‘RAISE THE WAGE’ AND CREATE A LONG-TERM SOLUTION TO Tell all members of Congress to pass the Raise the Wage Act. Stand with the Economic Policy Institute Policy Center by adding your name below. To: All members of Congress Please stand with us by supporting the Raise the Wage Act, which raises the federal minimum wage to $12 by 2020, indexes the minimum wage to WHAT TEACHING IS LIKE DURING THE PANDEMIC—AND A REMINDER As we mark this year’s World Teachers’ Day and reflect on this year’s theme, “Teachers: Leading in crisis, reimagining the future,” we are especially reminded of the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has added to teachers and to their jobs, as well as of the need to consider teachers’ expertise and judgment in the

future

UNION WORKERS HAD MORE JOB SECURITY DURING THE PANDEMIC Union engagement likely played a role in limiting overall job loss among unionized workers. As mentioned, there is an interesting finding in the 2020 union numbers: The number of workers represented by a union declined in 2020, but the unionization rate rose because union workers saw less job loss that nonunion workers. This increase in the unionization rate was due in part to the fact that WHO ARE TODAY’S UNION WORKERS?: UNIONIZED WORKERS ARE One in nine workers—15.9 million working women and men in the United States—are represented by a union. This makes organized labor one of the largest institutions in America. It is also one of the most diverse, representing workers of all ages, at all levels of education, of diverse races and ethnicities, and across most industries in

America.

THE SHORT- AND LONG-TERM IMPACT OF INFRASTRUCTURE Executive summary In U.S. policymaking circles in recent years there have been recurrent calls to increase infrastructure investments. This is hardly a surprise, as increased infrastructure investments could go a long way to solving several pressing challenges that the American economy faces. In the near term, the most pressing economic challenge for the U.S. economy

HEIDI SHIERHOLZ

Biography. Heidi Shierholz leads EPI’s policy team, which monitors wage and employment policies coming out of Congress and the administration and advances a worker-first policy agenda. Throughout her career, Shierholz has educated policymakers, journalists, and the public about the effects of economic policies on low- and middle-income families. COVID-19 AND STUDENT PERFORMANCE, EQUITY, AND U.S COVID-19 and student performance, equity, and U.S. education policy Lessons from pre-pandemic research to inform relief, recovery, and

rebuilding

EILEEN APPELBAUM

Eileen Appelbaum is Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, Washington, DC, Fellow at Rutgers University Center for Women and Work, and Visiting Professor at the University of Leicester, UK. Prior to joining CEPR, she held positions as Distinguished Professor and Director of the Center for Women and Work at Rutgers

University and

RAISING THE FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE TO $15 BY 2025 WOULD LIFT Raising the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2025 would lift the pay of 32 million workers A demographic breakdown of affected workers and the impact on poverty, wages, and inequality ADDRESSING THE UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEM Opinion pieces and speeches by EPI staff and associates. THIS TESTIMONY WAS PRESENTED BY EPI PRESIDENT LARRY MISHEL BEFORE THE U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR AND PENSIONS, ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2002 A ddressing the unemployment problem by Larry Mishel Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee: Thank you for ‘RAISE THE WAGE’ AND CREATE A LONG-TERM SOLUTION TO Tell all members of Congress to pass the Raise the Wage Act. Stand with the Economic Policy Institute Policy Center by adding your name below. To: All members of Congress Please stand with us by supporting the Raise the Wage Act, which raises the federal minimum wage to $12 by 2020, indexes the minimum wage to WHAT TEACHING IS LIKE DURING THE PANDEMIC—AND A REMINDER As we mark this year’s World Teachers’ Day and reflect on this year’s theme, “Teachers: Leading in crisis, reimagining the future,” we are especially reminded of the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has added to teachers and to their jobs, as well as of the need to consider teachers’ expertise and judgment in the

future

UNION WORKERS HAD MORE JOB SECURITY DURING THE PANDEMIC Union engagement likely played a role in limiting overall job loss among unionized workers. As mentioned, there is an interesting finding in the 2020 union numbers: The number of workers represented by a union declined in 2020, but the unionization rate rose because union workers saw less job loss that nonunion workers. This increase in the unionization rate was due in part to the fact that WHO ARE TODAY’S UNION WORKERS?: UNIONIZED WORKERS ARE One in nine workers—15.9 million working women and men in the United States—are represented by a union. This makes organized labor one of the largest institutions in America. It is also one of the most diverse, representing workers of all ages, at all levels of education, of diverse races and ethnicities, and across most industries in

America.

