Media clips

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• Central Ohio Starbucks joins ballooning union presence from past two years

  “A lot of people just didn’t really know much about unions,” Knecht said. “So, it came down more to educating people on the unionizing process and how they work for us. Once you’ve kind of explained those things, people are on board.”

  One way of educating was showing Economic Policy Institute statistics to coworkers that demonstrated the benefits of unionizing, Brown said.

  NBC4i June 3, 2024
• How one school district is turning to AI to solve its bus driver shortage

  The nationwide shortage of school bus drivers has left many students without reliable transportation. In 2023, the number of bus drivers nationwide in K-12 schools dropped to about 192,400, down 15.1% since 2019, according to research by the Economic Policy Institute.

  CBS News June 3, 2024
• Mass. expands universal pre-K across 8 more school districts

  The cost of childcare in the Bay State is among the highest nationwide, running $15,095 a year for 4-year-olds, or $1,743 a month, according to 2023 data compiled by the Economic Policy Institute. The Bay State is ranked second out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia for the most expensive infant care, that same analysis showed.

  Mass Live June 3, 2024
• Here’s why the minimum wage and some tax breaks don’t budge despite inflation

  The federal minimum wage — $7.25 an hour — has remained unchanged since 2009.

  That’s the longest period in history without an increase from Congress, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank.

  The minimum wage has lost 29% of its value since 2009 after accounting for the rising cost of living, according to an EPI analysis. It’s worth less than at any point since February 1956, the group found.

  CNBC June 3, 2024
• Corporations Have Very Good Reasons to Break Labor Laws and Bust Unions

  The practice of labor law violations in countering unionization is so widespread that the Economic Policy Institute found in 2019 that ​“Employers are charged with violating federal law in 41.5 percent of all union election campaigns.” Given that these are officially deemed violations that have gone through the process of reporting and adjudicating, the number is likely an underestimate.

  In These Times June 3, 2024
• Why parents with young children are reporting a dramatic drop-off in their financial well-being

  Ismael Cid-Martinez, an economist with the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank, said the aftereffects have been evident. Fewer parents say they can come up with $400 in an emergency, and they report more instances of food insufficiency.

  After 2021, Cid-Martinez said, “parents’ savings began to dwindle.”

  Another key pandemic program provided increased financial support to child care centers. That support, too, has ended without being reinstated.

  NBC News June 3, 2024
• Should Ohio raise its minimum wage to $15?

  Activists appeal for a $15 minimum wage near the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 25, 2021. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the federal minimum wage in 2021 was worth 34% less than in 1968, when its purchasing power peaked.

  WOSU June 3, 2024
• Democracy, Deshmocracy: Mega-Financiers Are Flocking to Trump

  Some empirically oriented economists, particularly those at the Economic Policy Institute, predicted that the corporate pillars of American capitalism would not only set up shop in China but decimate American manufacturing in the process. They were dismissed as protectionists, though their predictions proved to be entirely correct. 

  The American Prospect June 3, 2024
• There’s Even More Evidence That A College Degree Is Worth It

  A recent example came earlier this month from the Economic Policy Institute, written by Katherine deCourcy and Elise Gould.

  Their research shows that young workers with a college degree have already economically recovered from the disruption and displacement caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. In fact, they say bluntly, “The labor market for young college graduates today is stronger than it was before the pandemic and has been for quite some time.”

  Forbes June 3, 2024
• Does US Manufacturing Have a Child Labor Problem?

  Paywall.

  Industry Week June 3, 2024