economic analysis and research network

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Economic Analysis and Research Network – EARN

Center on Policy Initiatives is a member of Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN) , a nationwide network of research, policy, and organizing and advocacy organizations fighting, state by state, for an economy that works for everyone. EARN is coordinated by its member organizations and staff at the  Economic Policy Institute .

Justice for Warehouse Workers/ Justicia Para Trabajadores de almacen

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Economic Analysis and Research Network

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The Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN) is a national umbrella group for 58 pro-organized labor research organizations. EARN’s website contains a database of research papers produced by its members.

EARN is a project of the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a left-of-center research organization closely affiliated with labor unions. All EARN personnel are EPI employees. Despite claiming to be non-partisan, EPI is largely funded by labor unions and union-aligned groups, has numerous union officers on its governing board, and advocates for policies on their behalf. EARN is the EPI’s structure for unifying allied pro-union groups across the country for concerted research efforts, and is likewise funded by labor unions and run by Naomi Walker, who worked for the AFL-CIO and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees for 20 years.

Economic Policy

The Economic Analysis Research Network supports left-of-center economic policies and regulations, most of which benefit labor unions. EARN supports government-mandated paid sick days, government-mandated paid family leave, government-mandated overtime work rules, a higher minimum wage, and extensive government investment in infrastructure. EARN also opposes “preemption,” or the ability of higher-level (usually state) governments to override lower government policies. 1

Racial Issues

EARN’s summary of its view on “racial justice” calls for solidarity between racial minorities and low-income communities. It claims that special interest groups are funding efforts to prevent an increase in the minimum wage, oppose government-mandated sick leave, and fight collective bargaining power, while simultaneously working to undermine racial minorities, the elderly, students, and the disabled through voter suppression efforts. 2

During the nationwide protests after the death of George Floyd, EARN released a statement in support of Black Lives Matter and reforms to combat “systematic racism.” EARN presented all research from its members groups related to racial issues, including an Economic Policy Institute Report claiming that racism is one of the two most lethal pre-existing conditions for COVID-19. The EARN letter also recommended a few “tools for being anti-racist,” including the controversial books White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism  by Robin DiAngelo and Michael Eric Dyson, and  How to Be an Antiracist  by Ibram X. Kendi. DiAngelo, Dyson, and Kendi are radical far-left members of the Black Lives Matter movement. 3

Forty-one of EARN’s member groups also released statements in support of demonstrators. 3

State of Working

State of Working is a project which asks member groups in each state to generate annual reports on the conditions of working families. Even before the COVID-19 outbreak, the reports asserted that states were experiencing sluggish economic growth and limited prosperity, and recommended increased government spending on education and poverty-relief programs. 4

State of Rural

State of Rural is a project which focuses on the economic concerns of rural Americans, particularly racial minorities. Many of the project’s publications note the relatively slow economic growth of rural areas of states compared to cities. 5

EARN in the South

In 2017, the Economic Analysis and Research Center launched EARN in the South, a project of 13 member groups in southern states to research policies to support Southern working families. The project places race at the center of its analysis, and advocates for state governments to increase spending, subsidize childcare, and implement guaranteed family leave. 6

EARNConversations

The Economic Analysis and Research Network runs an annual conference called EarnConversations where it gathers representatives from its member groups to discuss their research and advocacy. 7

The Economic Analysis and Research Network is funded by numerous labor unions and left-of-center grantmaking organizations. At EarnConversations 2020, EARN listed the following ongoing funders: 8

• American Federation of Teachers 
• Bauman Family Foundation 
• Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable Trust 
• Ford Foundation  
• International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers  
• International Brotherhood of Teamsters 
• Kresge Foundation  
• National Association of Letter Carriers  
• National Education Association 
• National Infrastructure Alliance
• Marguerite Casey Foundation 
• Service Employees International Union 
• Surdna Foundation 
• UNITE Here 
• United Auto Workers  
• United Brotherhood of Carpenters 
• United Food and Commercial Workers 
• United Steelworkers of America 
• K. Kellogg Foundation 

EARN also receives funding from the Omidyar Network which sponsors a fellowship at EARN. 9

From 2001-2003, EARN received $230,000 from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation , a left-of-center grantmaking foundation. 10