THE SHORT- AND LONG-TERM IMPACT OF INFRASTRUCTURE Executive summary In U.S. policymaking circles in recent years there have been recurrent calls to increase infrastructure investments. This is hardly a surprise, as increased infrastructure investments could go a long way to solving several pressing challenges that the American economy faces. In the near term, the most pressing economic challenge for the U.S. economy

HEIDI SHIERHOLZ

Biography. Heidi Shierholz leads EPI’s policy team, which monitors wage and employment policies coming out of Congress and the administration and advances a worker-first policy agenda. Throughout her career, Shierholz has educated policymakers, journalists, and the public about the effects of economic policies on low- and middle-income families. COVID-19 AND STUDENT PERFORMANCE, EQUITY, AND U.S COVID-19 and student performance, equity, and U.S. education policy Lessons from pre-pandemic research to inform relief, recovery, and

rebuilding

EILEEN APPELBAUM

Eileen Appelbaum is Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, Washington, DC, Fellow at Rutgers University Center for Women and Work, and Visiting Professor at the University of Leicester, UK. Prior to joining CEPR, she held positions as Distinguished Professor and Director of the Center for Women and Work at Rutgers

University and

RAISING THE FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE TO $15 BY 2025 WOULD LIFT Raising the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2025 would lift the pay of 32 million workers A demographic breakdown of affected workers and the impact on poverty, wages, and inequality ADDRESSING THE UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEM Opinion pieces and speeches by EPI staff and associates. THIS TESTIMONY WAS PRESENTED BY EPI PRESIDENT LARRY MISHEL BEFORE THE U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR AND PENSIONS, ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2002 A ddressing the unemployment problem by Larry Mishel Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee: Thank you for ECONOMIC POLICY INSTITUTE “There is an old-fashioned way of thinking, which is the only thing that counts as an investment in the future is tangible, a structure that you can pick up or kick,” said EPI President Thea Lee in a New York Times article.President Biden’s economic agenda “ our concept of infrastructure to include human capital,” focusing on building our workforce and ensuring people FAMILY BUDGET CALCULATOR Family Budget Calculator. EPI’s Family Budget Calculator measures the income a family needs in order to attain a modest yet adequate standard of living. The budgets estimate community-specific costs for 10 family types (one or two adults with zero to four children)

EILEEN APPELBAUM

Eileen Appelbaum is Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, Washington, DC, Fellow at Rutgers University Center for Women and Work, and Visiting Professor at the University of Leicester, UK. Prior to joining CEPR, she held positions as Distinguished Professor and Director of the Center for Women and Work at Rutgers

University and

THE SHORT- AND LONG-TERM IMPACT OF INFRASTRUCTURE Executive summary In U.S. policymaking circles in recent years there have been recurrent calls to increase infrastructure investments. This is hardly a surprise, as increased infrastructure investments could go a long way to solving several pressing challenges that the American economy faces. In the near term, the most pressing economic challenge for the U.S. economy MORE THAN HALF A MILLION CHILD CARE WORKERS WOULD BENEFIT More than two in five child care workers would have higher pay if there were a $15 national minimum wage in 2025, as called for by the 2021 Raise the Wage Act. Of the child care workers who would get a raise, more than nine in 10 are women. A REAL “PARTY OF THE WORKING CLASS” WOULDN’T ATTACK THE A number of high-profile Republicans in recent years have tried to claim that they have become the “party of the working class.” Nothing exposes this as false as clearly as the GOP’s unrelenting attacks on the Affordable Care Act (ACA)—legislation that was imperfect but still an enormously important advance in the U.S. welfare state.. The latest attack is another court case that made

EPI BLOCK MAP

State Preemption Year enacted Details By Law Alabama 1 2014 Since 2014, Alabama has prohibited its cities and counties from requiring employers to provide employees paid sick days or paid family leave. Gov. Robert Bentley (R) and a Republican majority state legislature Ala. Code § 11-80-16 Alaska 0 Arizona 0 Arkansas 1 2017 Since 2017,

Arkansas

EPI BLOCK MAP

State 2017 Alabama 0.92% Alaska 0.36% Arizona 0.89% Arkansas 0.45% California 16.46% Colorado 1.66% Connecticut 1.80% Delaware 0.29% Washington D.C. 0.24% Florida 3.46% Georgia 1.32% Hawaii 0.84% Idaho 0.25% Illinois 5.31% Indiana 1.76% Iowa 0.77% Kansas 0.80% Kentucky 1.42% Louisiana 0.58% Maine 0.49% Maryland 1.97% Massachusetts 2.62% Michigan 4.33% Minnesota 2.60% SEARCH RESULTS FOR “HOW DATING APPS ARE CHANGING IN THE EPI is an independent, nonprofit think tank that researches the impact of economic trends and policies on working people in the United

States.

