A new report from the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign finds that a $15 minimum wage would boost earnings for working-class families in every area of the state.
Continue reading “A $15 Minimum Wage Would Boost Worker Earnings in All Regions of Illinois”
The Illinois Economic Policy Institute and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have jointly released a one-page fact sheet on raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour in Illinois.
La Grange: A $15 minimum wage would increase paychecks for low-income workers and have the largest impacts on communities outside of the Chicago region, according to a new study from the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and Project for Middle Class Renewal at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Illinois has not experienced the same attacks on worker rights and collective bargaining as many neighboring states. While some of Illinois’ elected officials have attempted to enact so-called “right-to-work” zones in Illinois and have eliminated project labor agreements (PLAs) on state … Continue reading Unions Boost Wages by 11% in Illinois
How might the U.S. labor movement respond to the Supreme Court striking down Abood and ruling against fair share fees in Janus? ILEPI’s Frank Manzo IV takes a look.
Continue reading “The Supreme Court Ruled Against Public Sector Workers. Now What?”
“Shoring up the middle means making bad jobs better, keeping good jobs good, and supporting the growth of the economy as a whole.” Continue reading “University of Illinois Report Takes the Pulse of Illinois’ Shrinking Middle Class”
A new report finds that union decline has resulted in economic redistribution from workers to owners.
Continue reading “How the Decline of Unions Has Caused Inequality to Rise in Each Midwest State”
A new study released today finds that organized labor still plays a role in Wisconsin’s economy, despite a decline of approximately 136,000 union members over the past decade. The study, The State … Source: The State of Wisconsin’s Unions in … Continue reading The State of Wisconsin’s Unions in 2016
The majority of high-wage, low-inequality jobs in Illinois are in construction occupations, law enforcement careers, and firefighting positions. Politically-driven efforts to repeal the state’s prevailing wage law or to weaken public sector unions would decimate a majority of the middle-class occupations that remain for blue-collar workers in the state.
Inequality is on the rise. A recent ILEPI Economic Commentary shows Illinois’ growing inequality in two simple graphs. In Illinois, The Top 10 Percent and the Top 1 Percent of workers have experienced substantial increases in hourly earnings since 1985. Over … Continue reading Rising Wage Inequality in Illinois in 2 Graphs
The Illinois Update 