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…
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….
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….
Nearly one in six of the nation’s workforce is employed in a job with hours that fluctuate from week to week and incomes that vary paycheck to paycheck. People are confronting tremendous uncertainty about the size of their paycheck, and lack the ability to plan their lives, including childcare, further schooling, medical care and other essential life activities. In this report, we call attention to these issues and offer policy solutions to mitigate the impacts of irregular scheduling….
Many Oregonians are working hard but not getting ahead, and families across Oregon are struggling to make ends meet. At the same time, the country’s largest corporations are reporting record profits. In the “High Cost of Low Wages,” we share new research about Oregon ‘s low-wage workers and document the impact their low-wage jobs have on their lives….
This report examines how state legislatures nationwide have advanced efforts to weaken wages, labor standards, and workplace protections, particularly for non-union workers. It highlights how these initiatives align with broader attacks on unionized employees’ rights. By tracing the spread of similar bills across states, the report reveals that these efforts often stem not from local economic needs, but from a coordinated national agenda driven by corporate interests seeking to reduce labor costs and erode worker protections….
Unfortunately for Oklahomans, so-called “right-to-work” never delivered on its promise. The law was promoted as a strategy for boosting manufacturing employment by convincing out-of-state production facilities to relocate to Oklahoma. Yet the facts show the exact opposite of what right-to-work supporters predicted. Not only has manufacturing employment failed to rise in Oklahoma, but, after increasing steadily the previous ten years, it has fallen steadily since….