Working + The Economy
Biden wants to rein in bank mergers — that could help consumers and the economy
President Joe Biden signed a sweeping executive order on July 9, 2021, that aims to increase competition throughout the U.S. economy. In one of the order’s most significant provisions, he directed federal regulators to strengthen oversight of bank mergers. As a former Federal Reserve attorney who is now a business law professor, I share Biden’s […]
Officials defend mask mandate for workers
Local and state officials are defending a partial mask mandate that appears rooted more in economics than science. “While it won’t protect visitors from other visitors, the new mask mandate should provide protection for visitors when they have contact with casino employees,” UNLV Associate Professor of Epidemiology Brian Labus, a member of Gov. Steve Sisolak’s […]
Vegas rideshare strike doesn’t yet have momentum, but driver frustrations are real
Rideshare driver Hope Nicole Marion is fed up. She started driving for Uber in 2015 when the San Francisco-based company first launched in Las Vegas. Back then, the money was good. The ride-hailing platform was being touted as a much-needed disruptor to the powerful taxicab industry and a way to “be your own boss.” Marion […]
Mask mandate returns for Southern Nevada workers, but not customers
With a “dramatic” increase in cases of COVID-19 threatening hospitals, according to health officials, and the recovery of Southern Nevada’s economy on the line, Clark County Commissioners voted Tuesday to mandate that all workers wear masks while in public spaces. But the mandate, which goes into effect Wednesday night at midnight, does not apply to […]
Survey finds continued payment pause critical for NV student loan borrowers
The Department of Education has cancelled nearly $3 billion of student loans for more than 130,000 student loan borrowers, but thousands of other student loan borrowers are in danger of defaulting if payment resume later this year. A national survey of nearly 23,000 student loan borrowers in all 50 states from June 17 to June […]
How despite losing multiple rulings, Station keeps fending off a Culinary contract
Station Casinos, which has fought to keep the Culinary union out of its multiple Southern Nevada neighborhood properties for over a decade—one of just a few major holdouts in the Las Vegas hospitality industry—will, again, be called to court to defend their labor practices next month. Station, which was the third largest private employer in […]
Is Nevada’s labor shortage actually just a wage shortage?
It’s long been said that good workers are hard to find. But some business owners are reporting it’s difficult to find any workers right now. An apparent worker shortage is happening across the state, forcing some businesses to reduce operating hours as a result. In May, in Carson City, Mom and Pop’s Diner, located directly […]
Labor organizers seek deferred action to stem abuse of undocumented workers
Employers often take advantage of the dysfunctional immigration system in the U.S. to intimidate undocumented workers who try to obtain better working conditions, say labor organizers, but organizers are now looking to use deferred action protections to protect workers in labor disputes. “The immigrant workforce being exploited has pretty much been a part of 70 […]
Food insecurity among seniors is overlooked, ‘very hidden’
In the past two decades, food insecurity has doubled among older adults, and the pandemic only complicated low-income seniors’ access to food. Hunger, inadequate housing, social isolation, and poverty are linked to poor health, especially as we age. And the scale of food insecurity among the elderly in the U.S. is often ignored, said Jocelyn […]
Las Vegas MSA’s splashy employment increase still 200K short of pre-pandemic
The Bureau of Labor Statistics Tuesday reported the Las Vegas metropolitan statistical area had the nation’s highest year-over-year rate of employment increase of any large MSA, rising from 774,900 in May 2020 to 940,700 in May 2021, an increase of 165,800 jobs, or 21.4%. The nation’s highest percentage gain notwithstanding, employment in the Las Vegas […]
Against all odds, Las Vegas housing market defies experts
Las Vegas, dubbed the riskiest housing market in the nation less than a year ago by real estate analyst CoreLogic, is on track to price the working class out of the market by the end of the year, says Las Vegas Realtors president Aldo Martinez, and Wall Street is scrambling to scoop up the rentals […]
July brings higher minimum wage, but NV still lags behind AZ, CO, CA, OR, WA…
Nevada’s lowest-paid workers will get a raise starting Thursday, but whether those positions can be filled as a “workforce shortage” hits the state has some businesses concerned. It’s the second of four increases the Legislature mandated in 2019, which have raised the state’s hourly minimum from $7.25 then to $8.75 today. If employees are not […]