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  With January 1, 2017 around the corner, 42 states and municipalities are poised to ring in the New Year with extreme minimum wage increases.  Nineteen states are raising their starter…

Earlier this year, the Albany Times-Union explored the cozy relationship between labor unions and a research outfit at the University of California-Berkeley. The Berkeley team–which is partially funded by and works closely with organized labor–is often called upon when a favorable report is needed on the impacts of a rising…

While the success of minimum wage ballot measures this election cycle might suggest a renaissance in state grassroots passion, a closer look at the financing of the associated ballot committees reveals an out-of-state funding apparatus. Arizona, Maine, and Colorado saw an ocean-sized inflow of out-of-state cash to fund their pro-hike committees…

The debate over whether to raise Maine’s minimum wage by 60 percent (and raise its tipped minimum wage by over 200 percent) is a study in contrasts. On the one side, advocates for the extreme wage increase have been powered by five- and six-figure checks flooding in from out-of-state donors. We previously…

In the pantheon of PAC names, “Mainers for Fair Wages” must rank among the least offensive in American electoral history. However, their benign name hides that which their campaign finance disclosure forms reveal: “Mainers for Fair Wages” is fueled by out-of-state money. EPI analyzed data from the Maine Ethics Commission…

Over Labor Day weekend, calls for an increase in the minimum wage reached a fever pitch. Labor Secretary Thomas Perez joined with labor groups in an attempt to shame politicians that do not support a federal wage hike. Our latest ad, which ran on Thursday in the St. Louis Post Dispatch,…

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is currently deciding whether or not to sign a $15 minimum wage into law, and the Employment Policies Institute today released a new commercial that should help him make his decision. Earlier this year, EPI released an analysis by Drs. David Macpherson of Trinity…

A new study released by the Employment Policies Institute, authored by Dr. Thomas Ahn of the University of Kentucky, finds that Connecticut’s paid sick leave law hasn’t delivered on its proponents’ promise that “everybody benefits.” Instead, the evidence from Connecticut suggests that the mandate actually reduced work hours for…

The Democratic Party Platform calls for a $15 federal minimum wage, and many attendees at last week’s Democratic National Convention extolled its benefits.  In endorsing presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, Senator Bernie Sanders praised her for “understand[ing] that we must raise the minimum wage to a living wage.” But none mentioned its…

No summer is complete without a summer reading list, and SEIU boss David Rolf’s “Fight for $15” is at the top of ours. Alas, while the book has plenty of entertaining rhetorical flourishes, its commitment to factual accuracy on the issue of wage mandates is lacking. In honor of the…