Media clips

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• Minimum wage increases 2024: Workers in these states will get a raise on January 1

  In total, an estimated 9.9 million workers will see additional wages thanks to the increased rate, equating to $6.95 billion in wages, according to an analysis from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).

  Fast Company January 3, 2024
• Almost 10 million workers in 22 states will get raises on January 1. See where wages are rising.

  Higher minimum wages will go into effect on January 1 across 22 states, giving an economic boost to almost 10 million workers, according to a recent estimate. 

  The higher baseline wages will deliver almost $7 billion in additional annual wages to about 9.9 million workers, the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute said in a research post on December 21. The increases will boost the baseline pay to at least $16 an hour in three states: California, New York and Washington. 

  CBS Moneywatch January 3, 2024
• A Persistent Racial Wealth Gap Hurts People, Organizations, And The Economy.

  The Economic Policy Institute found that Black workers are disproportionately disadvantaged in the labor markets. Though differences between education and skills are often used to explain the 2-to-1 disparity in unemployment, Black Americans have made substantial gains in high school and college completion over the last 45 years, yet the employment gap has not changed. Black workers also earn 24.4% less per hour than the typical white worker.

  Diversity Global Magazine December 21, 2023
• The only AI ‘regulation’ coming is from workers

  In the latest generation-defining tech disruption, the labor movement is setting boundaries in a welcome correction and lesson from the failures and dysfunctions of the social web era.

  “Unions are a tool for protections where there is a lack of federal oversight and laws,” said Margaret Poydock, a senior policy analyst at the Economic Policy Institute.

  Yahoo Finance December 21, 2023
• Biden Is Paying Growers to Replace Farmworkers With Bracero Contract Labor

  A 2023 study by the Economic Policy Institute found that investigations by the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) have plummeted by over 60 percent — from a high of 2,431 in 2000 to only 879 in 2022.

  Truthout December 21, 2023
• There were nearly 400 strikes in 2023, and experts think there’s more to come: ‘Nothing succeeds like success’

  In 2020, for example, unions were able to bargain for PPE and extra pay for frontline workers. “I think the pandemic really showcased the power of unions,” says Margaret Poydock, senior policy analyst at the Economic Policy Institute.

  CNBC December 21, 2023
• Florida lawmakers advance bill that would weaken child labor protections for 16- and 17-year-olds

  Policy analyst Nina Mast with the Economic Policy Institute told Orlando Weekly that the federal law should be the bare minimum when it comes to child labor protections, but that states should aim to exceed that (and many, including Florida, have).

  Orlando Weekly December 21, 2023
• Funding boost on the way for VA child care centers

  The Economic Policy Institute reported infant care in Virginia costs more than $14,000 a year. 

  Public News Service December 21, 2023
• Tucson Speaks Out: Dec. 19 letters of the day

  Arizona’s teacher pay gap is the second-largest in the nation, behind only Colorado (Economic Policy Institute). In 2022, Arizona teachers earned 33% less than their peers in comparable professions. This is the worst gap since 1960.

  Arizona Daily Star December 21, 2023
• Ohio CEOs made less in 2022. They still got hundreds of times more than the median worker

  Such buybacks were banned as a form of stock manipulation in the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 until Congress repealed them in 1982, the report said. CEO pay skyrocketed, increasing 1,209% between 1978 and 2022, the Economic Policy Institute reports.

  Ohio Capital Journal December 21, 2023