EARN in the South

EARN in the South, launched in 2017, was created in collaboration with southern members of EARN and grassroots organizations that expressed a desire for closer partnerships, greater information and strategy sharing among states in the region, and a shared economic narrative and strategy for policy change that is grounded in, and responsive to, the unique historical and political climate of the South. The collaboration between EARN members and grassroots organizations aims to advance pro-worker economic, racial, and gender justice policies throughout the region through deep cross-state collaboration between EARN members and grassroots organizations led by, representing, and building power with, directly affected communities – particularly women and Black and Brown people. The EARN in the South cohort is made up of the EARN organizations and their grassroots partners in thirteen Southern states: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Read about the Agenda for a Thriving South: A shared vision statement by Southern members of the Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN). 

Alabama Arise, Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, Every Texan, Florida Policy Institute, Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, Invest in Louisiana, Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, OneVoice Mississippi, North Carolina Budget and Tax Center, North Carolina Justice Center, Oklahoma Policy Institute, The Commonwealth Institute, Think Tennessee, and the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy.

Arkansas Public Policy Panel, Advocates for Women’s and Kids’ Equality (AWAKE Tennessee), Barred Business, Greater Birmingham Ministries, Power Coalition for Equity and Justice, Mississippi NAACP, Fight for $15, National Domestic Worker’s Alliance- NC, New Virginia Majority, RaceMatters, and UE Research.

EARN in the South Partnership Fund

Publications

Publication

2024 Fiscal Year Budget for the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning

The Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) administers the Pre-Kindergarten Program, Child Care Services, Nutrition Services and Quality Initiatives. State resources only support the pre-K program and Child Care Services. While the governor did not add resources in his proposed amended fiscal year budget for DECAL, he did propose $498 million for the agency for the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 budget. It includes a marginal increase for Child Care Services and a $2,000 cost-of-living adjustment for state workers and pre-K lead and assistant teachers. The FY 2024 proposal would increase investment in the agency by about $36 million, or about eight percent, more than the approved FY 2023 budget.

Most of the recommended increases come from additional lottery funds to pay for a $2,000 bump in the base salary for pre-K and assistant teachers. If approved, these pay increases would be the second in two years.

Publication

State of Working Louisiana

Louisianans are working at near record numbers, and the state’s unemployment rate continues at or near
record lows. The state’s rapid recovery follows a chaotic period of massive, pandemic-related job losses,
seesawing energy prices and structural changes to the state and national economies.
Beneath this recent good news lies some stark realities: Wages for most workers are flat, and often are
not enough to support a family. There continues to be large wage and income disparities between Blacks
and whites, the young and the old, men and women, the highly educated and those with less education.
Several of the sectors that employ the largest number of Louisianans and have added the most jobs –
retail trade, accommodation and food service, and health care – tend to pay some of the lowest wages and
often offer little room for advancement.
This report is meant to give an overview of Louisiana’s economy through the eyes of its workers. While
the strength of an economy is often measured in gross domestic product, corporate profits or the fate of
the stock market, the most important economic question is how it serves ordinary citizens: Do most
people’s jobs allow them to afford a safe place to live, food for their table, and reliable transportation?
A strong minimum wage, tax credits for working families, new investments in education and training,
and pro-union policies that make it easier for workers to advocate for themselves can all move Louisiana
toward a more equitable economy that works for everyone. But these policy solutions can only take root if
we start by asking the right questions.

Publication

OP-ED: COLLECTIVE BARGAINING FOR TEACHERS RAISES THE BAR FOR ALL OF US

Our public schools and education workforce are in crisis. Despite broad support for public schools and staff, 77 percent of educators considered leaving their job in 2022, up by 19 percent since 2020. A Texas American Federation of Teachers (AFT) survey showed teachers felt forced to leave the profession due to low wages, poor working conditions, and safety concerns. Whether Black, brown or white, it costs all of us when our schools and workforce are underfunded and treated poorly.

Publication

Overview: 2024 Fiscal Year Budget for the Georgia Department of Labor

The governor’s proposed budget for the current amended fiscal year (AFY), AFY 2023, was flat for the Department of Labor (DOL). Spending proposals for fiscal year (FY) 2024 were nearly flat, offering minor spending increases to cover cost-of-living adjustments for DOL employees. FY 2024 provides less than a one percent increase in spending from FY 2023.