The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted economic and educational systems. The economic downturn caused by the pandemic has had substantial and potentially long-term implications for women, with their labor force participation rate falling to its lowest level in three decades. Additionally, following the advice of public health experts, Illinois restricted face-to-face activities and closed in-person schools […]
Following the severe economic recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Illinois is in urgent need of good jobs that provide family-supporting incomes and ensure access to quality health care coverage. One essential industry that has consistently offered pathways into good, middle-class careers is construction– primarily because it is highly unionized with strong collective bargaining agreements […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a stark reminder that working people keep Illinois’ economy functioning. The workers propping up the economy were largely hourly employees who are protected most by union representation. As Illinois recovers from unprecedented job losses, the labor movement will be essential in protecting and rebuilding the state’s middle class. As Illinois […]
While a majority of Republicans and Democrats support paid family leave, the United States is the only developed country that does not guarantee some form of paid family leave for new parents. While the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provides 12 weeks of job protection for mothers to care for newborns, the leave is […]
More than two million children attend over 3,800 public schools in 852 local school districts across Illinois. Nearly all of these districts have collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) that determine the terms and conditions of employment. This study evaluates 543 collective bargaining agreements across Illinois, representing nearly two-thirds of all school district CBAs. While labor agreements […]
Prevailing wage laws establish a local wage floor for different types of skilled construction work on public construction projects. This study examines links between prevailing wage laws and homeownership, housing wealth, and property tax revenues for these workers and their communities. By stabilizing the wage floor and supporting apprenticeship programs, state prevailing wage laws promote ladders […]
Almost one half of all public sector workers are unionized in Minnesota and over half of all public sector workers are unionized in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. Meanwhile, slightly more than one-third of all public sector workers are unionized across the nation. In comparison, fewer than one-in-ten (8.0 percent) Minnesotans who work in the […]