EPI in the news

• Unions Can Fix What’s Broken

  Because unions raise wages not only for their own members but for non-members as well (as non-union firms are forced to compete with unionized ones for workers), this absolute loss in worker power has been magnified across the entire economy. The Economic Policy Institute estimated that if union density had remained at 1979 levels, the average non-union worker in the mid-2010s would have been earning $2,700 per year more. 

  defector | February 27, 2024
• Henrico fast-tracks school bus drivers’ pay hike to combat staffing issues

  The Economic Policy Institute reported that the number of K-12 bus drivers at the…[paywall].

  Richmond Times-Dispatch | February 27, 2024
• Issues arise for proposed Albertsons-Kroger merger

  The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) has released a study that finds the merger would reduce employment options for workers and put downward pressure on their wages. They say 776,000 workers would see an overall loss of $334 million in earnings. That averages out to $450 in annual wages lost per worker.

  My Bellingham Now | February 27, 2024
• Teens could work up to 7 days a week as Senate panel advances bill

  The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) said Florida’s bills are part of a nationwide effort to weaken child labor laws. Florida was the 16th state to introduce bills in the past two years, according to the EPI, a nonpartisan think tank.

  Florida Politics | February 27, 2024
• Majority of Alabama Mercedes workers join UAW as Southeast’s union battle heats up

  It also had larger costs for American democracy, according to a 2012 study from the Economic Policy Institute.

  Researchers found that the decline of unions during the latter half of the 20th century had accompanied a rise in economic inequality to levels not seen since before the New Deal.

  The Hill | February 27, 2024
• NYC schools should worry less about ‘mindful breathing’ and more about reading

  The academic consequences associated with missing school are profound. An Economic Policy Institute study estimated that missing just one or two days of school was associated with a statistically significant drop on the 2015 math NAEP exam (the “Nation’s Report Card”).

  New York Post | February 27, 2024
• The economy is roaring. Immigration is a key reason.

  That momentum picked up aggressively over the past year. About 50 percent of the labor market’s extraordinary recent growth came from foreign-born workers between January 2023 and January 2024, according to an Economic Policy Institute analysis of federal data.

  …

  Experts argue that the strength of the U.S. economy has benefited American workers and foreign-born workers alike. Each group accounts for roughly half of the labor market’s impressive year-over-year growth since January 2023, according to an Economic Policy Institute analysis that used three-month rolling averages in labor force participation to account for data volatility.

  The Washington Post | February 27, 2024

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