Media clips

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• How Public Employees Learned to Stop Worrying and Love to Strike

  The number of workers who joined unions last year increased by 200,000, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a labor-backed think tank.

  Governing August 21, 2023
• Many schools face a teacher shortage. How did teaching become an unattractive occupation?

  School districts around the country are grappling with an undersupply of educators. In fact, the teacher shortage could grow to 200,000 educators by 2025, according to data from the Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit think tank. 

  Chicago Tribune August 21, 2023
• New research shows Black families have one-eighth of the wealth held by White family units

  Chasing the dream of equity: How policy has shaped economic racial disparities, delves into how public policy and economic conditions have failed to heed the 1963 call for justice.  Published by the nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute (EPI), the report reveals a disturbing economic landscape despite the enactment of a series of laws intended to bring economic parity for all.   

  “Many associate the March on Washington with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic ‘I Have a Dream’ speech,” said Adewale A. Maye, policy and research analyst at EPI and author of the report. “What is often forgotten, however, are the marchers’ urgent calls to raise the minimum wage, build affordable housing, and strengthen voters’ rights—sweeping reforms that could transform American lives. Although we have made strides in racial equity, there are miles to go before King’s dream is a reality.”   

  Afro News August 21, 2023
• How the March on Washington Became Al Sharpton’s Side Hustle

  Perhaps nowhere were the hopes of 1963 organizers dashed than in the quest for economic justice. Such was the conclusion of “The Unfinished March,” a 2013 study by the Economic Policy Institute on the outcomes of the protest.

  The Daily Beast August 21, 2023
• Europe gets more vacations than the U.S. Here are some reasons why.

  GONZALEZ: Adewale is a labor economics researcher at the Economic Policy Institute. But actually seeing the European attitude toward work in person felt different. And it made Adewale think of this report he worked on a few years back.

  MAYE: The name of the report is No-Vacation Nation.

  GONZALEZ: No-Vacation Nation.

  MAYE: Very on the nose.

  GONZALEZ: In this report, Adewale looked at the 21 richest countries in the world, and he listed how many paid vacation days they all get not because of the kindness of their employers, but how many paid vacation days every single person in these countries have to – have to, have to, have to – get by law. And he found that Japan, for example, gets 10 paid vacation days for everyone on top of 15 paid holidays; Australia, 20 paid vacation days, plus eight paid holidays; Spain 25 vacation days, paid, plus 14 paid holidays. We are talking 39 days off, paid, for everyone – hairdressers, mechanics, doctors, bakers, daycare workers, train operators. Every worker in these countries is guaranteed paid vacation. Actually, every worker in all of the richest countries in the world has to get paid vacation except for workers in one rich country, the U.S.

  NPR Planet Money August 21, 2023
• Union fights grow US workers’ slice of profit pie

  Yet by one measure, employees aren’t doing as well as they did before the pandemic. Workers’ share of corporate earnings reached 75% in the first quarter, compared to 76% in the last three months of 2019, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Closing that one-point difference today requires $120 billion in higher wages.

  Reuters August 21, 2023
• WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: One Year Anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act

  Economic Policy Institute: “The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was signed into law a year ago this week. It is widely seen as the crown jewel of the “industrial policy” agenda of the Biden administration. While no piece of legislation is perfect, the full potential of the IRA to deliver a radically better future is often underrated. In this post, we highlight many of the IRA’s huge steps forward and also talk about the unfinished agenda for securing faster, fairer, and greener growth in the U.S. economy.” [Blogpost, 8/14/23]

  Economic Policy Institute: “Put simply, the IRA puts the U.S. on a path where meeting its global climate change commitments is within reach—commitments which would provide a genuine chance at securing a livable planet for future generations if they are kept. At the beginning of August 2022, there was no such path to secure this livable future, but there is now—and that is a mammoth victory.” [Blogpost, 8/14/23]

  The White House August 21, 2023
• We must address critical shortages of educators

  An inability to retain qualified and experienced professionals can have serious implications for the wider staffing of schools. A 2022 Economic Policy Institute report indicated that 23% of all U.S. public schools had at least 5% of their positions vacant during the 2021-22 school year. More than half of schools reported that those vacancies were due to resignations and 21% stated they were due to retirements.

  Lancaster Online August 21, 2023
• Unemployment rate for Blacks hits historic low under Biden

  For those seeking to delve deeper into the statistics and context surrounding the Black unemployment rate in the United States, additional information can be found through reputable sources such as the BLS or the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).

  Black Wall Street Times August 21, 2023
• ‘America First 2.0’: Vivek Ramaswamy pitches to be Republicans’ next Trump

  “Top companies now regularly disfavor qualified applicants who happen to be white or Asian,” he tweeted in June. “Time to restore colorblind meritocracy once and for all.”

  Ramaswamy did not provide any evidence for his claim and did not respond to a question on the topic from the Guardian. Last year, a report by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) found that “one of the most durable and defining features of the US labor market is the 2-to-1 disparity in unemployment that exists between black and white workers”.

  The Guardian August 21, 2023