Nina Mast (she/they) joined EPI in 2022 as an economic analyst on the State Policy and Research team. Mast’s research at EPI includes a focus on child labor standards. Mast is a graduate of the Master of Public Policy program at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School, where she served as a researcher for the UC Berkeley Labor Center and represented academic student employees as a union steward with UAW-2865.
Mast has been interviewed or quoted by numerous outlets including ABC News, NBC News, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, CNN, and The New Yorker, and appeared on American Public Media for “Marketplace” and the popular “Pitchfork Economics” podcast.
Before graduate school, Mast worked as a researcher in the labor movement and at issue advocacy organizations focused on health care and the economy. At SEIU Local 32BJ, she conducted research to support fast-food workers in Connecticut and commercial cleaning workers in New York. Prior to 32BJ, she worked on issue campaigns at The Hub Project and efforts to advance a progressive economic worldview at the Groundwork Collaborative.
Education
M.P.P., UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy
B.S., Carnegie Mellon University, International Relations and Politics
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Child labor remains a key state legislative issue in 2024: State lawmakers must seize opportunities to strengthen standards, resist ongoing attacks on child labor laws
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Youth subminimum wages and why they should be eliminated: Young workers face pay discrimination in 34 states and DC
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As some states attack child labor protections, other states are strengthening standards
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Economic recovery in the Midwest: Challenges and opportunities after the pandemic
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Florida legislature proposes dangerous rollback of child labor protections: At least 16 states have introduced bills putting children at risk
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States across the country are quietly lowering the alcohol service age: An industry already rife with abuse—including child labor law violations—would like your server to be an underage teenager
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Iowa governor signs one of the most dangerous rollbacks of child labor laws in the country: 14 states have now introduced bills putting children at risk
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State and local experience proves school vouchers are a failed policy that must be opposed: As voucher expansion bills gain momentum, look to public school advocates for guidance
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Child labor laws are under attack in states across the country: Amid increasing child labor violations, lawmakers must act to strengthen standards
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Historic job growth in 2022 reflects strong but uneven economic recovery: State and local lawmakers should prioritize rebuilding the public sector in 2023
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Voters turned out for economic justice: A review of key ballot measures from the 2022 midterm elections