DYNAMIC | PAGE 45 | ECONOMIC POLICY INSTITUTE Industry Percentage of workforce that is a member of a union, 1979 Percentage change in employment level Transportation 49.4% 83.6% Communications and utilities 45.7% 39.1% Manufacturing, durable 37.4% -28.2% Construction 33.5% 74.3% Public administration 33.4% 39.2% Educational 31.8% 75.1% Manufacturing, nondurable 30.4% -30.8% Social services 19.0% 218.2% Hospital 17.1% 82.5% OLDER WORKERS CAN’T WORK FROM HOME AND ARE AT A HIGHER Key takeaways Nearly three-fourths of workers age 65 and older—or over 5 million older workers—are unable to telecommute. That means that these workers, who are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19 because of their age, could be putting themselves at risk to earn a paycheck. Policymakers can mitigate the damage from workplace

exposure

WHAT TEACHING IS LIKE DURING THE PANDEMIC—AND A REMINDER As we mark this year’s World Teachers’ Day and reflect on this year’s theme, “Teachers: Leading in crisis, reimagining the future,” we are especially reminded of the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has added to teachers and to their jobs, as well as of the need to consider teachers’ expertise and judgment in the

future

LEARNING DURING THE PANDEMIC: WHAT DECREASED LEARNING TIME One reflection of how much students have learned and developed since schools closed in March can be found in late Argentinian cartoonist Quino’s 2007 comic strip, in Manolito and his peers’ self-assessments of what they learned in school. When Manolito’s teacher asks, he replies: “From March to today, nothing.” (The implied message is: Others are learning, while he is stuck.) ‘RAISE THE WAGE’ AND CREATE A LONG-TERM SOLUTION TO Tell all members of Congress to pass the Raise the Wage Act. Stand with the Economic Policy Institute Policy Center by adding your name below. To: All members of Congress Please stand with us by supporting the Raise the Wage Act, which raises the federal minimum wage to $12 by 2020, indexes the minimum wage to COVID-19 AND STUDENT PERFORMANCE, EQUITY, AND U.S COVID-19 and student performance, equity, and U.S. education policy Lessons from pre-pandemic research to inform relief, recovery, and

rebuilding

U.S. LABOR SHORTAGE? UNLIKELY. HERE’S WHY Update: Data released following the publication of this piece show there are signs of short-term worker shortages in isolated sectors, namely leisure and hospitality. There is, however, no evidence of a widespread labor shortage, and the isolated shortages that do exist are not a reason for concern. See this blog post for an updated analysis.) This op-ed was

THEA M. LEE

Biography Thea Lee was the president of the Economic Policy Institute from 2017 to 2021. Lee has a longstanding relationship with EPI, having begun her career here as an international trade economist in the 1990s. Lee came to EPI from the AFL-CIO, a voluntary federation of 56 national and international labor unions that represent 12.5

HEIDI SHIERHOLZ

Biography. Heidi Shierholz leads EPI’s policy team, which monitors wage and employment policies coming out of Congress and the administration and advances a worker-first policy agenda. Throughout her career, Shierholz has educated policymakers, journalists, and the public about the effects of economic policies on low- and middle-income families.

LYNN RHINEHART

Lynn Rhinehart is a senior fellow at EPI, where she works on labor and employment policy, with a focus on collective bargaining. Rhinehart was general counsel of the AFL-CIO from 2009 until July 2018. She joined the legal staff at the AFL-CIO as an associate general counsel in 1996. While at the AFL-CIO, she was the executive director of the RAISING THE FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE TO $15 BY 2025 WOULD LIFT Raising the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2025 would lift the pay of 32 million workers A demographic breakdown of affected workers and the impact on poverty, wages, and inequality OLDER WORKERS CAN’T WORK FROM HOME AND ARE AT A HIGHER Key takeaways Nearly three-fourths of workers age 65 and older—or over 5 million older workers—are unable to telecommute. That means that these workers, who are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19 because of their age, could be putting themselves at risk to earn a paycheck. Policymakers can mitigate the damage from workplace

exposure

WHAT TEACHING IS LIKE DURING THE PANDEMIC—AND A REMINDER As we mark this year’s World Teachers’ Day and reflect on this year’s theme, “Teachers: Leading in crisis, reimagining the future,” we are especially reminded of the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has added to teachers and to their jobs, as well as of the need to consider teachers’ expertise and judgment in the

future

LEARNING DURING THE PANDEMIC: WHAT DECREASED LEARNING TIME One reflection of how much students have learned and developed since schools closed in March can be found in late Argentinian cartoonist Quino’s 2007 comic strip, in Manolito and his peers’ self-assessments of what they learned in school. When Manolito’s teacher asks, he replies: “From March to today, nothing.” (The implied message is: Others are learning, while he is stuck.) ‘RAISE THE WAGE’ AND CREATE A LONG-TERM SOLUTION TO Tell all members of Congress to pass the Raise the Wage Act. Stand with the Economic Policy Institute Policy Center by adding your name below. To: All members of Congress Please stand with us by supporting the Raise the Wage Act, which raises the federal minimum wage to $12 by 2020, indexes the minimum wage to COVID-19 AND STUDENT PERFORMANCE, EQUITY, AND U.S COVID-19 and student performance, equity, and U.S. education policy Lessons from pre-pandemic research to inform relief, recovery, and

rebuilding

U.S. LABOR SHORTAGE? UNLIKELY. HERE’S WHY Update: Data released following the publication of this piece show there are signs of short-term worker shortages in isolated sectors, namely leisure and hospitality. There is, however, no evidence of a widespread labor shortage, and the isolated shortages that do exist are not a reason for concern. See this blog post for an updated analysis.) This op-ed was

