Dropping the Ax: Illegal Firings During Union Election Campaigns

This report finds a steep rise in illegal firings of pro-union workers in the 2000s relative to the last half of the 1990s. It uses published data from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to update an index of the probability that a pro-union worker will be fired in the course of a union election campaign. By 2005, pro-union workers involved in union election campaigns faced about a 1.8 percent chance of being illegally fired during the course of the campaign. If we assume that employers target union organizers and activists, and that union organizers and activists make up about 10 percent of pro-union workers, our estimates suggest that almost one-in-five union organizers or activists can expect to be fired as a result of their activities in a union election campaign

Cyclical patterns of employment, utilization and profitability

The interaction between income distribution, accumulation, employment and the utilization of capital is central to macroeconomic models in the `heterodox' tradition. This paper examines the stylized pattern of these variables using US data for the period after 1948. We look at the trends and cycles in individual time series and examine the bivariate cycical patterns among the variables. JEL Categories: E12, E32, O41growth, business cycles, aggregate demand, instability, income distribution, utilization rate, investment function, pricing.

The Impact of the Medicare Drug Benefit on Health Care Spending by Older Households

This report uses data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey from 2004 to 2006 as well as data from the Congressional Budget Office to analyze the savings in prescription drug spending for seniors as a result of the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA). The results show that the 1st income quintile of seniors experienced a fall in the rate of expenditures for prescription drugs and the 2nd income quintile saw a slowing of the rate of increase in expenditures. However, senior households in the middle- and upper-income quintiles saw a rise in expenditures for prescription drugs.medicare, prescription drugs, MMA, senior citizens, health care

Is the U.S. a Good Model for Reducing Social Exclusion in Europe?

This paper finds that the United States fares worse than Europe on a range of social and economic indicators, including most measures of poverty, health, education and crime.

The Decline in African-American Representation in Unions and Manufacturing, 1979-2007

This report details the sharp decline in African-American employment in manufacturing and in African-American unionization rates. The study, which analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey, shows that the share of American workers in unions continues to fall, but unionization rates for African-Americans have declined more sharply than for the rest of the workforce.African-Americans, unions, employment rate

The Decline in African-American Representation in Unions and Auto Manufacturing, 1979-2004

This report examines the unionization rates of African-American workers and finds that the relative representation of African Americans has been steadily declining in unions, manufacturing, and auto manufacturing.

Dropping the Ax: Illegal Firings During Union Election Campaigns, 1951-2007

This report updates an earlier report from January of 2007, which found a steep rise in illegal firings of pro-union workers in the 2000s relative to the last half of the 1990s. It updates the index of the probability that a pro-union worker will be fired in the course of a union election campaign, using published data from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). It also takes into consideration the increase in card-check organizing campaigns that began in the mid-1990s and adjusts the index for this factor. By 2007, pro-union workers involved in union election campaigns faced about a 1.8 percent chance of being illegally fired during the course of the campaign. If we assume that employers target union organizers and activists, and that union organizers and activists make up about 10 percent of pro-union workers, our estimates suggest that almost one-in-five union organizers or activists can expect to be fired as a result of their activities in a union election campaign. Since 2000, illegal firings have marred over one-in-four NLRB-sponsored union elections, reaching 30 percent of elections in 2007.illegal firings, unions, NLRB, EFCA, organizing campaigns

The Decline in African-American Representation in Unions and Manufacturing, 1979-2006

This report details the sharp decline in African-American employment in manufacturing and the even sharper decline in African-American unionization rates. The study, which analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau's Current Population Survey, shows that the share of American workers in unions continues to fall, but unionization rates for African-Americans have declined more sharply than for the rest of the workforce.

Pooling Multiple Case Studies Using Synthetic Controls: An Application to Minimum Wage Policies

We propose a simple, distribution-free method for pooling synthetic control case studies using the mean percentile rank. We also test for heterogeneous treatment effects using the distribution of estimated ranks, which has a known form. We propose a cross-validation based procedure for model selection. Using 29 cases of state minimum wage increases between 1979 and 2013, we find a sizable, positive and statistically significant effect on the average teen wage. We do detect heterogeneity in the wage elasticities, consistent with differential bites in the policy. In contrast, the employment estimates suggest a small constant effect not distinguishable from zero

New Jobs — Cleaner Air: Employment Effects Under Planned Changes to the EPA’s Air Pollution Rules

In this study commissioned by Ceres, James Heintz, Heidi Garrett-Peltier, and Ben Zipperer examine the economic impacts of air pollution regulations forthcoming from the Environmental Protection Agency: the Clean Air Transport Rule governing sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide emissions, and the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Utility Boilers rule, which will set limits for hazardous air pollutants. Focusing on 36 states, the study assesses the potential employment impacts of the transformation of the nation’s energy generation plants to a cleaner, more efficient fleet, through investments in pollution controls and the retirement of outdated plants.