Author: Arthur Phillips of the Maine Center for Economic Policy
Arthur works on MECEP’s inclusive economy portfolio and leads outreach and advocacy on labor issues. Arthur Phillips is an economic policy analyst with the Maine Center for Economic Policy. Arthur worked for seven years as a researcher and campaign strategist with the hospitality workers’ union UNITE HERE. Before that, he conducted research published by the Economic Policy Institute and the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, DC. He holds a bachelor’s degree in history with a minor in economics from McGill University.
As prices of everyday essentials like food, housing, and health care climb, the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to the minimum wage is one of our state’s most impactful laws to ensure workers with low wages aren’t left behind. A new analysis by Maine Center for Economic Policy finds the annual cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to Maine’s…
Workers are the engine of the economy, and they all deserve dignity, respect, and to be able to take care of themselves and their loved ones. Yet, while Maine recognizes workers’ rights to bargain collectively and earn a fair wage, farm workers have long been excluded from these basic economic freedoms. Workers in Maine’s agriculture industry…
Last month, the Federal Reserve released its annual Report on the Economic Well-Being of U.S. Households for 2021. Based on a survey conducted in October and November 2021, it notes that while perceptions of the economy were dimmed, self-reported financial wellbeing in late 2021 was its highest point since the survey was first conducted in…