Media clips

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• More States Try—and Fail—to Raise Teacher Salaries

  Public educators have long complained about stagnant wages. Adjusted for inflation, teachers’ average weekly pay has increased by only $29 between 1996 and 2021, according to the Economic Policy Institute. The wage problem has contributed to a public-school teacher shortage in some parts of the country.

  The Wall Street Journal July 21, 2023
• Third Teen Worker Killed In Industrial Accident As States Try To Loosen Child Labor Laws

  The number of minors employed in violation of child labor laws has increased by 37% within the last year, according to a March report by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute in Washington. The report identified 10 states that have introduced or passed bills within the last two years that would weaken child labor standards.

  Huffpost July 21, 2023
• Boston Medical Center workers latest to push for better working conditions

  The Economic Policy Institute reports the number of workers involved in major strikes increased by nearly 50% last year, and that doesn’t include smaller-scale work stoppages.

  NBC Boston July 21, 2023
• Hollywood’s hottest movie star: corporate brands

  An analysis published by the Economic Policy Institute in 2021 suggests that while earners in all income levels experience wage theft, most are independent contractors and hourly workers.

  Business Insider July 21, 2023
• The number of people doing gig work on apps like Uber and DoorDash more than doubled during the pandemic

  But even as the number of platform gig workers soared, wages did not: A 2022 analysis from the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank, found that one in seven gig workers earned less than the federal minimum hourly wage of $7.25 an hour; just 38% made between $10 and $14.99 an hour, compared to over half of W-2 service workers. And 29% of gig workers made less than their state’s minimum wage.

  Business Insider July 21, 2023
• Iowa Will Now Feature ‘Expanded Employment Opportunities’ for Children

  From Quartz:

  It’s not just Iowa. At least fourteen states have sought to weaken regulations against the employment of children over the past two years, the Economic Policy Institute recently noted, even as violations of those laws have been on the rise.

  Esquire July 21, 2023
• Arkansas advocates voice concern as state weakens child labor protections

  State legislatures across the South are weakening child labor protections even as the number of minors employed in violation of child labor laws is increasing. Violations were up in 2022 by 37% since 2021 and 283% since 2015, according to an Economic Policy Institute analysis of Department of Labor data

  …

  The DLL is required to investigate employers only if they receive a complaint of a violation. And Act 687 is only effective if the state agency demonstrates its willingness to “proactively” use its enforcement authority, especially in industries where child labor is most prevalent, said Jennifer Sherer, senior state policy coordinator at the Economic Policy Institute.

  “Passing the law itself gives them a new tool, but we don’t know yet whether they will actually use it,” Sherer said.

  Facing South July 21, 2023
• Canada wants US skilled workers – and they are interested

  Ron Hira, a research associate with the non-partisan Economic Policy Institute think tank, says the H1-B programme is “a mixed bag” that sometimes rewards “the best and brightest” but largely benefits workers with skills already abundantly available in the US.

  His research also suggests employers, like technology and outsourcing companies, are exploiting the visa category to hire migrant workers they routinely underpay and place in poor working conditions.

  And if terminated, workers on the visa have only 60 days to secure new employment.

  “It’s not a big surprise that some H1-B workers want to escape and maybe think that Canada will be a better option for them,” Mr Hira said.

  BBC July 21, 2023
• Sen. Casey rolls out bills to protect workers from AI surveillance and ‘robot bosses’

  The AFL-CIO, Communications Workers of America, National Employment Law Project and the Economic Policy Institute also have endorsed both bills, Casey’s office said.

  NBC News July 21, 2023
• Michigan Amazon Workers Staged a Walkout on Prime Day

  Employers struggled to attract and retain warehouse workers early in the pandemic, which caused a shift in spending from services to goods, said Monique Morrissey, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute.

  Non-college-educated workers had found new leverage by quitting and moving to better-paying or easier jobs, forcing Amazon and its competitors to respond with sign-on bonuses and wage increases. White saw ads from Walmart and Target last year advertising warehouse jobs that started in the $20 to $24 range.

  Jacobin July 21, 2023