“The best indication of the quality of the jobs out there for the blue-collar economy, if you want to call it that, is that it looks like we’re going to have a summer of strikes across the country,” Adam Hersh, a senior economist at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, told Insider.
Business Insider
May 19, 2023
A default would be felt first by Americans who receive payments either directly from the federal government or programs funded by it — like Social Security, military and veterans benefits, housing assistance and food stamps — says Samantha Sanders, the director of government affairs and advocacy at the Economic Policy Institute.
And, as she told NPR’s Weekend Edition Sunday, the economic effects would ripple outward from there.
People in low- and medium-income ranges could struggle to pay their bills and cut back on spending. The Treasury could delay payments, rattling financial markets and wiping out household wealth. And people could see higher rates for things like mortgages and credit card interest.
NPR Morning Edition
May 19, 2023
According to the Economic Policy Institute, about 217,000 Ohioans are victims of wage theft each year, costing each worker an average of $2,800 annually.
Spectrum News
May 19, 2023
Speaking of work requirements, more and more older Americans are being forced by economic necessity to work in dangerous jobs. According to a new report by the Economic Policy Institute, nearly half of older workers (ages 50–70) experience physically demanding jobs (50.3%), environmental hazards (54.2%), difficult schedules (53.7%), high-pressure jobs (46.1%), or limited autonomy over work decisions (45.9%). In addition, one-in-seven older workers (14.1%) are on the receiving end of abusive and violent behavior.
Counterpunch
May 19, 2023
A slight majority of Americans over the age of 50 now report having physically demanding jobs, meaning they feel their work is either physically taxing, stress-inducing or outright dangerous.
In fact, according to a major new analysis and accompanying chart book published by the Economic Policy Institute, some 50.3% of older workers say they have physically demanding jobs, while an even larger majority (54.2%) of older workers report being exposed to unhealthy or hazardous conditions at work.
Think Advisor
May 19, 2023
Then there was the report from the Economic Policy Institute which revealed workers at Kroger and Albertsons, and other grocery stores, could lose a total of over $330 million annually if the deal goes through.
Kroger immediately dismissed the claim, stating the following in a email to Supermarket News:
Supermarket News
May 19, 2023
Also, the nonprofit organization Economic Policy Institute spoke out against the merger and said workers stand to lose more than a combined $300million a year if the deal goes through.
It would lower wages for 746,000 grocery employees, according to the research.
The U.S. Sun
May 19, 2023
A report from the Economic Policy Institute reveals the deal could lead to lower grocery store employee wages.
The report finds the merger could lower wages for over 746,000 grocery store workers in about 50 cities across the country. The total annual loss of wages would be $334 million or an average loss of about $450 per year in wages for workers.
Ben Zipperer, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute, attributes the loss to the increasing trend of concentration among grocery store chains. This trend has led to a decrease in competition, which has allowed grocery store chains to raise prices and reduce wages.
“They will have fewer options. They have or will have less leverage in negotiating, better pay, better working conditions and so forth,” Zipperer said. “And so what that means is that wages tend to get depressed in those kinds of markets where there’s a lot of employer concentration.”
WYSO
May 19, 2023