Letter from the Executive Director
Friends,
Policy and action—a think and do operation: that’s NELP. And, though not without disappointments and setbacks, 2013 was about policy and action, too—about thinking, and doing—in ways that made positive differences for millions of America’s workers.
NELP was front and center in many of these achievements. Combining research and reports, communications and public education, policy design, legal assistance and technical support for partners in the field, and legislative and administrative advocacy at the federal, state, and local levels, NELP’s work made major strides in 2013, including our efforts to:
Open the doors of opportunity through work: With allies, NELP fueled the spread of the “ban the box” movement, with 10 cities and five states newly adopting measures to erase the job-application box prematurely requiring candidates to disclose whether they have records, eliminating many qualified and deserving individuals from further consideration. Efforts to end hiring discrimination against the unemployed also got a boost, with two cities—Madison, Wisconsin and New York (over Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s veto)—adopting bans on the practice.
Elevate the crisis of low wages and win higher pay for low-wage workers: As fast-food strikes and workplace actions by warehouse, retail, and federally-contracted employees exposed the reality of low-wage work and low-wage workers, NELP fleshed out the story with reports documenting the decline in real wages since the start of the recovery, especially among low-paid workers, and highlighting the personal and public costs of poverty wages and the limited advancement opportunities for fast-food workers. Through op-eds and media appearances, we argued in the court of public opinion for raising pay in low-wage sectors. NELP’s research, education, and outreach helped lay the foundation for introducing and boosting support for a $10.10 federal minimum wage, and our assistance to state and local allies made a difference in winning minimum wage increases in places like California, New York, and the District of Columbia, while setting the stage for a new wave of action in 2014 in states such as Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Hawaii, and a number of cities.
Strengthen labor standards and their enforcement: Achieving victory in a campaign initially launched in the 1990s, NELP and its partners celebrated the Labor Department’s issuance of a rule finally extending federal minimum wage and overtime protections to millions of the nation’s home care workers—righting a historic injustice and ensuring that many workers in this large and fast-growing field will enjoy the same basic wage protections extended to most other workers. NELP’s research and policy support helped win passage of Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights legislation in several states, and in California, we were in the vanguard of a successful effort to impose stiffer penalties on employers that exploit their workers’ immigration status to retaliate against them or deter them from exercising their rights.
Maintain income support for long-term unemployed workers: NELP rang in 2013 celebrating Congress’s belated renewal of the federal emergency unemployment program, preserving benefits for eligible long- term unemployed workers. We ended the year on a frustrating note, as Congress inexplicably and inexcusably allowed this vital federal program to expire—denying millions the help they desperately need. NELP is keeping up the fight to renew this vital program, and in the meantime, we are building on the groundwork laid in our 2013 research and technical assistance to grow the number of states reforming their unemployment insurance programs to recognize work-sharing as an alternative to layoffs.
NELP combines deep policy chops with tangible action to build an economy that delivers opportunity and security through work for all workers.
The pages that follow amplify these highlights and other examples of how NELP is combining deep policy chops with tangible action in every public forum and at every policy-making level to build an economy that delivers on the promise of opportunity and security through work for all of America’s workers. We thank you for your support of NELP, and we look forward to continuing to think and act with you on behalf of America’s workers in the year ahead.
Warmly
Christine L. Owens
Executive Director
