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Number of workers represented by unions remained steady in 2019

EPI Senior Economist Heidi Shierholz analyzed the number of workers represented by unions in a new report. Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Shierholz found that 16.4 million workers in the United States were represented by a union in 2019. Although there was very little change from this figure from 2018, the share of workers represented by a union ticked down from 11.7% to 11.6%. “The share of workers covered by a union contract is well less than half of what it was 40 years ago—caused in large part by fierce corporate opposition spending millions of dollars on anti-union campaigns and lobbying the government to weaken labor laws,” Shierholz said. A recent EPI report found that employers spend roughly $340 million annually on “union avoidance” consultants and are charged with breaking the law in 41.5% of union elections. Read the press release »
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Number of workers represented unions remained steady in 2019

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2 Send a test emailThe Trump administration’s proposed rule will worsen segregation


EPI Distinguished Fellow Richard Rothstein discussed his recent New York Times article “The Neighborhoods We Will Not Share” in a blog post. The article explains how the Trump administration is proposing a rule that will make it virtually impossible to challenge many housing policies that reinforce residential racial segregation. Rothstein demonstrated the threat by describing situations where Fair Housing Act violations would be  impossible to prove under the new rule. “This is no small matter. Segregation underlies many of our most serious social problems,” he wrote. Rothstein also explored residential segregation in his book The Color of Law, in which he describes how 20th century federal, state, and local policies—explicitly racial—created, reinforced, and sustained racial boundaries in every metropolitan area in the United States. Read the blog post »

EPI researcher presents at international conference


While attending the International Forum on Migration Statistics in Cairo, Egypt, Director of Immigration Law and Policy Research Daniel Costa presented EPI research on temporary labor migration in the United States. Costa and coauthor, Jennifer Rosenbaum, of Yale Law School, found that 1.42 million guestworkers were employed in the United States during fiscal 2013, either for the entire year or part of it. “Guestworkers are easily exploited because their visas are tied to their employer, making it harder for them to report wage theft or dangerous working conditions or bargain for higher wages,” Costa said. Read the press release »

PREE Workshop: Contemporary Social Issues and the Asian American Experience in the United States


EPI’s Program on Race, Ethnicity and the Economy (PREE), in partnership with the Groundwork Collaborative and the Center for Popular Democracy, is hosting a series of workshops to cultivate constructive engagement on issues related to racial and economic justice among Washington, D.C.-based policy analysts, advocates, and researchers. At the most recent of these workshops, Janelle Wong, Professor of American Studies and Asian American Studies Program at the University of Maryland and Karen Chen, Executive Director of Chinese Progressive Association, discussed the vast diversity of the Asian American community, the implications of stereotypes, and the challenges and opportunities for power building within and across diverse communities. Participation in the workshop series is by invitation only, but recordings of the sessions are available online. Watch the PREE workshop »

From the EPI blog


EPI in the news

EPI Senior Economist Elise Gould is quoted in a CNBC article on her research analyzing the costs and benefits of financing a high-quality early child care and education (ECE) system. | Parents Are Spending $42 Billion On Early Child Care — That’s More Than Federal And State Spending Combined »
EPI Director of Human Resources Shanele Thompson spoke on WHUR 96.3 about salary expectations among African American workers, citing research on gender pay, black–white wage gaps, and Latina workers. | Salary Expectations: When it’s Time to Have That Conversation? »
EPI Director of Research Josh Bivens joined the host of the Marketplace podcast to discuss consumers’ perception of the economy post-recession. | Businesses Are Cutting Back Their Investments »
USA Today published an opinion piece by Bivens arguing that political candidates should focus on inequality in the economic narrative. | Inequality Focus is Not Bad Economics for Candidates »
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