Blog

"Student-athletes" and workers' comp

Football players at Northwestern University have filed a petition to unionize. According to ESPN, the approval process could take years. Here’s the part of the story that interested me the most: Northwestern is expected to oppose the action on the grounds athletes are not employees, and the NCAA, the trade association representing the athletic interests […]

2013 union membership in Washington

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its 2013 union membership report on Friday. The total union membership rate nationally was 11.3 percent (no change since 2012). The public-sector union membership rate was 35.3 percent and the private-sector rate was 6.7 percent. Washington’s total union membership rate was 18.9 percent (4th highest in the country). Additionally, […]

Inequality and the minimum wage – two different issues – and one just became more complicated

For reasons not entirely clear, discussion of increasing the minimum wage have been closely linked with expressions of concern over income inequality. In Seattle, for example, Mayor Ed Murray’s task force looking into the $15 minimum wage is called the Income Inequality Advisory Committee. Rep. Farrell’s statement in support of a $12 minimum wage included the […]

Defined benefit pensions are great for employees — until they aren't

The 2013 Employee Benefits Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that of all private sector employees, 19 percent have access to a defined benefit pension and 59 percent have access to a defined contribution retirement plan. Conversely, of all state and local government workers, 83 percent have access to a defined benefit pension, […]

Minimum wage talks begin in Olympia … won't end there

In today’s column I write that the governor’s proposed minimum wage increase is intended as a key part of the 2014 campaign season. Austin Jenkins has more at the NW News Network, where he writes that Democrats may have a proposal out as early as this week. Republicans are countering with their own plans to […]

Raising the minimum wage doesn't reduce income inequality – economic growth does

If income inequality is a problem – and there’s no consensus that it is (see here and here) – economic growth is the best way to reduce the disparities. Scott Winship, whose work on this issue has been outstanding, writes at e21: … it is the fragility of the economy that lies behind concerns over […]

Gov's State of the State: Increase minimum wage, boost education spending, fund transportation package

In his State of the State address yesterday, Gov. Inslee introduced themes likely to resonate through the November elections.  Whether they will gain bipartisan  approval in the divided Legislature is less probable. The headlines: a minimum wage increase, $200 million in new education funding (including the oft-suspended teacher COLA) paid for with unspecified tax increases, […]

Activists accelerate push for $15 minimum wage. Economists identify consequences.

Seattle Mayor Ed Murray has named a 23-member task force to make recommendations on a $15 minimum wage for the city. It’s a broad group, with representatives from business and labor, raising speculation that a clean recommendation may be out of reach. Murray acknowledged that consensus between labor and Seattle’s business elite might be difficult […]

New brief: The Best Interests of Washington's Workers' Compensation System

Washington continues to have the nation’s highest workers’ compensation benefits, which are accompanied by high costs. In a new policy brief, we look at the factors that make Washington’s system unusual, explain why the Oregon premium rate ranking study is a flawed measure of Washington’s costs, describe the cost drivers of the system, and consider […]

The day after tomorrow for public pensions

In the Dec. 23 & 30th issue of the New Yorker, James Surowiecki writes about “deadbeat governments” and public pensions (may be behind the paywall): Pensions are supposed to be dull and reliable. But they’re now the locus of bruising political battles. . . . How did states and cities get into this jam? By […]