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, Florida Policy Institute, Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, Louisiana Budget Project, OneVoice Mississippi, North Carolina Budget and Tax Center, North Carolina Justice Center, Oklahoma Policy Institute, Every Texan, The Commonwealth Institute, Think Tennessee, 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

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.

Publication

As Medicaid Unwinding Draws Near, Legislators Should Invest in DFCS Staff to Help Keep Eligible Georgians from Losing Health Coverage

The Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) eligibility workers, some of whom process Medicaid cases and who continue to have high turnover, experienced a drop in their pay a few months before the unprecedented challenge of redetermining more than two million people’s Medicaid eligibility. Pay is a key factor in not just recruiting but also in retaining more staff, which would reduce workloads, strengthen morale and improve the accuracy of eligibility determinations made through DFCS. If the state does not boost pay to address the retention problem at the agency, the state will remain in a vicious cycle of hiring new employees while other staff quit. The instability at DFCS increases the likelihood that many Georgians may lose health coverage because of human error. When people unnecessarily lose Medicaid and then must re-apply for the program, it is detrimental to the state’s bottom line. This boom-and-bust cycle of enrollment increases state administrative costs and creates unpredictable Medicaid expenditures.[1] A failure by the state to invest in its workers also means lower quality customer service for families trying to access other economic supports.

Publication

Low Pay and High Turnover in Texas State Agencies and Universities Cost Us All

Every Texan and the Texas State Employees Union (TSEU) released a report based on a survey of 217 state employees detailing the conditions in Texas state agencies with historically high turnover. The report, “Low Pay and High Turnover in Texas State Agencies and Universities Cost Us All,” provides insight into the devastating consequences of low pay and high turnover for Texas state employees and those they serve.

Key report findings include:

  • 61% of survey respondents report not receiving a wage increase over the past year, despite historically high levels of inflation. The state of Texas has not provided an across-the-board pay increase to the entire state workforce since 2014;
  • 56% of survey respondents report considering leaving their job for higher compensation;
  • 73% of survey respondents report that staffing levels in their department over the past year have been historically low;
  • 71% of survey respondents report that low staffing has affected their agency’s ability to provide clients/facilities/families with quality services;
  • Survey respondents report increased workloads as agencies struggle to recruit and retain workers;
  • State employees report concerns that rising workloads result in a decline in the quality of services provided to everyday Texans;
  • State employees surveyed report emotional stress and in some cases physical harm.

Texas State Employees Union and Every Texan urge the Legislature to begin to address some of the problems detailed in the report by:

  • passing HB 202 to guarantee every state employee a salary increase that appropriately addresses decades-long wage stagnation coupled with current inflation.
  • passing HB 830 to provide an annual cost of living adjustment to the state pension program and ensure retirement benefits keep pace with current-day costs.

The most powerful elected officials in our state prove that they favor wealthy corporations over everyday Texans by rigging the system against working families of all backgrounds. These same officials give billion-dollar tax giveaways to their friends in high places, while not doing their job to fund or responsibly manage the public goods and services that benefit us all, like public parks, libraries, schools, highways, and more. It’s time for Texas’ elected officials to invest in our common good.