View this article online as a PDF here. A May 6, 2021 article by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy titled “Do Construction Wages Fall after Ending a Prevailing Wage Mandate?” claims that the repeal of Indiana’s prevailing wage law, … Continue reading Blue-Collar Construction Worker Wages Fell After Indiana Repealed Its Prevailing Wage Law
Child Care Burdens Linked with Growing Economic and Career Hardships for Women Chicago: A new survey of more than 1,000 working mothers who were employed in March 2020 finds that child care burdens associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have deepened … Continue reading Survey: Nearly Half of Illinois’ Working Mothers Lost Jobs or Are Working Fewer Hours One Year Into Pandemic
Clean Energy Projects Can Reflect Local Standards of Compensation without Impacting Installation Costs
Pandemic’s “essential” workers face especially steep pay penalties in RTW states
Continue reading “National Study Says So-called “Right to Work” States Have Worse Economic, Health, Social, and Civic Outcomes”
W-2 Equivalent Wages Average $12.30 to $13.62 – and Only 14% of Riders Tip in Chicago Drivers working for transportation network provider (TNP) services – such as Uber, Lyft, and Via – in the City of Chicago have relatively low … Continue reading RELEASE: The Average Uber & Lyft Driver Earns Less than Minimum Wage in Chicago
New study says 1-in-5 construction workers in the Upper Midwest are illegally misclassified as independent contractors or paid off the books La Grange, IL: With public budgets increasingly strained by the COVID-19 pandemic, new research by the Illinois Economic Policy … Continue reading Construction Wage Theft Costs WI, MN, and IL Taxpayers $362 Million Per Year
Union agreements don’t just benefit members, they strengthen communities in era of uncertainty La Grange, IL: An analysis of eight construction industry collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) in the Chicago metropolitan area details how unionization extends benefits far beyond the paychecks … Continue reading Study: Collective Bargaining Boosts Economy and Strengthens Public Budgets
When Prevailing Wages Do Not Apply, RBOs Uphold Local Construction Standards La Grange: An Illinois Economic Policy Institute (ILEPI) study of more than 1,200 public works projects in Illinois and Indiana finds that local responsible bidder ordinances (RBOs) boost bid … Continue reading STUDY: Responsible Bidder Ordinances (RBOs) Boost Competition, Increase Apprenticeship, and Control Costs on Public Projects
No state that has repealed prevailing wage has seen the benefits claimed by politicians La Grange, Illinois: For the third time in as many years, state-level research conducted by the nonpartisan Midwest Economic Policy Institute (MEPI) has shown that the … Continue reading NEW STUDY: Wisconsin Prevailing Wage Repeal Reduced Wages, Exported Jobs and Tax Dollars Out of State, and Failed to Deliver Any Cost Savings
While union workers were more likely to be deemed essential during the pandemic, early data suggests Supreme Court’s Janus decision is having effects on public sector unionization in Illinois La Grange: For the second straight year, the number of American … Continue reading REPORT: Union Density Declining in Illinois, Across United States
We’re listening to the scientists and doctors, because the number one thing is, we don’t want to open the economy and then close it again.
–Illinois Restaurant Association President Sam Toia on May 20, 2020.
Continue reading “There Is Evidence that Illinois’ Re-opening Plan Has Worked — For Now”
In just a few short months, the COVID-19 pandemic has touched every corner of our nation and tragically claimed more than 125,000 American lives, including 7,000 Illinois residents. As case counts keep rising, so do the stakes for the public … Continue reading Understanding the Impact of COVID-19 in Illinois