Naomi Walker is the director of the Economic Analysis and Research Network. She previously worked with labor unions for two decades and as an activist in her early career. After attending Duke University and working as a training coordinator for the Ohio Youth Services Network, Walker served as the Midwest regional field organizer of the Black Student Leadership Network of the Children’s Defense Fund . Starting in 1997, Walker worked in a variety of roles at the AFL-CIO for almost 12 years, eventually becoming director of government affairs for the entire organization. She briefly left to serve as an associate deputy secretary in the Department of Labor under President Barack Obama but returned to the AFL-CIO less than a year later to resume her work for almost three years. In 2012, Walker became assistant to the president at the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees. In 2018, she joined the Economic Policy Institute and became director of EARN. 11

Member Groups

As of September 2020, the Economic Analysis and Research Network contains 58 organizations in 42 states and Washington, D.C. Its members are. 12

• Alabama Arise
• Arizona Center for Economic Progress
• Children’s Action Alliance
• Grand Canyon Institute
• Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families
• California Budget and Policy Center
• Center on Policy Initiatives
• East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy
• Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy
• Working Partnerships USA
• Bell Policy Center
• Colorado Center on Law and Policy
• Colorado Fiscal Institute
• Connecticut Voices for Children
• DC Fiscal Policy Institute
• Florida Policy Institute
• Georgia Budget and Policy Institute
• Hawai’i Appleseed
• United Vision for Idaho
• Center for Budget & Tax Accountability
• Fiscal Policy Center at Voices for Illinois Children
• Indiana Institute for Working Families
• Iowa Policy Project
• Kansas Action for Children
• Kansas Center for Economic Growth
• Kentucky Center for Economic Policy
• Kentucky Youth Advocates
• Louisiana Budget Project
• Maine Center for Economic Policy
• Maryland Center for Economic Policy
• Progressive Maryland
• Progressive Maryland Education Fund
• Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center
• Michigan League for Public Policy
• Minnesota Budget Project
• Missouri Budget Project
• Montana Budget and Policy Center
• Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada
• New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute
• New Jersey Policy Perspective
• New Mexico Voices for Children
• Fiscal Policy Institute
• North Carolina Justice Center
• Policy Matters Ohio
• Oklahoma Policy Institute
• Oregon Center for Public Policy
• Keystone Research Center
• Economic Progress Institute
• Every Texan
• Voices for Utah Children
• Public Assets Institute
• Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis
• Economic Opportunity Institute
• Washington State Budget and Policy Center
• West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy
• Kids Forward
• Equality State Policy Center
• Issues and projects.” EARN. Accessed September 30, 2020. https://earn.us/issues/ .
• “Racial Justice.” EARN. Accessed September 30, 2020. https://earn.us/issue/racial-justice/ .
• “Black Lives Matter & Anti-Racist Resources.” EARN. Accessed September 30, 2020. https://earn.us/publications/black-lives-matter-anti-racist-resources/ .
• “State of Working X.” EARN. Accessed September 30, 2020. https://earn.us/issue/state-of-working-x/ .
• “State of Rural XX.” EARN. Accessed September 30, 2020. https://earn.us/issue/state-of-rural-xx/ .
• “EARN in the South.” EARN. Accessed September 30, 2020. https://earn.us/issue/earn-in-the-south/ .
• “EARNConversations.” EARN. Accessed September 30, 2020. https://earn.us/conference/ .
• “EARNConversations 2020.” EARN. Accessed September 30, 2020. https://earn.us/conference/ .
• “Our Team.” EARN. Accessed September 30, 2020. https://earn.us/about/ .
• “Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN).” Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. Accessed September 30, 2020. https://www.mott.org/grants/economic-policy-institute-economic-analysis-research-network-earn-200000059-01/ .
• “Naomi Walker.” LinkedIn. Accessed September 30, 2020. https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomi-walker/ .
• “Our Network.” EARN. Accessed September 30, 2020. https://earn.us/directory/ .
• http://earn.us/

EPI Experts | Board of Directors | About EPI

Executive Team

Heidi Shierholz , President Naomi Walker , Executive Vice President Barbara Western , Chief Operating Officer Celine McNicholas , General Counsel/Director of Policy Angel Henry , Executive Assistant, EARNcon Project Manager

Senior Staff

Heidi Shierholz , President Naomi Walker , Executive Vice President Josh Bivens , Chief Economist Ariana Blackstock , Human Resources Generalist David Cooper , Director, Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN) Michelle Kannan , Director of Development Nicole Lewis , Deputy Communications Director Celine McNicholas , Director of Policy/General Counsel Zane Mokhiber , Director of Data Management and Analysis Samantha Sanders , Director of Government Affairs and Advocacy Jennifer Sherer , Acting EARN Deputy Director Barbara Western , Chief Operating Officer Eve Tahmincioglu , Director of Communications Valerie Wilson ,Director, Program on Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy Zion Yan , Director of Finance and Operations

