Worker, Racial, and Gender Justice

The best way to advance policies to raise living standards for working people is for diverse groups to recognize that they share more in common than not. Since class identity has often been racialized, one of the greatest challenges to rebuilding the economic power of the working class lies in establishing multiracial solidarity on a national scale. It is important to remember that the same special interest groups that fund the opposition to policies such as the minimum wage and paid sick leave, and that support efforts to undermine collective bargaining power, are often the same ones aligned with support of voter suppression tactics that limit voting among people of color, low-income individuals, students, seniors, and people with disabilities. The best way to advance the needed economic policies is for diverse groups to recognize that they share more in common than not and work together to achieve their overlapping and intersecting agendas. Getting to that point requires honesty and a collective reckoning about race, white privilege, and institutional racism, with respect to the costs and benefits to each of us.

Advancing policies that address persistent racial disparities while also tackling class inequality will require abandoning the zero-sum mindset that says one group’s set of issues is totally distinct from and in direct competition with another’s. Overcoming this trap begins with defining a broader view of how all the issues are related. It will take a considerable amount of ongoing effort to shift the dominant narrative from one that divides the masses to one that creates a new world of possibilities that benefits all of us.

Gender Wage Gap

Progress on closing the gap between men’s and women’s wages in the U.S. economy has been glacially slow in recent decades—and gender wage parity has become a top priority for those committed to ensuring the economic security of American women. This priority is absolutely essential. No matter how you cut it, the gender wage gap is real and it matters. That said, pay parity cannot be the only goal for those looking to improve the economic lot of American women.

A better workplace infrastructure means stronger labor standards that not only provide decent wages, but also let workers take care of themselves or family members when they are sick. Policies that help workers, particularly women, balance work and family could meaningfully improve their ability to participate in the labor force. And, this increase in labor force participation would mean more earnings for families and more economic activity for the country.

Income Inequality

We believe that by presenting data on income inequality by state, metro area, and county more states, regions, and cities will be persuaded to enact the bold policies America needs to become, once again, a land of opportunity for all. Read More.

Immigration

While immigration is among the most important issues the country faces, misperceptions persist about fundamental aspects of this crucial topic—such as the size and composition of the immigrant population, as well as how immigration affects the economy and the workforce. Read More.

Preemption

City governments are raising standards for working people—and state legislators are using preemption to lower them back down. Read More.

Criminal Legal System

Too often, criminal justice dysfunction undermines the prospects of thousands of people from successfully reentering the labor force. EARN groups document these problems and suggest policies that can open career pathways and strengthen the economic prospects—and therefore the long-term economic stability—of formerly incarcerated people and their families. Read More.

Publications

Publication

Facts From the Frontline: Getting By in Milwaukee’s Abundant Low Wage Service Jobs

  • March 22, 2023
  • Pablo Aquiles-Sanchez, and Laura Dresser

Over the past 40 years, the union manufacturing jobs that once flourished in Milwaukee have been replaced by low-wage, non-union service jobs, exacerbating racial and economic disparities. Properly addressing the intertwined issues of declining union and manufacturing jobs and growing racial disparity starts with restructuring the city’s service sector. In this report, we take a deep look into the city’s service jobs across multiple industries and occupations. We also hear from workers themselves on what is empowering them and what remains unaddressed on the city’s economic frontlines.

Network Exclusive

Child Care Research Toolkit

The toolkit details and provides links to data resources, research papers, surveys, and policy recommendations on the following topics: Costs and benefits of child care; child care funding; child care participation and barriers to care; child care provider demographics and wages; and child care campaign strategy. This list will be updated with additional resources and as new data become available. Questions or suggestions? Email [email protected].

Last updated March 2023

Publication

Oregon’s semiconductor incentives package should focus on people and place

In creating a package of incentives to attract chip manufacturers, the Oregon legislature should prioritize investments that will deepen the state’s talent pool, promote equity, and strengthen its infrastructure. The drive to create an incentive package stems from the congressional enactment of the CHIPS Act, which pledges tens of billions of dollars to ramp up domestic semiconductor manufacturing. Understandably, Oregon lawmakers are eager to see some of that money flow to Oregon. In putting together a package to attract chip manufacturers intent on applying for the federal funds, lawmakers should resist calls for direct corporate subsidies, which are often ineffective. At the very least, any new corporate subsidy should come with guardrails to limit the risk to Oregon.

Publication

Capital gains drive record breaking inequality

Capital gains constitute one of the main drivers of income inequality, which stands at record levels in Oregon. The term capital gains refers to income generated from the profitable sale of assets such as stocks, bonds, real estate, a business, or even a work of art. Because such assets are highly concentrated in the hands of the rich, the income produced by the sale of those assets flow to the top.