EPI in the news

• The pros and cons of labor unions

  Unions can “promote economic equality and build worker power, helping workers to win increases in pay, better benefits, and safer working conditions,” said the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). Pushes by unions for higher wages seem to be working, as the 17 states with the highest union densities “have state minimum wages that are on average 19% higher than the national average.”

  The Week | October 3, 2024
• Vance says immigrants caused a housing shortage. Economists disagree.

  Immigration has undoubtedly changed the U.S. economy, especially since the pandemic. 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. 

  The Washington Post | October 3, 2024
• High Childcare Costs In US Weigh On Women’s Employment

  Paywall.

  Agence France Press (AFP) | October 3, 2024
• Progressives Weigh In on Kamala Harris’ Economic Proposals — and Share Some of Their Own

  “We should really be leaning into taxes for the rich,” Heidi Shierholz, chief economist at the Department of Labor under the Obama administration and now president of the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), told Capital & Main. Harris’ cutoff of $400,000 for tax hikes suggests anyone making less than this figure is not rich. Shierholz argued that while there are different ways to define the term, this limit may be too high: “In my mind, essentially every possible way of defining the wealthy will include some people making less than $400,000 a year.”

  Capital & Main | October 3, 2024
• Trump’s plan to scrap taxes on tips and overtime could reshape how millions of Americans get paid

  Employers would be no different, and shifts to current pay structures should be expected. Heidi Shierholz, senior economist at EPI Action — a left-leaning nonpartisan organization advocating for economic justice — told Business Insider that businesses could pay their workers slightly less to allow employees to have the financial benefit of not having their overtime pay or tips taxed.

  “Their employer can pay less to keep them but the worker is not worse off because now they don’t have to pay taxes on that,” Shierholz said.

  Business Insider | October 3, 2024
• Trump said he ‘hated’ to pay workers overtime. In office, he could gut overtime rules.

  While in office, Trump set the overtime salary threshold lower than the one that had been set in a rule but had been blocked under former President Barack Obama, leaving millions of workers ineligible for automatic overtime, according to a report from the Economic Policy Institute. 

  Michigan Independent | October 3, 2024
• How to Ensure Economic Security for Working People

  Special Guest: Heidi Shierholz

  Heidi is President of the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). Under her leadership, EPI has fought for legislative and regulatory reforms that support collective bargaining, increase worker power, improve wages, benefits, and working conditions, and reduce racial and gender inequities. Heidi is a Former Chief Economist for the Department of Labor under President Obama. As Chief Economist for the DOL, she focused on boosting workers’ rights, wages, and benefits. 

  Maggie and the Millionaires Podcast | October 3, 2024

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