EPI in the news

• Noem reluctant to get ARPA but plans for the money

  A study by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) showed that “Revenue replacement accounts for $19.8 billion (62%) of the $32 billion cities and counties have spent, compared with 45% of spending at the state level. Almost one in eight local governments have only spent funds on revenue replacement so far.” The study was released on March 21. The EPI, said that local and state governments need to continue to “build upon ARPA’s successes of the past two years.”

  KELO | December 8, 2023
• The top 1% of American earners now own more wealth than the entire middle class

  Between 1979 and 2021, the wages of Americans in the top 1% grew by 206%, after adjusting for inflation, according to an analysis by the nonprofit Economic Policy Institute. In the same years, wages for the bottom 90% grew by only 29%.

  USA Today | December 8, 2023
• Folding Chairs, Brutal Cops, Affirmative Action: The 2023 News Stories That Hit Different for Black America

  “Race-blind admissions processes will further exacerbate existing inequalities and undermine the recognition of the unique challenges that Black, Hispanic, and Native American students encounter throughout the admissions process,” the Economic Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, warned.

  BET.com | December 8, 2023
• Rollins College contractor illegally threatened, surveilled workers ahead of union election, labor union alleges

  Violations of workers’ right to organize and form unions in the workplace isn’t uncommon. Employers are charged with breaking federal law in roughly 4 in 10 union elections, an analysis from the Economic Policy Institute found, which commonly happens in the form of disciplining or firing workers, or changing terms of their employment, in retaliation for organizing or for being vocally pro-union.

  Orlando Weekly | December 8, 2023
• The Legal Strategy Elon Musk Uses to Shortchange Workers and Consumers

  Even after arbitration cases are allowed to move forward, they are not typically won by employees. In a 2015 report on the subject, the Economic Policy Institute noted that employees bound by arbitration clauses are not often successful in actual arbitration: “Employee win rates in mandatory arbitration are much lower than in either federal court or state court, with employees in mandatory arbitration winning only just about a fifth of the time.”

  The Progressive Magazine | December 8, 2023
• Voters deserve a say on minimum wage

  According to Economic Policy Institute research, nearly 90% of workers who would benefit from a higher minimum wage are 20 or older – and one-third are over 40.

  The Journal Record (Oklahoma) | December 8, 2023
• Free Speech at Work

  This research piece by our friends at the Economic Policy Institute explains just when employee free speech is protected and when it is not. As EPI explains, workers have suffered retaliation for failing to support the boss’s preferred political candidate, for refusing to attend mandatory Bible study, and for speaking out during COVID against unsafe working conditions.

  The American Prospect | December 8, 2023

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