THEA M. LEE

Biography Thea Lee was the president of the Economic Policy Institute from 2017 to 2021. Lee has a longstanding relationship with EPI, having begun her career here as an international trade economist in the 1990s. Lee came to EPI from the AFL-CIO, a voluntary federation of 56 national and international labor unions that represent 12.5

HEIDI SHIERHOLZ

Biography. Heidi Shierholz leads EPI’s policy team, which monitors wage and employment policies coming out of Congress and the administration and advances a worker-first policy agenda. Throughout her career, Shierholz has educated policymakers, journalists, and the public about the effects of economic policies on low- and middle-income families.

LYNN RHINEHART

Lynn Rhinehart is a senior fellow at EPI, where she works on labor and employment policy, with a focus on collective bargaining. Rhinehart was general counsel of the AFL-CIO from 2009 until July 2018. She joined the legal staff at the AFL-CIO as an associate general counsel in 1996. While at the AFL-CIO, she was the executive director of the RAISING THE FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE TO $15 BY 2025 WOULD LIFT Raising the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2025 would lift the pay of 32 million workers A demographic breakdown of affected workers and the impact on poverty, wages, and inequality ECONOMIC POLICY INSTITUTE “There is an old-fashioned way of thinking, which is the only thing that counts as an investment in the future is tangible, a structure that you can pick up or kick,” said EPI President Thea Lee in a New York Times article.President Biden’s economic agenda “ our concept of infrastructure to include human capital,” focusing on building our workforce and ensuring people WHO ARE ESSENTIAL WORKERS?: A COMPREHENSIVE LOOK AT THEIR While the coronavirus pandemic has shut down much of the U.S. economy, with over 33 million workers applying for unemployment insurance since March 15, millions of workers are still on the job providing essential services. Nearly every state governor has issued executive orders that outline industries deemed “essential” during the pandemic, which typically include health BLACK WORKERS FACE TWO OF THE MOST LETHAL PREEXISTING “We’re all in this together” has become a rallying cry during the coronavirus pandemic. While it is true that COVID-19 has affected everyone in some way, the magnitude and nature of the impact has been anything but universal. Evidence to date suggests that black workers face much more economic and health insecurity from COVID-19 than white workers. Persistent racial disparities in health ACCESS TO ONLINE LEARNING AMID CORONAVIRUS IS FAR FROM In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers, parents, school districts, and communities are doing their best to replace in-person with online learning. But as a recent Washington Post article notes, the move to e-learning prompted by school closures has “exposed the technology divides”—with K–12 students who lack the resources they now need to learn BLACK AND LATINX WORKERS ARE UNDERREPRESENTED IN Black and Latinx workers are severely underrepresented in professional occupations, which pay more, on average, than other occupations, according to a new joint fact sheet from EPI and the Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO.. Black and Latinx workers make up 12.8% and 17.4% of the total workforce, respectively, but only 10.0% and 9.8% of the professional workforce. ‘RAISE THE WAGE’ AND CREATE A LONG-TERM SOLUTION TO Tell all members of Congress to pass the Raise the Wage Act. Stand with the Economic Policy Institute Policy Center by adding your name below. To: All members of Congress Please stand with us by supporting the Raise the Wage Act, which raises the federal minimum wage to $12 by 2020, indexes the minimum wage to THE PANDEMIC SPARKED MORE APPRECIATION FOR TEACHERS, BUT This year’s National Teacher Appreciation Week is happening under the unprecedented hardships that the COVID-19 pandemic has imposed on us. The health emergency forced the closing of schools all over the country, sending over 55 million K-12 students and about four million teachers home for the remainder of the school year. But amidst the

pain

EPI BLOCK MAP

State 2017 Alabama 0.92% Alaska 0.36% Arizona 0.89% Arkansas 0.45% California 16.46% Colorado 1.66% Connecticut 1.80% Delaware 0.29% Washington D.C. 0.24% Florida 3.46% Georgia 1.32% Hawaii 0.84% Idaho 0.25% Illinois 5.31% Indiana 1.76% Iowa 0.77% Kansas 0.80% Kentucky 1.42% Louisiana 0.58% Maine 0.49% Maryland 1.97% Massachusetts 2.62% Michigan 4.33% Minnesota 2.60% SEARCH RESULTS FOR “HOW DATING APPS ARE CHANGING IN THE EPI is an independent, nonprofit think tank that researches the impact of economic trends and policies on working people in the United

States.

