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

New Americans on Long Island: A Vital Fifth of the Economy

There are 526,000 immigrants living on Long Island, making up 18 percent of the region’s population and 20 percent of the economic output of Long Islanders. Half of immigrants overall (51 percent) work in white-collar jobs, the study found, and the large majority (61 percent) live in families earning over $80,000 a year. Immigrants represent significant numbers of the people in more highly paid jobs such as professionals (23 percent), technicians (24 percent), and registered nurses pharmacists and health therapists (23 percent), as well as significant numbers in less well-paid jobs such as construction laborers (32 percent), food preparation services workers (33 percent), and sales clerks and cashiers (21 percent).

The report also includes tabulations of a Migration Policy Institute analysis estimating the number of unauthorized immigrants on Long Island to be 98,000—48,000 in Nassau and 50,000 in Suffolk. The analysis shows that a quarter of unauthorized immigrants work in construction and the other three quarters work in jobs from food services to retail to child care and more.

This report updates our 2011 report, New Americans on Long Island: A Vital Sixth of the Economy.

Women and Economic Security in Mississippi: A Data Brief

  • May 27, 2015
  • Staff Report

Across the United States, many women face disparities in wages and employment while providing for their families and balancing child care and other family responsibilities. The growing number of families headed by single mothers exacerbates these issues. In Mississippi, the prevalence of poverty, births to unmarried parents, and the interaction between gender and race disparities makes these challenges particularly detrimental to the state’s families. Attention is being paid on a national level to the gender pay gap and paid family leave. This data brief focuses on the status of women and economic security in Mississippi to inform policy development that addresses the unique challenges of women and families in Mississippi.

The Economic Contributions of Immigrants in Washington State

During this year’s legislative session, lawmakers have an opportunity to enhance the already important contributions immigrants make in our state. As the Legislature considers funding for schools, health care and other services, along with other policies, it is important to understand how immigrants play a major role in Washington state’s economy and society.

Immigrants are an important part of the fabric of our society, making our state more culturally rich and economically vibrant. Like so many new Washingtonians before them, they come from all regions of the world in search of opportunity.

The majority of immigrants in our state – who represent one in six workers (17 percent) – are from Mexico, the Philippines, Canada, Vietnam and Korea. (1) Immigrants – whether naturalized citizens, lawfully present, or undocumented – play a significant and growing role in Washington state’s economy. As 13 percent of the total Washington state population, immigrants’ share of total annual economic output is 14 percent.

Bringing Vitality to Mainstreet: How Immigrant Small Businesses Help Local Economies Grow

Immigrants are a little more likely to own businesses than their U.S.-born counterparts, but they are a lot more likely to own Main Street businesses such as grocery stores, restaurants, and barber shops, finds a new study released today by the Fiscal Policy Institute and Americas Society/Council of the Americas. Immigrants make up 16 percent of the labor force and 18 percent of business owners, but 28 percent of Main Street businesses (defined as retail, food services and accommodation, and neighborhood services such as nail salons, beauty shops, and gas stations).

“These are types of businesses that don’t often get a lot of attention from economic development officials. But anyone thinking about economic growth should pay attention: these businesses play a big role in neighborhood revitalization, and they can be an important economic step up for entrepreneurs,” says David Dyssegaard Kallick, director of the Immigration Research Initiative at the Fiscal Policy Institute and author of the report.

The report includes data on the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the country, and focuses in depth on three case studies that hone in on ways state and local government can help make the most of of immigrant entrepreneurship: Philadelphia, Minneapolis-St. Paul, and Nashville.