It was in 2023 that the Economic Policy Institute started tracking laws rolling back child labor protections across the country. “We realized this was …[paywall].
The New York Review of Books
October 15, 2026
Our economy was not always so skewed. Until the late 1970s, a typical worker’s pay rose alongside productivity, so when the economy grew, everyone increased spending, and vice versa. But since the end of 1979, productivity has grown 94% while a typical worker’s hourly pay has grown only 33%, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Chicago Tribune
October 15, 2026
“ Workers are losing the race between wages and prices,” Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, wrote on Wednesday. “Nominal wage growth continues to decelerate as workers lose bargaining power at work. Workers simply don’t have the leverage to bid up their wages. Reduced leverage and higher prices translated into falling [year-over-year] real wages for six months in a row.”
“Workers have seen zero progress on affordability compared to January 2025,” Gould added. “Real wages are essentially stagnant as workers’ leverage has declined and prices have risen. It’s no wonder workers feel left behind in the current economy.”
Common Dreams
October 15, 2026
Union contracts raise pay for workers. A new report from the Economic Policy Institute shows that tripling union membership in this country would deliver a 14.5% raise to the median worker—more than $7,700 a year or the equivalent of 7.5 extra weeks of pay annually. This adds up to nearly $270,000 over a 35-year career. Unions can also be powerful tools for combating racial pay discrimination; the new report shows tripling union membership would narrow the racial wage gap by more than a third.
Tripling union density wouldn’t only benefit union members. Nonunion workers would also see large raises, because strong unions lift standards across the economy. All told, EPI estimates that tripling union membership would shift $1.2 trillion of wealth in the economy to working people every year, reversing a third of the rise in inequality since 1979. And because union workers can win better benefits like health insurance, tripling union membership would also provide health care to 6.8 million more Americans. It’s what the labor movement calls the union difference: higher wages, access to health care, retirement security, paid time off and sick leave, and dignity on the job.
Time Magazine
October 15, 2026
Visas like H1-B, have critics across ideological lines, including liberal think tanks like the Economic Policy Institute. But it’s the Republican Party currently, led by President Donald Trump, who have recently heavily scrutinized the program.
Texas Signal
October 15, 2026
Monique Morrissey, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, warned that the survey’s limited sample size means shifts for individual age groups between surveys may lack statistical significance, according to USA Today.
Quartz
October 15, 2026
It was in 2023 that the Economic Policy Institute started tracking laws rolling back child labor protections across the country. “We realized this was …[paywall].
The New York Review of Books
October 15, 2026
Our economy was not always so skewed. Until the late 1970s, a typical worker’s pay rose alongside productivity, so when the economy grew, everyone increased spending, and vice versa. But since the end of 1979, productivity has grown 94% while a typical worker’s hourly pay has grown only 33%, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Chicago Tribune
October 15, 2026
“ Workers are losing the race between wages and prices,” Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, wrote on Wednesday. “Nominal wage growth continues to decelerate as workers lose bargaining power at work. Workers simply don’t have the leverage to bid up their wages. Reduced leverage and higher prices translated into falling [year-over-year] real wages for six months in a row.”
“Workers have seen zero progress on affordability compared to January 2025,” Gould added. “Real wages are essentially stagnant as workers’ leverage has declined and prices have risen. It’s no wonder workers feel left behind in the current economy.”
Common Dreams
October 15, 2026
Union contracts raise pay for workers. A new report from the Economic Policy Institute shows that tripling union membership in this country would deliver a 14.5% raise to the median worker—more than $7,700 a year or the equivalent of 7.5 extra weeks of pay annually. This adds up to nearly $270,000 over a 35-year career. Unions can also be powerful tools for combating racial pay discrimination; the new report shows tripling union membership would narrow the racial wage gap by more than a third.
Tripling union density wouldn’t only benefit union members. Nonunion workers would also see large raises, because strong unions lift standards across the economy. All told, EPI estimates that tripling union membership would shift $1.2 trillion of wealth in the economy to working people every year, reversing a third of the rise in inequality since 1979. And because union workers can win better benefits like health insurance, tripling union membership would also provide health care to 6.8 million more Americans. It’s what the labor movement calls the union difference: higher wages, access to health care, retirement security, paid time off and sick leave, and dignity on the job.
Time Magazine
October 15, 2026