The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) has released a study that finds the merger would reduce employment options for workers and put downward pressure on their wages. They say 776,000 workers would see an overall loss of $334 million in earnings. That averages out to $450 in annual wages lost per worker.
My Bellingham Now
March 1, 2024
The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) said Florida’s bills are part of a nationwide effort to weaken child labor laws. Florida was the 16th state to introduce bills in the past two years, according to the EPI, a nonpartisan think tank.
Florida Politics
March 1, 2024
It also had larger costs for American democracy, according to a 2012 study from the Economic Policy Institute.
Researchers found that the decline of unions during the latter half of the 20th century had accompanied a rise in economic inequality to levels not seen since before the New Deal.
The Hill
March 1, 2024
The academic consequences associated with missing school are profound. An Economic Policy Institute study estimated that missing just one or two days of school was associated with a statistically significant drop on the 2015 math NAEP exam (the “Nation’s Report Card”).
New York Post
March 1, 2024
That momentum picked up aggressively over the past year. About 50 percent of the labor market’s extraordinary recent growth came from foreign-born workers between January 2023 and January 2024, according to an Economic Policy Institute analysis of federal data.
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Experts argue that the strength of the U.S. economy has benefited American workers and foreign-born workers alike. Each group accounts for roughly half of the labor market’s impressive year-over-year growth since January 2023, according to an Economic Policy Institute analysis that used three-month rolling averages in labor force participation to account for data volatility.
The Washington Post
March 1, 2024
Cites EPI’s child care calculator.
Investopedia
March 1, 2024
Snce the Kroger-Albertsons merger was first announced in 2022, consumer advocates, unions and lawmakers have urged the FTC to investigate the proposed deal and take action to protect consumers and the company’s workers.
The deal could cost workers a total of $334 million each year, an average of $450 per employee, according to a May 2023 policy brief by the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning, pro-union think tank.
The Hill
March 1, 2024
The deal would also bring economic pain for workers, according to merger opponents. The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) has estimated that if the acquisition is completed, roughly 746,000 grocery store workers in over 50 metropolitan areas of the U.S. would see their annual earnings fall by a combined $334 million.
“Workers’ ability to negotiate better pay and working conditions rests on their capacity to switch jobs,” EPI senior economist Ben Zipperer explained in a 2023 memo. “By decreasing the number of outside options available to workers, the merger will limit competition for hiring and retaining employees, and grocery store worker earnings will fall as a result.”
Common Dreams
March 1, 2024
The bureau reported that a total of 458,900 U.S. workers went on 33 major work stoppages last year.
That was an increase of 280% from 2022, when 120,600 workers were involved in 23 stoppages in total, according to the Economic Policy Institute, and was a return to pre-pandemic levels.
Sacramento Bee
March 1, 2024
Indiana House and Senate Republicans are passing new legislation to undo child labor protections. Senate Bill 146 and House Bill 1093 soon will head to Gov. Eric Holcomb for his signature.
According to the Economic Policy Institute, the trend reflects a coordinated multi-industry push to expand employer access to low-wage labor and weaken state child labor laws; the aim is to rewrite federal child labor laws and other worker protections for the U.S.
Indy Star
March 1, 2024