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** Employers are charged with violating federal law in four out of every 10 union elections ([link removed])
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In a comprehensive analysis of employer conduct in union elections, researchers at EPI and the University of Oregon find that employers are charged with violating federal law in 41.5% of all union election campaigns and illegally firing workers in nearly 20% of all elections. Beyond this, employers spend roughly $340 million annually on “union avoidance” consultants to help them stave off union elections. Senator Bernie Sanders ([link removed]) and Representative Ilhan Omar ([link removed]) called attention to the report’s findings in a pair of tweets that were widely shared. Read the report » ([link removed])
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** Employers are charged with violating federal law in four out of every 10 union elections
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** Inequality in America extends to workers’ retirement savings ([link removed])
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Nearly half of U.S. families have no retirement savings, according to new research ([link removed]) from EPI’s Monique Morrissey. Morrissey explains that the shift from pension plans to 401(k)s has shifted the responsibility of saving for retirement onto workers and increased inequities in retirement preparedness. In a companion report ([link removed]) , Morrissey outlines EPI’s recommendations to boost retirement security for America’s workers, which include expanding Social Security, addressing gaps in the 401(k) system by creating Guaranteed Retirement Accounts (GRAs), and protecting traditional pensions. Read the report ([link removed]) and recommendations » ([link removed])


** At least 36 million workers are required to sign noncompete agreements ([link removed])
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Noncompete agreements ban workers at one company from working for, or starting, a competing business within a certain period of time after leaving a job. New research ([link removed]) by EPI’s Heidi Shierholz and Cornell University’s Alexander J.S. Colvin finds that noncompete agreements are on the rise for low-wage and high-wage workers alike, with more than a quarter of private-sector workers required to sign noncompetes. These restrictive agreements are harmful to wages and to competition, and part of a growing trend of employers requiring workers to sign away their rights. Read the report » ([link removed])


** The Trump tax act overwhelmingly benefited the rich and corporations ([link removed])
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On the heels of the second anniversary of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), a joint report ([link removed]) from Josh Bivens and Hunter Blair at EPI and Maggie Corser at the Center for Popular Democracy takes a deep dive into the latest evidence on who benefited from the tax overhaul. The TCJA did not increase wages for working people, failed to spur business investments, decreased corporate tax revenues, and boosted stock buybacks in its wake, according to the report and an accompanying blog post ([link removed]) by Hunter Blair. Read the report » ([link removed])


** New State of Working America podcast episodes focus on intersection of race and economics ([link removed])
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The latest episode ([link removed]) of EPI’s State of Working America podcast ([link removed]) features Tanya Wallace-Gobern, director of the National Black Worker Center Project, who discusses how black Americans’ struggle for civil rights is at the core of the country’s democratic advancement. In the previous episode (the third episode ([link removed]) of Season 2), Damion Shade of the Oklahoma Policy Institute talks about the prospects for undoing the damage from America’s racist and punitive prison system. Nina Banks, economics professor at Bucknell University and board member at EPI, details her groundbreaking work on the unpaid collective labor of women of color in the second episode ([link removed]) of Season 2. Listen to the podcasts »
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** From the EPI blog
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** EPI in the news
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CBS This Morning ([link removed]) cited recent EPI research on retirement savings ([link removed]) , as analysts discussed the struggles Americans face saving for retirement. | How to Catch Up on Your Retirement Savings » ([link removed])
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A recent episode of The President’s Inbox ([link removed]) podcast featured EPI President Thea Lee ([link removed]) discussing the ways U.S. trade policy has favored corporate interests over America’s workers. The podcast is produced by the Council on Foreign Relations. | The President’s Inbox: Should the United States Rethink Its Trade Policy? » ([link removed])
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EPI Director of Government Affairs Celine McNicholas is quoted throughout Vice’s series on union busting at Google ([link removed]) and other tech companies ([link removed]) , which cited EPI’s research ([link removed]) on employer opposition to union campaigns. “Tech companies have traditionally set themselves aside as a cutting-edge employers. But what you’re seeing increasingly is that they behave the same way as Walmarts and Targets,” said McNicholas. | Google Fired an Engineer Who Wrote Code Telling Googlers They Had a Right to Organize » ([link removed])
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CNN ([link removed]) cited an EPI report ([link removed]) and blog post ([link removed]) on the growing use of noncompetes in a how-to guide for employees on what to do if they’re asked to sign an agreement. | What to Do if You’re Asked to Sign a Non-Compete Agreement » ([link removed])
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A tweet from EPI Director of Policy Heidi Shierholz was highlighted in a Washington Post ([link removed]) article on the labor market. “From late 2017 through late 2018, it looked like wage growth was picking up. That ended. Wage growth has been backsliding this year,” Shierholz tweeted. | This Is the Hottest Job Market Since the 1990s. Why Aren’t Wages Growing Faster? » ([link removed])
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EPI News: Uncovering union busting, retirement inequality and other trends that hurt workers
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