Economic Policy Institute

Retirement

Child care

CEO pay

Policy choices will determine how AI impacts workers. Our new policy brief shows how federal policymakers can take a pro-worker approach by strengthening unemployment insurance and building a better safety net for all workers.

Read our new policy brief with Workshop and We Build Progress

Unions promote secure retirements and healthier communities

A secure retirement is out of reach for millions of workers. Unions are one of the best ways to change that. New research shows union workers have greater access to employer retirement plans and are more likely to have pensions compared with nonunion workers.

Unions also create healthier and safer workplaces by boosting access to health insurance and paid sick leave, and empowering workers to bring up unsafe working conditions without fear of retaliation.

Learn more →

New Trump child care plan would strip resources from low-income working families

The Trump administration wants to divert child care funds from low-income working families to married couples with a stay-at-home parent.

Supporting economically struggling families, including full-time caregivers, is a good idea. Taking money from working families to do it is not.

A better solution is to fully fund the Child Care and Development Fund and provide needed support to all families, not pit them against each other.

CEO pay grew 14% in 2025 as CEOs were paid 325 times as much as the typical worker.

It hasn’t always been this way.

In 1965—when workers had more power—CEOs were paid 21 times as much as a typical worker.

Policymakers can rein in excessive CEO pay through more progressive tax policy, corporate governance reforms, and strengthened labor standards, including laws that make it easier for workers to unionize.

Read more →

Latest Research

A pro-worker AI policy playbook: Strengthening unemployment insurance and building a better safety net

October 21, 2026 By Mary Beech Report
Unions promote secure retirements and healthier communities

October 19, 2026 By Margaret Poydock Fact Sheet
Wage suppression in 10 charts

September 23, 2026 By Elise Gould and Hilary Wething Report
Unions are extremely popular: 56 million workers would join a union if they could

September 3, 2026 By Margaret Poydock Fact Sheet
Wages are lower in “right-to-work” states: These states have lower unionization rates and more anti-worker policies

September 1, 2026 By Elise Gould and Emma Cohn Report

View all publications

Blog

Labor and human rights in the global economy: USMCA’s labor chapter must be strengthened

October 28, 2026 By Owen E. Herrnstadt Blog
Voters in Colorado and Florida face major tax questions on the November ballot

October 23, 2026 By David Cooper Blog
Weak September jobs report shows hiring and wage growth slow

October 2, 2026 By EPI Staff Blog
Despite a softening labor market, Latina workers continue to register record-high employment rates in 2026. Young Hispanic workers are not seeing similar gains.

September 30, 2026 By Ismael Cid-Martinez Blog
New Trump child care plan would strip resources from low-income working families: A better solution is to fully fund the Child Care and Development Fund instead of redirecting resources away from working families

September 28, 2026 By Chandra Childers Blog
Wages, inequality, and the roots of America’s affordability crisis

September 25, 2026 By Heidi Shierholz and Josh Bivens Blog
Consequences of austerity: How reductions in BLS funding threaten the credibility of our statistics

September 24, 2026 By Hilary Wething and Joe Fast Blog

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EPI in the news

What could Arizona fund instead of Trump’s ICE agenda?

Arizona taxpayers are paying billions for Trump’s mass deportation agenda. A new online tool from the Economic Policy Institute highlights where that money could go instead: funding 20,000+ teachers, SNAP for 2 million people, medical care for 93,000+ veterans, and more.

Copper Courier (AZ) | October 28, 2026
Big Labor isn’t playing straight with Vermonters about Prop 3

A case in point is Richard Rothstein, now a distinguished fellow with the Big Labor-funded Economic Policy Institute, whose board includes the heads of major unions.

VT Digger | October 28, 2026
Florida Amendment 3 Could Put 123,000 Jobs at Risk, EPI Report Says

Florida Amendment 3 could put as many as 123,000 local government jobs at risk and reduce annual local revenue by an estimated $12 billion. This is according to a new report from the Economic Policy Institute.

South Florida Caribbean News | October 28, 2026
The US investment pledges malaise ahead of midterms

Josh Bivens, chief economist at the Economic Policy Institute, says that the “actual tariff policy has been far too chaotic to allow anybody to make the kind of long-term planning decisions you need to make in order to open a factory”.

fDi intelligence | October 28, 2026
What could Arizona fund instead of Trump’s ICE agenda?

Arizona taxpayers are paying billions for Trump’s mass deportation agenda. A new online tool from the Economic Policy Institute highlights where that money could go instead: funding 20,000+ teachers, SNAP for 2 million people, medical care for 93,000+ veterans, and more.

Copper Courier (AZ) | October 28, 2026
Six In 10 Households In Key Midterm Battlegrounds Can’t Afford The Basics. Republicans Hold Most Of These Seats.

The Post calculated these estimates using household income data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey and expenses based on the Economic Policy Institute’s Family Budget Calculator, alongside its own health care calculations.

International Business Times | October 28, 2026
Big Labor isn’t playing straight with Vermonters about Prop 3

A case in point is Richard Rothstein, now a distinguished fellow with the Big Labor-funded Economic Policy Institute, whose board includes the heads of major unions.

VT Digger | October 28, 2026

More EPI in the news

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Latest Research

A pro-worker AI policy playbook: Strengthening unemployment insurance and building a better safety net

Unions promote secure retirements and healthier communities

Wage suppression in 10 charts

Unions are extremely popular: 56 million workers would join a union if they could

Wages are lower in “right-to-work” states: These states have lower unionization rates and more anti-worker policies

Blog

Labor and human rights in the global economy: USMCA’s labor chapter must be strengthened

Voters in Colorado and Florida face major tax questions on the November ballot

Weak September jobs report shows hiring and wage growth slow

Despite a softening labor market, Latina workers continue to register record-high employment rates in 2026. Young Hispanic workers are not seeing similar gains.

New Trump child care plan would strip resources from low-income working families: A better solution is to fully fund the Child Care and Development Fund instead of redirecting resources away from working families

Wages, inequality, and the roots of America’s affordability crisis

Consequences of austerity: How reductions in BLS funding threaten the credibility of our statistics

EPI in the news

HOLDING THE LINE

Unequal Power

Everything you need to know about…