One of the core pillars of middle-out economics is empowering workers—giving them the tools they need to claim their fair share of economic growth. It’s worth emphasizing that there is no silver bullet here: There was a sweeping transformation to neoliberal economics, and we need another sweeping transformation to set us on a path of robust, broadly shared growth. In what follows, I detail some middle-out economic policies that will help close the productivity-pay gap, and what they would mean for working people.
Democracy Journal
March 15, 2024
Amid concerns about an increase in labor violations against youth workers in Maine, Terri Gerstein, director of New York University’s Wagner Labor Initiative, says there are steps the state can take to better protect young people in the workforce.
Gerstein authored a report published late last month by the Economic Policy Institute and the Labor Initiative.
Maine Morning Star
March 15, 2024
Union interest among younger workers is growing, says the Economic Policy Institute. Workers under 45 joined unions at the highest rate in 2023.
Voice of America
March 14, 2024
Having previously worked in a warehouse in a small town in Wisconsin that was also unionizing, Benedict believes that this is a movement from working class people across generations. A report from the think tank the Economic Policy Institute found that major strike activity skytocked by 280% last year.
Fortune
March 14, 2024
Up until the 1970s, women of color could be openly discriminated against in the hiring process and were often relegated to providing domestic service work to white families, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Business Insider
March 14, 2024
According to a study by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), the average yearly earnings of those in the top 10% of Americans were roughly $173,000 in 2020, the most recent data available.
MoneyWise
March 14, 2024
A June 2022 report by the Economic Policy Institute found that nearly a third of gig workers reported earnings less than the minimum wage in their respective states.
Fox Business
March 14, 2024
According to the Economic Policy Institute, there are about 2.4 million farmworkers across the U.S., and while the Fair Food Program has helped countless farmworkers to date, there are far more who don’t yet have the same protections.
Fast Company
March 14, 2024