*Center for Economic and Policy Research Issues Two Research Reports on Workers*

Working Families and Economic Insecurity in the States: The Role of Job Quality and Work Supports http://www.cepr.net/index.php/press-releases/press-releases/new-report-details-levels-of-economic-insecurity-and-job-quality-in-the-states-in-the-first-half-the/

An engaging, visual report by Shawn Fremstad, Rebecca Ray and Hye Jin Rho synthesizes previous CEPR research looking at economic insecurity and the impact of public work supports across the United States. To determine what a working family needs to "make ends meet", the authors of the report use basic family budgets that take into account the actual costs of goods and services needed to have a decent standard of living, as well as the variations in these costs, depending on where one lives.

The Union Wage Advantage for Low-Wage Workers http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/quantile_2008_05.pdf Union membership plays an important role in boosting the wages of all workers, but low-wage workers see the largest gains. "The Union Wage Advantage for Low-Wage Workers http://www.cepr.net/documents/publications/quantile_2008_05.pdf " shows that nationally, unionization leads to a wage increase of 20.6 percent for the typical low-wage worker, 13.7 percent for the typical worker and 6.1 percent for the typical high-wage worker. The report also analyzed the union premium at the state level and found that this trend holds at the state level as well.

CEPR: http://www.cepr.net/index.php/press-center/