Unions are not only good for workers, they’re good for communities and for democracy. Our new report documents how high unionization levels are associated with greater economic, personal, and democratic well-being. epi.org/publication/un…
We divided the 50 U.S. states, plus the District of Columbia, into three groups based on their level of union density.
The 17 U.S. states with the highest union densities have state minimum wages that are on average 19% higher than the national average and 40% higher than those in low-union-density states.
A majority of low- and medium-union-density states have passed at least one voter restriction bill, while the vast majority of high-union-density states have passed none.
States with the highest union densities have an uninsured population 4.5 percentage points lower, on average, than that of low-union-density states. These states also all elected to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act and are more likely to have passed paid leave laws.
The relationship between high union density and higher household incomes, access to health care and paid leave, and fewer voting restrictions highlights the importance of protecting the right of workers to organize, including by passing the PRO Act.
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Latina workers remain greatly underpaid, including in front-line occupations.
Latina workers make between 6% to 32% less than non-Hispanic white men in jobs at the center of national efforts to address COVID-19. #LatinaEqualPayDay epi.org/blog/latina-eq…
Across these occupations, the pay disparities are largest among physicians and surgeons: Latina doctors are paid 68% of the average hourly wage of white male doctors (a difference of $20.46 per hour). #LatinaEqualPayDay
Latina teachers and child care workers are paid just 84% of what white men are paid in their respective occupations. #LatinaEqualPayDay
25 states cutting pandemic programs are weakening their own recoveries. Recipients of benefits in these states are expected to lose $22 billion in aid, & as a consequence states will be foregoing an enormous amount of economic activity, writes @hshierholznytimes.com/2021/06/06/opi…
If employers in need of workers can’t attract them, they'll raise wages to hire them away from other employers, who will raise wages to retain their workers, & so on. When those measures don’t result in substantial increase in workers, that’s a labor shortage, writes @hshierholz.
Wages are growing solidly but not fast enough to raise concern about damaging labor shortages, given that job growth is also strong. Further, we still have 7.6 million fewer jobs than we did before Covid and there are large employment gaps, writes @hshierholz.
There's a growing number of district attorneys and state AGs prosecuting cases against employers for crimes like wage theft and workplace safety violations, says our moderator @TerriGerstein. More should join the effort.
"Wage theft is pervasive," says @JosePGarza, DA for Travis County in Texas. Travis County has added “wage theft” to a form allowing for online reporting of certain crimes.
Historically, wage theft and other crimes against workers have not been prosecuted. But state and local prosecutors are increasingly fighting workplace abuses, and more should join the effort.
This development is important in light of the limited options for enforcing workers’ rights—as a result of the underfunding of labor enforcement agencies—and employers’ increasing use of forced arbitration clauses, which prevent workers from suing in court.
Employer crimes like wage theft, worker misclassification, unemployment insurance tax evasion, and workplace dangers are widespread, with serious consequences for workers, communities, and local economies. More district attorneys and state AGs should get involved in this work.
Nonlicensed school staff receive low pay and no employment during the summer months. Illinois is supporting these vital workers by offering unemployment benefits during the summer. Minnesota—which is considering a similar bill—should follow suit. epi.org/blog/illinois-…
Workers in the most common nonlicensed education occupations—like janitors and bus drivers—are paid less than the typical U.S. worker, whose median wage is $19.38/hour nationally.
This undervalued work is disproportionately done by women and workers of color. Women, Black workers, and Hispanic workers are all disproportionately represented in the nonlicensed school workforce.