Josh Bivens , Chief Economist Katherine deCourcy , Research Assistant Joe Fast , Research Assistant Elise Gould , Senior Economist Adam S. Hersh , Senior Economist Jori Kandra , Research Assistant Zane Mokhiber , Director of Data Management and Analysis Monique Morrissey , Senior Economist Hilary Wething , Economist  Ben Zipperer , Senior Economist

View complete list of EPI experts, fellows, and  research associates

Daniel Costa ,   Director of Immigration Law and Policy Research Celine McNicholas , Director of Policy/General Counsel Margaret Poydock , Senior Policy Analyst Samantha Sanders , Director of Government Affairs and Advocacy

Program on Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy (PREE)

Valerie Wilson ,   Director, Program on Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy Stevie Marvin , Research Assistant Adewale Maye , Policy and Research Analyst Ismael Cid Martinez , Economist Kyle Moore , Economist

Communications

Eve Tahmincioglu , Director of Communications Jennifer Abella , Web Developer Max Canner , Creative Lead, Website and Digital Amy DePoy , Digital Audience and Marketing Strategist Nick Kauzlarich , Media Relations and Digital Director Nicole Lewis , Deputy Communications Director Grace Park , Editor Ron Perazza , Creative Lead, Strategy and Project Management

Development

Michelle Kannan , Director of Development Akida Azad , Associate Director of Development Operations Brittney Vrzak , Senior Development Associate

Finance, Human Resources, and Administration

Zion Yan , Director of Finance and Operations Ariana Blackstock , Human Resources Generalist Shurron Dempsey , Operations Manager Sara Krauss , Administrative Support Associate Masha Luseko , Accountant

Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN)  State Policy & Research

David Cooper , Director, EARN Emma Cohn , Research Assistant Chandra Childers , EARN in the South Economic Analyst Grace Erickson , Program Coordinator Dave Kamper , Senior State Policy Strategist Sebastian Martinez Hickey , State Economic Analyst Nina Mast , Policy and Economic Analyst Jasmine Payne-Patterson , Senior State Policy Strategist Daniel Perez , State Economic Analyst Jennifer Sherer , Acting EARN Deputy Director

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EARNCon 2024

September 12 - september 13, due to tropical storm francine, earncon 2024 will no longer be an in-person event..

Virtual offerings for some of the conference content are listed below. Details, including Zoom links, have been sent out over email. These sessions are free and open to all members of the EARN community. We will hold a new convening in New Orleans at some point in 2025.

EARNCon is headed to “The Big Easy” in 2024 2025!

We are planning to host EARNCon in New Orleans at some point in 2025. Exact timing is TBD. New Orleans has a rich history, one that is inextricably tied to racial, economic, and social justice movements. For example, on November 8, 1892, 30,000 factory and dock workers in New Orleans called for a general strike to demand a union. These workers were later joined by musicians, clothing workers, clerks, utility workers, streetcar drivers, and printers. Importantly, Black and white workers came together to demand a union, pushing back against efforts to divide workers by race. The success of these workers remains an inspiration for broad-based, multi-racial organizing in the South as we see organized labor and their allies, including EARN groups, continue to make inroads today.

As we prepare to convene in New Orleans, LA, we are coming with a fighting spirit like that which animated the workers in their call for a general strike in 1892. We come with a dedication and continued commitment to realize racial, economic, and gender justice not just in the South but every state across the country.

The conference will include discussions on:

• Supporting worker organizing
• Immigration and migrant worker rights
• Policies to support children, families, and early childhood education
• Coalition building within and across states
• Leveraging federal funding to advance equity and create good jobs

Virtual EARNCon 2024 – Agenda Summary

• Google Calendar
• Outlook 365
• Outlook Live
• Anonymous  
• American Federation of Teachers 
• Bernard and Anne Spitzer Charitable T rust 
• Ford Foundation  
• International Association of Machinists  
• International Brotherhood of Teamsters
• Kresge Foundation  
• National Association of Letter Carriers  
• National Education Association 
• Marguerite Casey Foundation 
• Omidyar Network
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
• The Rockefeller Foundation
• Service Employees International Union 
• Surdna Foundation 
• UNITE HERE 
• United Auto Workers  
• United Brotherhood of Carpenters 
• United Food and Commercial Workers 
• United Steelworkers of America 
• W.K. Kellogg Foundation

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September 11-13

Due to Tropical Storm Francine, EARNCON 2024 will be virtual only.  Details will be shared via email with the EARN community.