Earlier this month, a national nonprofit that studies the paid caregiving workforce ranked states on how they support these critical workers. Arizona is somewhere in the middle.There is some good news according to Lina Stepick who is with PHI, an advocacy group for direct care workers and their clients."Arizona does have things like a state minimum wage that's higher than the
The Community Development team fielded a survey targeting professionals in the western United States from a broad range of sectors whose work on community development‒related issues impacts the personal and economic well-being of low-income communities and communities of color. Over 250 respondents shared their perceptions of how climate-related risks may be affecting the communities they serve and their organizations’ work. This research brief offers an analysis of the survey responses.
By Don McIntosh
Oregon’s prevailing wage law results in 8% higher wages for workers on public construction projects, but doesn’t increase the cost of the projects, according to a new study co-authored by Frank Manzo of the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and Lina Stepick of the University of Oregon Labor Education and Research Center (LERC). That might seem counter-intuitive, until you get to the likely explanations.
First, the labor cost for the hourly construction workers covered by the law is a small share of total project cost about 25% in Oregon, according to the study authors. Materials, equipment, fuel, rental costs, management salaries, taxes, licenses, etc. make up the other 75%. So even if craft workers get paid 10% more, that equates to 2.5% of project cost.