Adjusting minimum wages for inflation is a necessary yet modest step toward protecting affordability for low-wage workers: The case of California’s Fast Food Council In 2024, the California Fast Food Council—composed of worker, industry, and government representatives—instituted a $20 minimum wage for workers at large chain fast-food restaurants. The Council is al...

NEW from @epi.org's @benzipperer.org and @joshbivens-econ.bsky.social: adjusting minimum wages for inflation is a necessary and modest step to protect affordability for low wage workers, including in California’s fast food industry. #FastFoodCouncil

irle.berkeley.edu/publications...

4 Things To Know About Sectoral Bargaining Sectoral bargaining strengthens worker voice, boosts pay and benefits, and supports a stronger middle class—and more of it can happen with the right policy changes.

www.americanprogress.org/article/4-th...

How Union Bargaining Can Buoy Affordability A true affordability agenda should raise wages. Unions and collective bargaining can help achieve that.

The affordability debate is overlooking a key factor: higher wages. Union bargaining is the way to get there, @jaredb-econ.bsky.social and I argue for @theprogressivemag.bsky.social: tinyurl.com/mr2n8pas

Director, Economic Analysis American Progress has an immediate opening for a Director of Economic Analysis. The Director will lead American Progress’ work on economic analysis, which supports a wide range of analytical and polic...

www.americanprogress.org/job/director...

New report with Jared Bernstein, chair of former President Biden’s CEA, suggests that if we promoted sectoral bargaining, about 41 million workers would be earning the higher wages and benefits of a union contract—a sharp spike from our current 16 million.

Modeling the Impact of Sectoral Bargaining for U.S. Workers New statistical modeling suggests that sectoral bargaining could more than double collective bargaining coverage in the United States and generate big gains in union density.

www.americanprogress.org/article/mode...

The Democracy-Prosperity Link How Donald Trump’s anti-democratic actions threaten America’s long-term prosperity.

One of several ways that Trump is harming the economy democracyjournal.org/arguments/th...

2025 Corruption Perceptions Index - Explore United States’s results How does United States measure up in the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index?

Corruption is getting worse in the U.S. - latest Transparency International report shows
www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2025/...

Working-Class Voters Shifted Slightly Toward Democrats in the 2025 Gubernatorial Elections Working-class shifts in the 2025 gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey were led by nonwhite voters and suggest that economic issues can move some voters.

www.americanprogress.org/article/work...

In Italy, worker's actions were critical -- as was government support for bargaining and the existence of a sectoral agreement. In Spain, strikes were clearly important. I wonder what role government support and sectoral bargaining played. The article suggests they may also have been important.

Lessons From Italian Unions’ Historic Agreement With Amazon Facilitated by worker activism, supportive policy, and a sectoral bargaining system, unions in Italy signed a collective bargaining agreement with Amazon, offering optimism for U.S. workers seeking to...

I need to learn more about this success, but it reminds me of Italian workers getting a collective bargaining agreement with Amazon www.americanprogressaction.org/article/less...

Striking Spanish Workers Just Showed That Amazon Is Not Invincible The workers used creative, disruptive tactics to win. Their victory holds lessons for the global labor movement.

truthout.org/articles/str...

The Democracy-Prosperity Link How Donald Trump’s anti-democratic actions threaten America’s long-term prosperity.

democracyjournal.org/arguments/th...

Utah repeals ban on collective bargaining for teachers, firefighters and police unions Utah has repealed a collective bargaining ban that prevented labor unions serving teachers, firefighters, police and other public employees from negotiating on behalf of their workers.

Utah has repealed a law that barred public unions from negotiating on behalf of their members.

Republican Gov. Spencer Cox approved the rollback of one of the most anti-union laws in the country after thousands of union members rallied outside his office for a week.

apnews.com/article/utah...

Year 1 of the Second Trump Administration Made the Working Class Weaker The Trump administration’s actions are shrinking jobs, slowing wage growth, and raising living costs for the working class.

www.americanprogress.org/article/year...

State and Local Policymakers Can Raise Standards and Build Power for Workers States and cities can advance these 21 ideas in 2026 to build worker power, support unionized workers, and uphold workforce stability and standards.

www.americanprogress.org/article/stat...

Here's the key figure

Why Gen Z Men Are the Most Pro-Union Generation in History: Unions Build Stable Finances Gen Z men support unions more strongly than any other group, both today and when older generations were their age. Looking at the gains from union membership for young men, it’s easy to understand why...

www.americanprogress.org/article/why-...

Trump's approval rating among working class now underwater by 28 points A new poll found that people earning under $50,000 were more likely to report dissatisfaction with the president's job performance.

www.newsweek.com/donald-trump...

> Between 1995 and 2021 (our sample period), there were a total of 47 individuals who have been a congressional leader; 20 of whom made stock trades both before and after ascension to leadership.

Union Trigger Laws 101: How States Can Protect Workers if Federal Labor Law Falls Trump and conservative courts are threatening to end Americans’ right to unionize. Here is how cities and states can prepare if the National Labor Relations Act is struck down or ceases to be enforced...

www.americanprogress.org/article/unio...

www.americanprogress.org/article/the-...

Everybody likes unions—policymakers shouldn't stand in the way of our right to organize.

Everybody Likes Unions At a time when Americans cannot agree on many things, unions have achieved popularity across nearly every age group regardless of partisan affiliation or education.

New analysis shows everybody likes unions (except Republican Boomers)

www.americanprogress.org/article/ever...

Clear language leads to clear thought which leads to better political debate. Say what you mean.

Politics and the English Language | The Orwell Foundation "Political language... is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind."

I have been thinking a lot about George Orwell's classic essay arguing that fuzzy language enables the defense of the indefensible. Headlines in today's papers are a case in point: "Donald Trump Jr. Pitches ‘Patriotic Capitalism’ at Saudi Summit"
www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-f...

Unemployment insurance for striking workers: A low-cost policy that’s good for workers and state economies Lawmakers across the country are increasingly recognizing that making striking workers eligible for unemployment insurance (UI) is good for workers and good economics.

And @rrepnnad.bsky.social studied the practical (and positive) impact of unemployment insurance for striking workers in this report

655: Number of Starbucks stores where workers have voted to unionize
609: Days since Starbucks and Starbucks Workers United (SBWU) announced on February 27, 2024 a path forward
1,000+: Unfair labor practice charges that SBWU has alleged

The Fight to Unionize Starbucks by the Numbers Thousands of unionized Starbucks workers across the country are ramping up pressure on the corporation to finalize a first contract that could boost take home pay, hours, benefits, and working conditi...

www.americanprogress.org/article/the-...