Wages

A Victory for Seattle "For-Hire" Drivers...and for the Next Labor Movement

Posted by Stephen Herzenberg on August 2, 2017 5:25 pm
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One regular theme on this blog is that area-wide unions that lift wages and benefits in industries that cannot relocate are the main way we're going to fix our income distribution and — thanks to the political power of such area-wide unions once they represent tens of millions — fix our democracy.

Yes! Millennials SHOULD Lead the Next Labor Movement

Posted by Stephen Herzenberg on July 14, 2017 10:58 am
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Kashana Cauley, a writer for "The Daily Show With Trevor Noah," published a column yesterday, "Why Millennials Should Lead the Next Labor Movement," to which I say "hallelujah."
 
Since Keystone Research Center began operating in December 1995, we have argued that the main answer to economic inequality is labor unions that fit the industries and jobs of today and the future.

Attacks on Public Sector Workers Hurt Working People and Benefit the Rich

Posted by Stephen Herzenberg on April 22, 2017 1:47 pm
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Republican lawmakers in the Pennsylvania House and Senate continue to promote bills that would reduce the power of public sector unions by undercutting them financially. These bills would make it harder or illegal to collect some current contributions to unions (e.g., from non-members who enjoy higher wages and benefits and workplace representation from public sector unions).

How did the Pennsylvania Labor Market Perform in 2016

Last Friday, The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry released preliminary estimates of December payrolls which show Pennsylvania created 32,000 jobs in the last 12 months. Payroll growth was especially weak in the 2nd half of 2016, which is likely one reason state revenue collections through December are $300 million below projections. Despite this weakness, payrolls still grew more in 2016 than they did in 2012 and 2013 when deep budget cuts weighed on job growth in Pennsylvania.

In Election's Wake: Time to Judge Elected Officials on Whether They Deliver an Economy Less Rigged to Benefit Political Insiders

Posted by Stephen Herzenberg on November 9, 2016 1:08 pm
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What should Pennsylvanians and Americans take away from the Presidential election? While fully digesting Trump's razor-thin victory will take time, national exit polls show that the President-elect won several groups by large margins: white non-college and rural voters, those who view the economy as fair or poor, and those whose family financial situation has worsened.

Advice for the Voting Booth: Consider Who Will Support the Agenda to Raise Pennsylvania's Pay?

The day before the election, Pennsylvanians who go to the polls tomorrow have one last chance to consider the choices they will make.

Since Keystone Research Center is an economic think thank focused on the middle class, our efforts to inform voters have highlighted two issues: how the middle class is doing; and the policies that would benefit the middle class going forward.

An Extraordinary Year of Income Growth in Pennsylvania

Posted by Mark Price on September 16, 2016 10:11 am
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Yesterday the Census Bureau released data from the American Community Survey showing that median household incomes in Pennsylvania rose by just over $2,400 in the last year, strong evidence that an economy nearing full employment generates rising wages for workers. Higher-income families have now surpassed their pre-Great Recession incomes but the lower-income half of families have not.

U.S. Department of Labor Scores a Victory for Working People

Posted by Mark Price on May 19, 2016 2:07 pm
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On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) raised the salary threshold under which working people can earn overtime pay.  Under the new rule, effective December 1 of this year, most salaried workers – including managers and professionals – making less than $47,476 will now be entitled to overtime pay (most charitable non-profits will be unaffected by this rule change - read more here). 

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