has always been higher among recent graduates compared with all bachelor’s degree holders.

  “They go ahead and get that college degree and then they can’t get on a career track that uses that education,” says Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a nonpartisan think tank.

  NerdWallet July 17, 2024
• Jobs for New Grads: How Does Gen Z Stack Up Against X and Y?

  Coming out of the Great Recession, the prolonged recovery delayed recent graduates’ ability to get on the career track by five to 10 years, says Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a nonpartisan think tank. She adds, “It definitely has had an impact on their lifetime earnings.”

  Meanwhile, even though Gen Z suffered a high unemployment rate in 2020 due to the pandemic, the labor market swiftly rebounded. It was such a quick and strong bounceback, says Gould, that the pandemic recession is likely to be just a blip in Gen Z’s careers and, importantly, is unlikely to eat into lifetime earnings.

  “Their outcomes are much better than they would have been, say, a generation prior,” says Gould.

  NerdWallet July 17, 2024
• RNC speakers claim economy does better under Republican leadership

  The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) recently updated a decade-long study that shows the American economy overall actually does better historically when a Democrat is in the White House:

  Racine County Eye July 15, 2024
• Food Stamps Go Further in Rural Areas — Until You Add Transportation Costs

  That’s because recreation-dependent counties tend to have higher-than-average costs of living compared to other rural counties. In 2023, the average household income needed to support a family of four in rural recreation communities was $97,800, compared to $88,900 in other rural counties, according to a dataset compiled by the Economic Policy Institute.

  Daily Yonder July 15, 2024