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** How it started vs. How it’s going ([link removed])
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A note from EPI’s Kirstyn Flood ([link removed]) : With the launch of EPI’s Unequal Power ([link removed]) project and our viral tweet ([link removed]) on the productivity-pay gap, we’re shining a bright light on the issues of weakened worker power and weak growth in worker pay over the last few decades. The failing economy has illuminated the importance of unions and labor protections, as millions of workers have had to carry out their duties under the threat of the coronavirus.


** Unequal Power: How the assumption of equal bargaining power in the workplace undermines freedom, fairness, and democracy ([link removed])
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EPI’s Unequal Power ([link removed]) project identifies why we need to operate within a framework that recognizes the inherent power inequality in the workplace. The project launched with a key paper ([link removed]) that traces the story of the seeming rejection—but actual resiliency—of the 1905 Supreme Court case Lochner v. New York, which established the premise that employers and workers have equal power in the workplace and in the bargaining process. The paper provides examples of labor doctrines to which this premise has been applied—to workers’ harm—including employment at will, forced arbitration, right-to-work laws, and a worker’s status as an “employee.” Read the Lochner report » ([link removed])
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** Unequal Power: How the assumption of equal bargaining power in the workplace undermines freedom, fairness, and democracy
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** Decades of slow wage growth for telecommunications workers ([link removed])
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The telecommunications workforce is under enormous pressure. Despite four decades of rising skills, the large majority of the workforce has suffered slow wage growth, consistently lagging well behind average productivity growth in the economy as a whole. Today, roughly 45% of telecommunications workers have a four-year college degree or more education, up from 8.3% in the 1970s. Yet a low-wage (10th-percentile) telecommunications worker has seen wages fall 0.3% annually since the 1970s, while the median telecommunications worker wage increased just 0.4% annually, compared with 1.8% annual productivity growth in that period. The downward pressure on wages stems from a variety of sources, but two are central: fissuring and the long-term decline in unionization in the telecom sector. Read the report » ([link removed])


** What teaching is like during the pandemic—and a reminder that listening to teachers is critical to solving the challenges the coronavirus has brought to public education ([link removed])
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This blog post offers a first-person account of what teaching looks like during a pandemic, from the perspective of Ivey Welshans, a Philadelphia teacher who spoke at a recent EPI webinar ([link removed]) . The views of teachers—which often go unheard in policy, research, and the media—should, in the present crisis, be deemed more valuable than ever: Teachers are the closest witnesses of the challenges the pandemic has brought for their students, for themselves, and for their jobs; their expertise and judgement are critically important to solving these challenges as the pandemic continues and in its aftermath. Read the blog post » ([link removed])


** Upcoming webinars
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** Teacher Compensation Penalty ([link removed])
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Public school teachers earn about 20% less in weekly wages than nonteacher college graduates, according to a recent EPI report ([link removed]) . Although teachers on average enjoy better benefits packages than similar workers, the authors find that benefits mitigate only part of the pay penalty. EPI President Thea Lee will moderate a discussion ([link removed]) today at 4 p.m., featuring National Education Association President Becky Pringle; the report’s authors, Lawrence Mishel and Sylvia Allegretto; and Shawna Mott-Wright, teacher and president of the Tulsa Classroom Teachers Association. The speakers will share findings from the report, delve into the history of teacher pay, and assess the impact of the persistent pay inequity. Register for the event »
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** Previous webinar
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** Centering Unequal Workplace Power ([link removed])
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The equal power assumption is false, but pervasive, in employment law, philosophy, political science, and economics, and it greatly disadvantages the vast majority of working people. The Economic Policy Institute’s Unequal Power initiative is a three-year, interdisciplinary initiative that challenges the equal power assumption and identifies why we need to operate within a framework that centers unequal workplace power. EPI hosted the launch of Unequal Power ([link removed]) , featuring presentations and a discussion by leading thinkers, a brief overview of the project, and a dedication of the initiative to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whose dissent in Epic Systems inspired the project ([link removed]) . Watch the video » ([link removed])


** EPI in the news
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EPI Director of Policy Heidi Shierholz was a guest on The Kojo Nnamdi Show ([link removed]) for a conversation about the extra child care burden that has fallen on parents—particularly mothers—during the pandemic. | Burnout, Chaos and Uncertainty: Parenting During the Pandemic ([link removed])
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Yahoo Finance ([link removed]) hosted EPI Research Director Josh Bivens to discuss the economic impact of ending the extra $600 unemployment benefit, which he wrote about in a recent blog post ([link removed]) . | Cutback to $600 Unemployment Insurance Puts a ‘Huge Headwind on Growth’: EPI ([link removed])
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EPI EARN Analyst Julia Wolfe discussed the lack of safety protections for domestic workers on Marketplace ([link removed]) , citing EPI’s chartbook ([link removed]) on domestic workers. | Domestic Workers Still Don’t Have Safety Protections on the Job ([link removed])
Follow EPI on Instagram ([link removed])


** What we’re reading
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How Quickly Will Your Absentee Vote Be Counted? A State-by-State Timeline ([link removed])

A lot of voters are asking these questions right now: How quickly will ballots be counted in the presidential election? Which states will have results—and possibly a winner—on election night? Read more » ([link removed])

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Thousands of Amazon workers demand time off to vote ([link removed])

Thousands of Amazon tech workers Tuesday signed an internal petition urging the company to offer paid time off for its workforce to vote on or before Election Day. Read more » ([link removed])

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Fighting unequal power by strengthening worker power
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