Category: Publications

Online Charter Schools

A girl sits at her desk hand writing while looking at a laptop.

Online charter schools have grown especially rapidly since the COVID-19 pandemic.  While online options are important for some students, online charter schools provide an inferior quality of education. Yet despite having much lower costs, such schools generally receive the same dollars per student in public funding – or nearly the same – as do traditional schools. All told, the report estimates that Californians waste $600 million per year by overpaying for the costs of online charter education….

Prevailing Wage Report

Construction worker on steel beam

This study by the Labor Education and Research Center (LERC) and the Illinois Economic Policy Institute highlights the positive effects of Oregon’s Prevailing Wage Rate law. The research shows that the law does not raise construction project costs, but it does enhance bid competition, increase the number of contracts awarded to local firms, and improve both wages and access to health insurance for workers…

Climate Action and Union Jobs

Wind turbine and sunset

States are tackling climate change through diverse strategies like renewable energy goals and climate action plans, emphasizing the need for collaboration among environmental advocates, policymakers, and labor groups. Organizations such as the BlueGreen Alliance are fostering connections between labor unions and climate initiatives to ensure support for policies that include job creation, worker organizing, and transition assistance….

Persistent Unpredictability

Food processing worker

In 2017, Oregon passed the first statewide legislation (SB 828) to regulate unpredictable scheduling practices in retail, food service, and hospitality. This study reveals persistent scheduling instability among these workers, as employers continue to make last-minute changes and circumvent predictability pay requirements….

Fear at work: How employers threaten, intimidate, and harass

Corporate navigation sign for Kumho tires in Georgia

Although most American workers want unions, fewer than 1% achieve this due to weak federal labor laws. These laws permit employer intimidation tactics—like threats of job loss and forced anti-union messaging—that would be illegal in political elections. A $340 million “union avoidance” industry helps employers exploit these loopholes. The report highlights unionization efforts at a Georgia tire plant and a Texas streaming company, showing how coercion undermines workers’ rights to collective bargaining….

Federal Labor Law and Union Elections

Screen shot of report cover

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of employer conduct in union representation elections supervised by the NLRB. Using data obtained through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, we find that unfair labor practice (ULP) charges were filed against employers in four out of ten union representation elections that took place in 2016 and 2017. In addition to the analysis of employer conduct in union representation elections, the report provides information on the “union avoidance” industry….

The Union Advantage

This report finds that unions in Oregon raise wages, improve health and pension benefits, reduce overall income inequality, and significantly decrease racial and gender inequalities. Oregon unions also make it much less likely that workers will need to rely on public benefits such as food stamps or welfare….

The Care Revolution

The Care Revolution tells the inspiring story of the first wave of organizing by Oregon’s home care workers. Grounded in extensive interviews with workers, the film explains how union representation has transformed the lives of caregivers and improved the quality of care for the people they serve….

The Cost of Charter Schools

Students walking into school.

This analysis reveals that charter school expansion caused major fiscal shortfalls in three California districts in 2016–17. When students transfer to charter schools, funding follows them, but districts retain fixed costs, forcing cuts to vital services. The California Charter School Act prevents school boards from considering financial impact when approving new charters. This report urges empowering officials to factor in fiscal and educational consequences before authorizing charter schools….

Spending Blind

Child reading a book

California’s charter school sector has grown over 600% in two decades, fueled by $2.5 billion in public funding for facilities. Despite ambitious goals, this report finds that funding decisions lack alignment with educational priorities. Schools are often built in areas that don’t need them and without regard for innovation or performance. The analysis urges policymakers to reconsider how facility funds are allocated to ensure they support high-quality, needed, and strategically placed educational options….