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Union approval hits highest point since 1965 

A Gallup poll released last week showed that nearly 70% of Americans approve of unions, an approval rate not seen since 1965. 

For too long, workers have faced inequality and anti-worker dynamics on the job, which were exacerbated by the pandemic. As a result, workers see “unions as critical to fixing our nation’s broken workplace—where most workers have little power or agency at work.” | Read the blog

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Americans' approval rate of unions highest in nearly 60 years

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What we’re talking about

Tying minimum-wage increases to inflation, as 12 states do, will lift up low-wage workers and their families across the country 

The August Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, which will be released later this month, are expected to show continued rising prices over the past year. Fortunately, 12 states and the District of Columbia index their minimum wage to the CPI, automatically adjusting the minimum wage annually to protect low-wage workers and their families from rising costs. 

Workers earning the federal minimum wage of $7.25, which has remained unchanged since 2009, are being paid a wage worth less, after inflation, than at any time in the last 66 years.  As elevated inflation makes it harder for many workers to make ends meet, “increasing the minimum wage is sound policy that supports working families”, say EPI’s Dave Kamper and Sebastien Hickey. |  Read the blog 

Jobs report doesn’t show signs of recession as labor market remains strong in August 

With 315,000 jobs added in August, last Friday’s jobs report shows no sign of a recession as August continued the streak of strong job growth. Learn more and go in-depth on the report with EPI’s Heidi Shierholz and Elise Gould. | Read Shierholz’s Twitter thread | Read Gould’s Twitter thread | Read the blog  

Events

Join us for EARNCon (Sept. 28–30) in Cleveland, Ohio

EPI’s Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN) invites you to join us for EARNCon 2022. EARN is a nationwide network of nearly 60 organizations—representing 43 states and the District of Columbia—seeking to advance an inclusive, worker-centered economy through state and local policy change and rigorous research.

This year’s EARNCon highlights the wave of unionization and labor organizing throughout the country and what it means for state and local policymaking. Check out the slate of workshops on our website and register through Eventbrite to join us for EARNCon! 

What we’re reading 

American workers are burned out and tired. There's a solution: unions 

As a connoisseur of the journalistic art of spinning out fake trends that exist solely to spark heated reactions from readers on the internet, I appreciate the invention of “quiet quitting”. Read the article 

The art of unions

Union art has conveyed the labor movement's message through posters, buttons, clothing and beyond — often showing pride in a trade, or advocating for specific demands like fair wages or safety measures. Read the article 

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Solidarity now! Americans' approval of unions highest in nearly 60 years 
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