Policy Reports
Faculty conducts applied research to analyze workplaces, industries, worker organizations and employment conditions for private sector clients and in partnership with community organizations.
Utilizing a variety of research techniques including data collection and analysis, survey methods, and oral interviews, LEP contributes to both practical and scholarly understanding of issues facing workers and regional economic trends.
PROJECT FOR MIDDLE CLASS RENEWAL | CRACKING OPEN THE “BLACK BOX”: EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY USE IN ILLINOIS K-12 SCHOOLS
“A 2023 survey of roughly 350 K-12 Illinois public school teachers about the presence of educational
technology in the classroom, revealed insights into how software tools and new learning hardware were
adopted by school districts and how they were integrated into instruction and student assessment.
Online and software applications educational tools have colonized classrooms at all grade levels. School districts have significantly increased their spending on technology.”
THE IMPACTS OF PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENTS ON COSTS, COMPETITION, AND CONTRACTORS IN ILLINOIS | Evidence from Capital Development Board Projects
“Project labor agreements (PLAs) are pre-hire agreements that establish terms and conditions of employment for all crafts on large and complex infrastructure projects. The mutual agreements are between construction owners—such as contractors, developers, governments, or public bodies—and coalitions of labor unions supplying skilled workers for the duration of specific projects. The main purpose of PLAs is to promote predictability, productivity, and efficiency on construction projects. PLAs can also enhance opportunities to bid on public works for previously underrepresented businesses while expanding employer access to new domestic labor supply pools.” Read the report here.
“A new PMCR study commissioned by the United States Department of Labor has revealed that registered apprenticeship programs—career training alternatives to college in which enrollment has doubled over the past decade—dramatically increases the ability of participants to afford basic needs in their communities, with union-affiliated programs delivering the biggest gains across all occupational sectors. Analyzing data on nearly 2.8 million registered apprentices from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Registered Apprenticeship Partners Information Management Data System (RAPIDS) between 2019 and 2022, the report finds that 76 percent of all apprentices earned starting wages of $15 per hour or more. PMCR Director Dr. Robert Bruno notes that study shows that “policies that strengthen collective bargaining rights and encourage greater levels of cooperation between employers and unions would decidedly bolster the U.S. system of registered apprenticeships, improve completion rates, deliver upward economic mobility for more Americans pursuing careers that do not require college degrees.” Read the report here.
RESISTING THE NEXT RECESSION | Measuring Illinois Economic Resiliency
“Despite dire predictions from many economic commentators, a national recession was avoided in 2022, 2023, and 2024. However, the risk of a recession remains elevated in 2025 and beyond. This report explores how Illinois fares on key items that are correlated with a state’s economic resiliency and ability to weather the consequences of a recessionary cycle. Policy changes, revenue improvements, and investments in education, infrastructure, and energy systems have all strengthened the economy and made Illinois more resistant to the next recession. While no state is “recession-proof” or insulated against national forces that trigger economic downturns, Illinois is far better positioned to withstand these forces than at any point in recent history.” Read the report here.
WHAT MAKES WORK MORE THAN JUST A LIVING? Determinants of Employment Quality in Illinois
Our researchers at the University of Illinois Project for Middle Class Renewal (PMCR) have developed a comprehensive approach to identify the factors that determine Employment Quality in Illinois (EQ-IL 2.0). It develops ten dimensions, each with sub-components, including both subjective and objective measures.
Following up on EQ-Il 1.0, we use a large survey collected in 2023 of 5,600 employed in Illinois to identify the contribution of a vast array of worker-reported working conditions toward explaining workers’ own ratings of the quality of their employment.
Read full report here. Permanent link here.
ADVANCING WORKER’S STATE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS | Illinois as a Model
In 2022 Illinois became the fifth state to pass a Constitutional Amendment protecting the rights of workers. Unlike other states, however, Illinois voters passed a ballot measure to create what is arguably the strongest constitutional provisions protecting collective bargaining in the country. PMCR presents two thought pieces on the Amendment.
The first paper, by Professor Matt Finkin, includes an explanation of the need for a statute or constitutional right situating worker collective representation in the political climate that has prevailed in the country since labor-hostile Republican legislatures took control of state houses in 2010. The second is a brief commentary by Dave Amerson, Staff Attorney for the Illinois Police Benevolent and Protective Association. Amerson is not hedging. The Worker Rights Amendment is a game changer or in his opinion, it should be.
Read the full piece here.
ILLINOIS LABOR ACTION REPORT | 2021-2023
Welcome to our first fact sheet documenting strikes by union and nonunion workers across Illinois. These data are derived from the Labor Action Tracker, a project started in 2021 that comprehensively documents strike activity in the United States. As of January 2024, the Labor Action Tracker is a joint project between Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations and the University of Illinois’ School of Labor and Employment Relations.