SEARCH RESULTS FOR “C” The Schumer-Hatch jobs bill is likely to create few jobs, relative to other jobs creation proposals. ECONOMIC POLICY INSTITUTE “There is an old-fashioned way of thinking, which is the only thing that counts as an investment in the future is tangible, a structure that you can pick up or kick,” said EPI President Thea Lee in a New York Times article.President Biden’s economic agenda “ our concept of infrastructure to include human capital,” focusing on building our workforce and ensuring people FAMILY BUDGET CALCULATOR Family Budget Calculator. EPI’s Family Budget Calculator measures the income a family needs in order to attain a modest yet adequate standard of living. The budgets estimate community-specific costs for 10 family types (one or two adults with zero to four children) THE PRODUCTIVITY–PAY GAP The huge gap between rising incomes at the top and stagnating pay for the rest of us shows that workers are no longer benefiting from their rising productivity. Before 1979, worker pay and productivity grew in tandem. But since 1979, productivity has grown eight times faster than typical worker pay (hourly compensation of production/nonsupervisory

workers).

OLDER WORKERS CAN’T WORK FROM HOME AND ARE AT A HIGHER Key takeaways Nearly three-fourths of workers age 65 and older—or over 5 million older workers—are unable to telecommute. That means that these workers, who are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19 because of their age, could be putting themselves at risk to earn a paycheck. Policymakers can mitigate the damage from workplace

exposure

ELISE GOULD

Areas of expertise Wages • Poverty • Jobs • Health care • Economic mobility Biography Elise Gould joined EPI in 2003. Her research areas include wages, poverty, inequality, economic mobility and health care. She is a co-author of The State of Working America, 12th Edition. Gould authored a chapter on health in The State of Working America 2008/09; co-authored a book

HEIDI SHIERHOLZ

Biography. Heidi Shierholz leads EPI’s policy team, which monitors wage and employment policies coming out of Congress and the administration and advances a worker-first policy agenda. Throughout her career, Shierholz has educated policymakers, journalists, and the public about the effects of economic policies on low- and middle-income families.

EILEEN APPELBAUM

Eileen Appelbaum is Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, Washington, DC, Fellow at Rutgers University Center for Women and Work, and Visiting Professor at the University of Leicester, UK. Prior to joining CEPR, she held positions as Distinguished Professor and Director of the Center for Women and Work at Rutgers

University and

A TALE OF TWO TAX CUTS: WHAT RECENT HISTORY TEACHES ABOUTDID REAGAN TAX CUTS HELP THE ECONOMYREAGAN TAX CUTS 1981REAGAN TAX CUTS 1982REAGAN TAX CUTS EFFECTSRONALD REAGAN TAX CUTS FACTSREAGAN TAX

POLICY

As slow growth continues in the U.S. economy, one of the questions policy makers are asking is whether tax cuts can be used to stave off a recession and, if so, how. The Bush Administration claims that its tax cut proposal (conceived over a year ago) is the best bulwark against an economic slowdown. Since

JOHN SCHMITT

John Schmitt became EPI’s vice president on January 1, 2018, returning to where he started his career as an economist from 1995 to 2001. Following his earlier tenure at EPI, he spent 10 years as a senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) and, most recently, was the research director at the Washington Center

for

RAISING THE FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE ISN’T JUST THE RIGHTIS THE MINIMUM WAGE GOODBEST MINIMUM WAGE JOBSBEST MINIMUM WAGE STATEMINIMUM WAGE GOOD OR BADSHOULD THERE BE MINIMUM WAGEWHY HAVE A MINIMUM WAGE Raising the federal minimum wage, which has now lapsed for the longest ever period without an increase, will benefit millions of low income workers and lift more than one million Americans out of poverty. There is widespread agreement in the economics profession these days that, in contrast to outdated textbook theories, higher minimum wages have ECONOMIC POLICY INSTITUTE “There is an old-fashioned way of thinking, which is the only thing that counts as an investment in the future is tangible, a structure that you can pick up or kick,” said EPI President Thea Lee in a New York Times article.President Biden’s economic agenda “ our concept of infrastructure to include human capital,” focusing on building our workforce and ensuring people FAMILY BUDGET CALCULATOR Family Budget Calculator. EPI’s Family Budget Calculator measures the income a family needs in order to attain a modest yet adequate standard of living. The budgets estimate community-specific costs for 10 family types (one or two adults with zero to four children) THE PRODUCTIVITY–PAY GAP The huge gap between rising incomes at the top and stagnating pay for the rest of us shows that workers are no longer benefiting from their rising productivity. Before 1979, worker pay and productivity grew in tandem. But since 1979, productivity has grown eight times faster than typical worker pay (hourly compensation of production/nonsupervisory

workers).

