Only 8% of full-time salaried workers are currently eligible for overtime pay, according to an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute.
HR Dive
May 26, 2026
Job cuts at federal agencies in 2025 hit Black workers especially hard, contributing to record-high Black unemployment in the Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland metro area, according to an Economic Policy Institute analysis.
Researchers found the Black unemployment rate nationwide reached 7.6% in the first three months of 2026. In the D.C.-area region, it was just under 10%.
Valerie Wilson, director of race, ethnicity and the economy for the institute and the study’s author, said the numbers are moving in the wrong direction.
Public News Service
May 26, 2026
The Economic Policy Institute has tracked the underlying driver: Since 1979, worker productivity has grown more than three times faster than pay.
Racine County Eye
May 26, 2026
US employers spend more than $1.5bn a year on labor union opposition efforts, according to a report published on Wednesday by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).
Employers spent company money hiring consultants and law firms specializing in union avoidance and on legal counsel, representation, and litigation services during union elections and organizing campaigns.
US employers spend $442m on union-avoidance consultants annually, according to an estimate by the EPI. Amazon alone spent $26.6m in 2025 on union-avoidance consultants, based on filings with the US Department of Labor.
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“This is millions or even billions of dollars that’s not going towards workers and investing into their workplace,” said Margaret Poydock, a co-author of the report and a senior policy analyst at the EPI.
The Guardian
May 26, 2026
If approved, about 350,000 workers in Oklahoma would receive raises, including more than 200,000 with children, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
The Oklahoman
May 26, 2026
According to the Economic Policy Institute, NAFTA caused the loss of 700,000 U.S. jobs in the automotive, auto parts, aerospace, textile and apparel industries as production shifted to Mexico. American workers who lost high-paying manufacturing jobs were often re-employed in jobs that paid far less.
Spectrum News 1
May 26, 2026
A January 2026 report by the Economic Policy Institute called collective bargaining “a critical step toward reversing the impacts of long-standing anti-worker state policies in Virginia that have for decades suppressed all workers’ wages and contributed to growing income inequality.”
State action to shore up public employee rights is especially critical at a moment “when the federal government is attacking civil servants, public education, health care, and all public services,” the report says. “By extending full collective bargaining rights to historically excluded state and local government workers, state lawmakers can help lead the way to a more vibrant, equitable economy rooted in multiracial democracy in Virginia, the South, and the nation.”
Richmond Times-Dispatch
May 26, 2026
A new study conducted by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) and LaborLab estimates that employers spent about $1.7 billion on union avoidance specialists and union-busting attorneys in 2024. The jointly authored report is one the most expansive and thorough estimates of union avoidance costs performed in decades.
Jacobin
May 26, 2026
Perhaps most significantly, Spanberger’s version gave more power to a new government agency that would be created under the legislation, known as the Public Employee Relations Board. An analysis by the Economic Policy Institute noted that the original bill contained detailed rules about union elections and contract negotiation timelines, while Spanberger’s version left these matters up to the body’s discretion.
Reason Magazine
May 26, 2026