EARNConversations 2021

We are excited to continue EARNConversations again this year and provide a week-long series of virtual discussions that lift up state and local policy research from across the Network and provide you with the ideas and resources you need to better advocate for racial, gender, and economic justice.

This is a pivotal moment during which we have an opportunity to make transformative investments in our communities and reforms to the standards and supports that for too long have left many working people struggling to get by. EARNConversations will bring together researchers, advocates, and grassroots organizers to strategize how states and localities can act on the lessons of the past year and use an unprecedented supply of resources to build worker power and improve the well-being of working families.

Like last year, registration is free. We hope this will enable a diverse coalition of local, state, and national partners to join in the conversation. Please share the link with key allies and coalition partners. Register for EARNConversations 2021 by Friday, September 17 to receive the full agenda, resources, and session login details. Select the “Full Conference” ticket to receive event updates and meeting login information for all sessions or select tickets for the individual events you wish to join.

When you register for EARNConversations this year, you will gain access to two pre-EARNCon sessions and a week of strategic discussions and workshops starting Monday, September 27 at 3:00 pm ET / 12:00 pm PT. Here is the full list of offerings:

• Virtual Meet Up – Monday, September 20 from 2:00-3:00 pm ET / 11:00 am – 12:00 pm PT. Connect with EARN’s local, state, and national partners and allies for lively discussion and networking.
• EARN 101:  – Wednesday, September 22 from 2:00-3:00 pm ET / 11:00 am – 12:00 pm PT. For new staff to learn about the network, meet key EARN contacts at the Economic Policy Institute, explore EARN’s online data tools and resources, and gain insight into key economic concepts, data sources, and common analytical strategies for EARN work.
• Welcome to EARNConversations: Transformative Investments in Workers, Communities, and Job Quality – Monday, September 27 from 3:00 – 5:00 pm ET / 12:00 – 2:00 pm PT.   In this session, speakers will reflect on critical learnings from the pandemic and discuss how they should be used to shape future policy. We will discuss ways state and local governments can make transformative investments in public infrastructure, high-quality jobs, public health systems, and worker supports using unprecedented levels of Federal support.
• State of the National Economy – Tuesday, September 28 from 1:30 – 3:00 pm ET / 10:30 am – 12:00 pm PT. In this session, EPI economists and researchers share their take on the current economic trends, federal policymaking, and where they think we’re heading in the coming year. Economist AMA (Ask Me Anything) breakouts will enable participants to engage directly in conversation with EPI experts on everything from inflation fears and wage trends to care work standards and policies to achieve racial equity. Bring your questions!
• Economic Recovery & Worker Justice for All: Growing the Economy Through Antiracist Policy – Tuesday, September 28 from 3:30 – 5:00 pm. Every level of government needs to prioritize antiracist policies if we are ever going to effectively confront racial wage, income, wealth, and employment gaps. This session will discuss the need to center people of color in our economic research and policymaking, the particular harm Black and Brown communities suffered in the pandemic, and the state and local policies that can help us achieve a more equitable economy.
• How We Organize, How We Win: State-Level Action to Gain Labor Rights and Build Worker Power – Wednesday, September 29 from 3:00 – 5:00 pm ET / 12:00 – 2:00 pm PT. This session will introduce EARN’s new Worker Power Project and provide a comparative look at how strategic state campaigns to expand workers’ rights to organize and collectively bargain are advancing racial, gender, and economic justice. Participants will come away with a shared understanding of how state labor policies critically shape the well-being of women and workers of color, and current opportunities to advance labor rights in specific sectors.
• Data Bootcamp: Develop important skills and learn key techniques of economic and statistical analysis for use in your work evaluating, designing, and advocating for economic policies that empower workers.
  • Data Bootcamp: Intro to Stata – Thursday, September 30 from 1:30 – 3:00 pm ET / 10:30 am – 12:00 pm PT.
  • Data Bootcamp: Intro to R – Thursday, September 30 from 3:30 – 5:00 pm ET / 12:30 – 2:00 pm PT.
  • Data Bootcamp: Next Steps in Stata – Friday, October 1 from 1:30 – 3:00 pm ET / 10:30 am – 12:00 pm PT.
  • Data Bootcamp: Next Steps in R – Friday, October 1 from 3:30 – 5:00 pm ET / 12:30 – 2:00 pm PT.

For regular updates about EARNConversations, continue checking out the EARNConversations website page . If you have questions, please feel free to direct them to Lea Woods at [email protected]. We hope to see you at EARNConversations 2021 starting this September 27!