OLDER WORKERS CAN’T WORK FROM HOME AND ARE AT A HIGHER Key takeaways Nearly three-fourths of workers age 65 and older—or over 5 million older workers—are unable to telecommute. That means that these workers, who are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19 because of their age, could be putting themselves at risk to earn a paycheck. Policymakers can mitigate the damage from workplace

exposure

ELISE GOULD

Areas of expertise Wages • Poverty • Jobs • Health care • Economic mobility Biography Elise Gould joined EPI in 2003. Her research areas include wages, poverty, inequality, economic mobility and health care. She is a co-author of The State of Working America, 12th Edition. Gould authored a chapter on health in The State of Working America 2008/09; co-authored a book

HEIDI SHIERHOLZ

Biography. Heidi Shierholz leads EPI’s policy team, which monitors wage and employment policies coming out of Congress and the administration and advances a worker-first policy agenda. Throughout her career, Shierholz has educated policymakers, journalists, and the public about the effects of economic policies on low- and middle-income families.

EILEEN APPELBAUM

Eileen Appelbaum is Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, Washington, DC, Fellow at Rutgers University Center for Women and Work, and Visiting Professor at the University of Leicester, UK. Prior to joining CEPR, she held positions as Distinguished Professor and Director of the Center for Women and Work at Rutgers

University and

A TALE OF TWO TAX CUTS: WHAT RECENT HISTORY TEACHES ABOUTDID REAGAN TAX CUTS HELP THE ECONOMYREAGAN TAX CUTS 1981REAGAN TAX CUTS 1982REAGAN TAX CUTS EFFECTSRONALD REAGAN TAX CUTS FACTSREAGAN TAX

POLICY

As slow growth continues in the U.S. economy, one of the questions policy makers are asking is whether tax cuts can be used to stave off a recession and, if so, how. The Bush Administration claims that its tax cut proposal (conceived over a year ago) is the best bulwark against an economic slowdown. Since

JOHN SCHMITT

John Schmitt became EPI’s vice president on January 1, 2018, returning to where he started his career as an economist from 1995 to 2001. Following his earlier tenure at EPI, he spent 10 years as a senior economist at the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) and, most recently, was the research director at the Washington Center

for

RAISING THE FEDERAL MINIMUM WAGE ISN’T JUST THE RIGHTIS THE MINIMUM WAGE GOODBEST MINIMUM WAGE JOBSBEST MINIMUM WAGE STATEMINIMUM WAGE GOOD OR BADSHOULD THERE BE MINIMUM WAGEWHY HAVE A MINIMUM WAGE Raising the federal minimum wage, which has now lapsed for the longest ever period without an increase, will benefit millions of low income workers and lift more than one million Americans out of poverty. There is widespread agreement in the economics profession these days that, in contrast to outdated textbook theories, higher minimum wages have ABOUT | ECONOMIC POLICY INSTITUTE About EPI. The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank created in 1986 to include the needs of low- and middle-income workers in economic policy discussions. EPI believes every working person deserves a good job with fair pay, affordable health care, and retirement security. To achieve this goal, EPI

conducts

OLDER WORKERS CAN’T WORK FROM HOME AND ARE AT A HIGHER Key takeaways Nearly three-fourths of workers age 65 and older—or over 5 million older workers—are unable to telecommute. That means that these workers, who are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19 because of their age, could be putting themselves at risk to earn a paycheck. Policymakers can mitigate the damage from workplace

exposure

RACIAL REPRESENTATION IN PROFESSIONAL OCCUPATIONS: BY THE Occupational segregation is observed in the severe underrepresentation of Black and Latinx workers in professional occupations that pay more, on average, than other occupations. Over the next decade, eight of the 10 major groups of professional occupations are projected to have above-average job growth. If current disparities in employment patterns remain unchecked, racial disparities in the

BLACK AMERICANS

Raising the federal minimum wage to $15 by 2025 would lift the pay of 32 million workers: A demographic breakdown of affected workers and the impact on poverty, wages, and inequality. March 9, 2021 By David Cooper, Zane Mokhiber, and Ben Zipperer Report.

EPI BLOCK MAP

State 2017 Alabama 0.92% Alaska 0.36% Arizona 0.89% Arkansas 0.45% California 16.46% Colorado 1.66% Connecticut 1.80% Delaware 0.29% Washington D.C. 0.24% Florida 3.46% Georgia 1.32% Hawaii 0.84% Idaho 0.25% Illinois 5.31% Indiana 1.76% Iowa 0.77% Kansas 0.80% Kentucky 1.42% Louisiana 0.58% Maine 0.49% Maryland 1.97% Massachusetts 2.62% Michigan 4.33% Minnesota 2.60%

EILEEN APPELBAUM

Eileen Appelbaum is Co-Director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, Washington, DC, Fellow at Rutgers University Center for Women and Work, and Visiting Professor at the University of Leicester, UK. Prior to joining CEPR, she held positions as Distinguished Professor and Director of the Center for Women and Work at Rutgers

