This spark has hit particularly dry kindling. As a wave of unionization sweeps across retail, dollar store workers are organizing to fight back against some of the harshest conditions in the sector. Employees across the country work in dollar stores that are understaffed and sometimes unsafe. They have had to deal with rat infestations, broken air conditioners in the summer heat, and even workplace violence. The wages are also among the lowest in retail. According to the Economic Policy Institute and The Shift Project, 92 percent of Dollar General employees make less than $15 an hour.
American Prospect
July 15, 2022
After the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court, the connection between abortion rights and labor rights is acutely clear—both are under attack by right-wing activists, who see abortions and unions as threats to the patriarchy. In response to the ruling, a number of states have rushed to pass legislation to shore up access to abortion care. But should we be having a more comprehensive discussion about the economic effects of abortion bans? We spoke with Asha Banerjee of the Economic Policy Institute about what the fall of Roe means for workers.
Dissent Magazine
July 15, 2022
Information obtained by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) from seven states reveals more than 60 percent of corporations operating there pay no state income tax. Some of these no-tax paying corporations were highly profitable, yet between 11 percent and 27 percent with over $1 billion in federal taxable income pay nothing or next to nothing in income taxes. We don’t know what these figures are in Maine because the data hasn’t been made public — but it should be.
Maine Beacon
July 15, 2022
The federal minimum wage at $7.25 per hour hasn’t been touched in over a decade. But at least 30 states have higher minimum wages, according to the Economic Policy Institute, with as many as 46 localities like Los Angeles County, Chicago, and New York City requiring higher minimum wages than their states.
Modern Retail
July 15, 2022
The catch to the corporate complaints, as Economic Policy Institute President Heidi Shierholz pointed out, is that the same firms yowling about the lack of workers in a booming recovery won’t raise wages to attract new people. In so many words, try paying them.
People’s World
July 15, 2022
But if the Fed is too aggressive, that could potentially backfire, noted Josh Bivens, director of economic research at the Economic Policy Institute.
CNN Business
July 15, 2022
As people struggle to access healthcare, one obvious knock-on effect is the cost of accessing services out of state. “This decision will cause immediate economic pain in 26 states where abortion bans are most likely and where people already face lower wages, less worker power, and limited access to health care,” Heidi Shierholz, the president of the Economic Policy Institute, said in a statement
Venture Beat
July 15, 2022
“It is not a direct solution to having these rights being codified at the state or federal level. At the end of the day, someone needing an abortion should not have to go to their employer, who they just have to hope is well-meaning, and it’s very likely that workers in low-wage industries with few workplace protections or benefits, like paid leave, will not have access to this new benefit,” said Asha Banerjee, an economic policy analyst at the Economic Policy Institute.
The Guardian
July 15, 2022
Valerie Wilson at the Economic Policy Institute points out that child care systems also don’t often accommodate parents who work odd hours. “This is particularly important for low-wage earners, because their scheduling tends to be less consistent,” she said. “For that group, the supply of available child care providers is even more limited.”
Marketplace
July 15, 2022
… to a hot inflation reading,” said Josh Bivens, director of research at the Economic Policy Institute, a progressive think tank. (paywall)
MarketWatch
July 15, 2022