In this report you will find important information about strikes in Illinois between 2021 and 2023. Workers in Illinois organized 77 strikes involving approximately 25,820 participants from 2021 to 2023. Major findings include an uptick in the number of strikes from 2021 to 2023, with a particularly large increase in the number of workers on strike in 2023. More strikes occurred in the accommodation and food services sector than any other industry, though more workers were on strike in manufacturing than any other industry.
Read the full report here.
THE STATE OF THE UNIONS 2024 | A Profile of Unionization in Chicago, in Illinois, and in the United States
Bipartisan public approval of labor unions remains near historic highs. Data shows that unions boost workers earnings, expand health insurance coverage, and improve access to paid leave. Though the unionization rate fell nationally, the United States added union members in 2023 for the second consecutive year.
The United States added 135,000 new union members in 2023, following a gain of 277,000 union members in 2022.
Illinois and the Chicago area both experienced small declines in unionization in 2023.
Overall employment has grown faster than total union membership, causing unionization rates both nationally and in Illinois to fall to their lowest levels in ten years.
Read the full report here.
EFFECTS OF THE EXPANDED CHILD TAX CREDIT ON EMPLOYMENT OUTCOMES | Evidence from the Midwest and Implications for Illinois
The Child Tax Credit (CTC) underwent a significant transformation under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARP-CTC) from July to December 2021, becoming a near-universal child allowance. The expanded CTC represented a significant milestone in US social policy, included increasing the maximum annual benefit size, making the benefit fully refundable, and converting the annual payment to monthly payments. This expansion provided monthly cash payments to most low-and middle-income households with children, impacting over 61.2 million children in the US (U.S. Department of Treasury, 2021). However, after the ARP-CTC expired, the proposed extension in the Build Back Better Act was not passed in the Senate, leading the CTC to revert to its former state with a maximum benefit of $2,000 paid in a lump sum during the tax refund period. As of 2023, 15 states had implemented CTC each with differing benefit amounts and eligibility criteria. Additionally, approximately 14 other states were exploring the possibility of establishing their own CTC programs (Manzo, Bellisle, & Bruno, 2024).
Read the full report here.
EXAMINING ILLINOIS WAGE GAPS 2018-2022 | Gender and Race Differences Matter
Current wage equity issues exist in Illinois, especially among women, Black, and
Hispanic workers. Policymakers must address gender/racial wage gap issues to enhance the
state’s overall social equity and inclusiveness. To help policymakers achieve this goal, this Project
for Middle Class Renewal (PMCR) report based on 2018-2022 data from the American Community
Survey (ACS) reveals several key findings about Illinois’ wage gaps.
Read full report here.
IMPROVING THE MOTOR VEHICLE FRANCHISE ACT IN ILLINOIS | Impacts of the Multiplier Act on Car Dealerships, Mechanics, and Drivers
In July 2021, Governor JB Pritzker signed House Bill 3940, amending the Motor Vehicle Franchise Act to ensure that auto mechanics at Illinois’ car dealerships earn equal pay for equal work.
The bipartisan law, which is also referred to as the Multiplier Act, passed 85-24 in the House and 58-0 in the Senate. It removed a two-tiered compensation system in which certified technicians earned below-market rates for auto repair work that is covered under warranty. Prior to the law’s passage, the difference between warranty rates and customer-paid retail rates negatively impacted the earnings potential of skilled auto mechanics in Illinois, contributing to high turnover and a shortage of qualified technicians at car dealerships. The Multiplier Act aimed to combat this labor shortage by requiring automakers to fully fund warranty repair services at dealerships. It went into effect on January 1, 2022.
Read full report here.
ILLINOIS NURSING IN CRISIS | A Comprehensive Survey Reveals a Continuing Systemic level of Staffing Shortages, Moral Distress, and Attrition Among Registered Nurses
For over two years, the COVID-19 pandemic stressed nurses and tested their skills and stamina. Preexisting nursing shortages deepened, leading to heightened workloads and severe burnout among nurses. Now, in the aftermath of COVID, a new survey reveals a continuing crisis of nurses’ mental and physical well-being, patient care quality, and the overall public health infrastructure of Illinois. Results from a survey of 385 registered nurses conducted in early October of 2022 to February of 2023, reinforce findings from prior surveys highlighting a distressing situation in Illinois’ healthcare system.
Read full report here.
UNION REPRESENTATION DURING A PANDEMIC | The Case of K-12 School COVID Protocols, Public Health and Individual Autonomy
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound effect on the Illinois educational workforce, creating a complex interplay between public health measures, individual autonomy, and union dynamics. This report, based on a survey of Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) members, highlights these multifaceted responses to vaccine mandates and the intricate position of teachers’ unions during these unprecedented times.
Read full report here.