University and

ALGERNON AUSTIN

Algernon Austin is the former director of the Economic Policy Institute’s Program on Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy (PREE). As the first director of PREE, Austin built the program over six years into a nationally recognized source for expert reports and policy

analyses on

DYNAMIC | PAGE 105 | ECONOMIC POLICY INSTITUTE Wage decile Total Bottom 10% $28.280 2nd decile $28.762 3rd decile $21.353 4th decile $17.375 5th decile $11.065 6th decile $6.683 7th decile $3.811 8th decile $2.500 9th decile $1.678 Top 10% $1.641 DYNAMIC | PAGE 126 | ECONOMIC POLICY INSTITUTE White Black Hispanic Jan-1973 4.5% 9.1% Feb-1973 4.5% 9.5% Mar-1973 4.4% 9.4% 7.3% Apr-1973 4.5% 9.9% 7.9% May-1973 4.3% 9.6% 8.1% Jun-1973 4.3% 9.8% 7.9% Jul-1973 4

ELAINE WEISS

Elaine Weiss is an EPI research associate and the former National Coordinator of the Broader, Bolder Approach to Education. BBA was a national education policy campaign launched by the Economic Policy Institute to call attention to the many impacts of poverty-related impediments to effective teaching and learning and promote strategies

to

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Economic Relief

Poverty

Transition

Ballot Measures

What’s needed for relief and recovery The pandemic has caused horrendous economic harm and exposed the rot in our economy’s ability to provide security for all. The policy response must first stop the economic bleeding and then repair the rot to build a more resilient economy. READ MORE MORE ON THE COVID ECONOMY * Different economic crisis, same mistake * We need to reinstate and extend pandemic unemployment insurance

programs

Moral policy equals good economics COVID-19 has exacerbated poverty in the U.S., spreading and deepening it along preexisting fissures of inequality. If America’s leaders do not address this crisis with visionary social and economic policy, the health and well-being of the nation is at stake. READ MORE

MORE

* Research is vital to the moral integrity of social movements * The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival * EPI research on poverty The Biden administration must strongly advocate for working people We encourage the incoming administration to focus on building worker power, fighting for racial justice, and making the transformational changes we need to invest in America. This is not a time for timidity or austerity. This is a time for courage and ambition. READ MORE WHAT DOES WORKER-CENTERED POLICY LOOK LIKE?

* EPI Policy Agenda

* Racial Justice

* Unions and Labor Standards * The Unequal Power Project Voters chose more than just the president With enormous attention focused—understandably—on the outcome of the presidential and congressional races, it’s easy to forget that voters also decided on nearly 6,000 state legislative races and a host of ballot measures—many with important implications for workers, economic justice, racial equity, and the fight against climate change.

READ MORE

MORE ON BALLOT MEASURES * Florida voters raised their state minimum wage—track minimum wages in all 50 states and D.C. * CA Prop. 22 gives companies a free pass to misclassify their

workers

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LATEST RESEARCH

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RECOVERY CONTINUES TO WANE: EXPIRING UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF MEANS MORE TROUBLE AROUND THE CORNER December 4, 2020 By Elise Gould

Economic Indicators

*

MEMORANDUM ON U.S. TRADE AND MANUFACTURING POLICY November 24, 2020 By Robert E. Scott

Report

*

PRINCIPLES FOR THE RELIEF AND RECOVERY PHASE OF REBUILDING THE U.S. ECONOMY: USE DEBT, GO BIG, AND STAY BIG, AND BE VERY SLOW WHEN TURNING

OFF FISCAL SUPPORT

November 24, 2020 By Josh Bivens

Report

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THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION MUST STRONGLY ADVOCATE FOR WORKING PEOPLE November 7, 2020 By Thea M. Lee

Statement

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OCTOBER JOBS REPORT: NEXT PRESIDENT INHERITS A DEVASTATED ECONOMY WITH MILLIONS OUT OF WORK November 6, 2020 By Elise Gould

Economic Indicators

*

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S ATTACKS ON WORKPLACE UNION VOTING RIGHTS FOREWARNED OF THE BROADER THREATS TO VOTING RIGHTS IN THE UPCOMING

ELECTION

October 21, 2020 By Celine McNicholas and Margaret Poydock

Report

*

REBUILDING AMERICAN MANUFACTURING—POTENTIAL JOB GAINS BY STATE AND INDUSTRY: ANALYSIS OF TRADE, INFRASTRUCTURE, AND CLEAN ENERGY/ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROPOSALS October 20, 2020 By Robert E. Scott

, Zane Mokhiber

, and Daniel Perez

Report

View all publications

BLOG

*

THE JOB OPENINGS AND LABOR TURNOVER SURVEY CONTINUES TO SHOW WEAKER LEVELS OF HIRES THAN BEFORE THE RECESSION HIT: ANY HOPE FOR A QUICK RECOVERY IS OFF THE TABLE UNLESS CONGRESS ACTS NOW December 9, 2020 By Elise Gould

Blog

*

COVID-19 RELIEF SHOULD EXTEND CARES ACT WORK-SHARING PROVISIONS December 7, 2020 By Stephen Herzenberg

and Claire Kovach

Blog

*

THE ECONOMY PRESIDENT-ELECT BIDEN IS INHERITING: MORE THAN 26 MILLION WORKERS—15.5% OF THE WORKFORCE—ARE BEING DIRECTLY HURT BY THE CORONAVIRUS DOWNTURN December 4, 2020 By Heidi Shierholz

Blog

*

WHAT TO WATCH ON JOBS DAY: AN UNFORTUNATE CONTINUED SLOWING RECOVERY DUE TO THE SENATE’S INACTION December 3, 2020 By Elise Gould

Blog

*

ONE MILLION PEOPLE APPLIED FOR UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE LAST WEEK: UNLESS CONGRESS ACTS, MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WILL SOON BE LEFT WITHOUT A

SAFETY NET

December 3, 2020 By Heidi Shierholz

Blog

*

REINSTATING AND EXTENDING THE PANDEMIC UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE PROGRAMS THROUGH 2021 COULD CREATE OR SAVE 5.1 MILLION JOBS December 2, 2020 By Elise Gould

and Josh Bivens

Blog

*

WAGES FOR THE TOP 1% SKYROCKETED 160% SINCE 1979 WHILE THE SHARE OF WAGES FOR THE BOTTOM 90% SHRUNK: TIME TO REMAKE WAGE PATTERN WITH ECONOMIC POLICIES THAT GENERATE ROBUST WAGE-GROWTH FOR VAST MAJORITY December 1, 2020 By Lawrence Mishel

and Jori Kandra

Blog

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EPI IN THE NEWS

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Where the fight for a $15 minimum wage goes from here

Behind paywall

Quartz | December 9, 2020

*

America’s K-12 teachers are increasingly weary as pandemic crushes

profession

According to research

from

the Economic Policy Institute, in 2019, public school teachers earned nearly 20% less in weekly wages than other college-educated workers. Yahoo Finance | December 9, 2020

*

THE YAWNING WAGE GAP MUST BE CLOSED

An examination

of

federal data by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) shows that income rose for the top 1 percent of earners by 160 percent between 1979 and 2019, compared to only 26 percent for those in the bottom 90 percent of wage earners. Both groups, however, were dwarfed by those in the top 0.1 percent of incomes, who saw their wages skyrocket by 345.2 percent during the same time. Teamsters | December 9, 2020

*

How Buy America Can Help Biden Truly Build Back Better Infrastructure investment is not only a smart move politically. Recent research by the Economic Policy Institute

found

up to 12.9 million new jobs could be created by investing in infrastructure and clean energy and rebalancing trade. Enhancing Buy America policies will only enhance those estimates. Alliance for American Manufacturing | December 9, 2020

*

The U.S. still has 10 million fewer jobs now than before the pandemic

A recent report

from

the Economic Policy Institute found that reinstating the expired $600 weekly jobless benefit

could

save or create 3.3 million jobs and boost personal income by more than $290 billion over the next year. CNBC | December 9, 2020

*

Despite What They Say, You’re Not Guaranteed a Job by Learning to

Code

According to a study conducted by the Economic Policy Institute

(EPI),

Microsoft issued a report in 2012 that distorted the future reality of computing-related occupations. Microsoft’s report stated that there would be a shortage of 1.2 million developers needing to fill computing related-positions that required at least a bachelor’s degree between 2010 and 2020. Microsoft continued on to say that in the United States, 40,000 Americans graduate with bachelor’s degrees in computer science each year, leaving many of the projected future

jobs unfilled.

Medium | December 9, 2020

*

VERIFY: If Congress doesn’t act by the end of the year, what CARES Act benefits will end and when? WHAT IT IS: According to a recent report

by

the Economic Policy Institute, most states provide 26 weeks of regular unemployment benefits. The PEUC allows these workers to add an additional 13 weeks of unemployment benefits, due to the pandemic. WUSA 9 | December 9, 2020 More EPI in the news

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STATE OF WORKING AMERICA DATA LIBRARY Authoritative, up-to-date data on the living standards of American

workers.

PROGRAM ON RACE, ETHNICITY, AND THE ECONOMY • PREE Exploring how race, ethnicity, and class intersect to affect economic outcomes in the United States.

UNEQUAL POWER

There’s an inherent imbalance of bargaining power between employers and employees. Here's how it impacts your workplace—and our

democracy.

POLICY AGENDA

Policy choices have tilted the playing field toward the rich and corporations. Here's how to tilt it back. TAX & SPENDING EXPLORER How do taxes and spending work, and where do you fit in?

INEQUALITY.IS

Interactive tools and videos bringing clarity to the national dialogue on economic inequality. -------------------------

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